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Uptown Writer Profiles 50 Prominent Chicago-Area Figures in New Book

By Adeshina Emmanuel | August 11, 2014 8:15am
 Betsy Storm's book examines the influences and success of 50 prominent people.
Betsy Storm's book examines the influences and success of 50 prominent people.
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Betsy Storm

UPTOWN — A lot of people are talented and passionate — but fewer attain fame and prominence. So what's the recipe for success? 

Wondering "why some people are able to take their gifts and really use them," Uptown resident Betsy Storm said she spent four years interviewing prominent folks from the Chicago area, from paleontologist Paul Sereno, to Apollo 13 astronaut James Lovell and master sommelier and T.V. personality Alpana Singh.

Storm, a 60-year-old longtime journalist specializing in features, recently published the products of those interviews in her first book, "Bright Lights of the Second City."

"My idea was I wanted to just introduce the readers or reintroduce them to these fascinating people across academics, sports, the arts, philanthropy, activism, really a broad swath," she said. 

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, beloved former Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood, Chicago Bears great Richard Dent, philanthropist Ann Lurie, and pastry chef Gale Gand — soon to be inducted into the Chicago Culinary Museum and Chefs Hall of Fame — are some of the people profiled by Storm.

Storm's hope was that the 102-page book, published in June by Top Down Communications, could shed some inspiring light on what influenced 50 individuals she said have shaped Chicago and helped make it the city it is.

Storm noted that Sereno, a world-famous paleontologist and University of Chicago professor, discovered a 40-foot long, nearly intact prehistoric reptile referred to as SuperCroc.

Growing up, Sereno was "somebody who kind of didn't think he was any good at much of anything for years," but decided on being an artist — before a visit to a natural history museum sparked his passion for ancient worlds, she said.

A common thread connecting him with most of Storm's other subjects was supportive parents, she said, saying Sereno's parents encouraged all their kids to "do something interesting with their lives."

"Not surprisingly, one of the biggest [factors] are parents, sometimes its something they deliberately do or a trip or just things they say to us growing up that kind of shape us to be the people we are," Storm said.

Not every person in the book was encouraged to follow his or her heart as a young person.

Singh is the restaurateur behind The Boardinghouse, a former host of "Check, Please!" and in 2003 became the youngest person to receive the rank of master sommelier after a grueling exam that has a 3 percent pass rate. 

But her Indian immigrant parents saw her as a future doctor, and she grew up in a Hindu home devoid of wine. But "she stayed true to herself," Storm said, and figured out as a bored college student working in a wine shop "that she could have a career in wine."

So she dropped out, stepped toward a bright future and saw her star rise.

Something as simple as a book, a vacation, an inspiring conversation — or walking into the wrong classroom — can help catapult someone toward greatness, Storm said. Storm profiled a prominent astrologer, Barbara Schermer, who told her her interest in astrology came alive one day when she mistakenly walked into an astrology class.

"She said to me she walked into the room and she knew 'the language' almost immediately," Storm remembered about Schermer, who died in June.

Sheer dumb luck and coincidence explain some people's transformations into prominent figures. But elbow grease and a lot of stubbornness doesn't hurt either.

As an example, Storm cited Lovell, the commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 moon mission who helped return his crew safely to Earth after a potentially fatal malfunction in space.

He was rejected from both the Naval Academy and NASA on separate occasions prior to his rise to fame, but eventually gained entry to both and went on to an accomplished career serving his country and emerged as "an American hero," Storm said. 

"With every one of these people ... they may have said they had some luck along the way, and many make a point of saying you can't underestimate the importance of luck," Storm said. "But obviously all these people are super, super hard workers."

To buy "Bright Lights of the Second City," click here.

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