Ron Tabaczynski

Hi, I’m Ron. I am the author of the Pacing the Cage blog.

So here I am…with a new AARP card, knee deep in a future that ain’t what it used to be! Throughout my life I envisioned where I would be when I turned 50. Divorce, dating and single fatherhood were never in the picture during my younger days, but after being married for 22 years, life threw me a curve ball.

Now that I have decided to write about it, you as the reader should know who this yutz is taking up bandwidth in the belief that someone out there may find any of this interesting.

I should begin by telling you something that is far from being the most important thing about me. In my mid-twenties, a majority of responsible adults sent me away to a state institution. It was called the Indiana General Assembly, where I was elected to three consecutive terms in the House of Representatives. Yes, that is crazy.

At age 26, I sat in the House Chambers looking at the mural and the chandelier and ornate wood work. I saw my name on the roll call board at the front, and sat in wonderment of how I got there. By the third week, I sat in wonderment of how most of the rest of them got there.

Since then, most of my professional experience has been in or around government. Currently I have a career where I deal with Chicago's iconic buildings, as well as the City's iconic political and business personalities. The tone of my day is often set by what appears in the morning newspaper and summarized by what is reported on the evening news. I spend a great deal of time – and the majority of my waking hours- in the City of Chicago, but Northwest Indiana is my home.

I grew up in a Polish family, the youngest –by far- of four children, and the only boy. I spent 16 years in Catholic school – each in a different grade level. Being Polish and Catholic, I grew up with many wonderful traditions, such as putting a bottle of Crown Royal in the Easter Basket to blessed.

While I still consider myself a Catholic, I have become a firm believer in the God's of Irony, who I beleive have too much time on their hands and nothing better to do than screw with me.

A friend who has known me since high school and through most of the phases of my life describes me as in touch with my soul. I am very introspective, contemplative, and attentive. I've been called witty and sarcastic...for the most part it has only been when witty and sarcasti