October Reed Writes In
October 26, 2025
Dear Will’s Place,
Happy October! By the time you read this, Halloween will most likely have come and gone, so I hope all of you had a blast during the spooky season! I’m celebrating this time of year by watching a lot of horror and supernatural films, like Ouija and Blade (although, to be fair, I’m willing to watch those anytime). I also participated in a Halloween-and-social-justice-themed trivia contest at my dorm. I didn’t get all the answers right, but by participating, I was entered into a raffle, where I won a coffee mug (above). I don’t drink coffee, so I’m planning to use the mug to hold writing utensils. Still, as a piece of coffee-related paraphernalia, the mug does make me think of Will’s Place!
It’s been a busy month for me. I’ve had to write essays, watch and take notes on a documentary, and more. This was also the month when we had our midterm exams–how appropriate that one of the events that a college student most dreads should take place during the lead-up to Halloween! I had one midterm in Introduction to Digital Media Production (I’ve been forgetting that last word all this time–oops!), and another, non-midterm, sort of unit exam in Communications in Society. Both were open-note, which was helpful, but I wouldn’t call either of them easy. Between all of that, I’ve been spending time working on the script for my Marquette Filmmakers’ Association short film–which is fun, but can also be exhausting, especially when I have writer’s block.
After midterms, I had the rest of the week off for Fall Break; my mother picked me up from Marquette and drove me home after my last class of the day that Wednesday. Fall Break for Marquette wasn’t as long as I would have preferred, but at least I was able to visit Will’s Place again for the first time since I left for college! I talked for a good while with Jill and Colleen Hallagan, who touched me emotionally by showing me a scrapbook of my columns and other writings for or relating to Will’s Place. (To the two of them: thank you so, so much! I’m so flattered!) I was also astonished to hear that the Empty Pockets would be recording at none other than Abbey Road Studios, of Beatles fame, in London! Of course, now I have to see the whole band walking across the street, single-file, like the Beatles on their album cover. If anyone can share photos with me of the Pockets in or around the studio, please do!
After my brief return home, I flew to San Francisco, CA with my family to attend the wedding of my cousin David and his then-fiancé Rina. While I will admit that formal events are not always my favorite way to spend my time, it was nice to travel with my family, and it was great to see my relatives again–including my brother Griffin, whom I hadn’t seen face-to-face for seven weeks! Before the wedding ceremony, my older sister Tali and I rode a bus down to the well-known Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco and walked around. It was a beautiful day for it, and an interesting neighborhood. We visited a few stores (including one where I purchased a copy of Hindu epic The Ramayana), as well as a sprawling park. We even checked out the “Painted Ladies,” a famous row of houses in San Francisco, and wondered about what life is like for whoever lives inside of them. The wedding itself was a long and very ritualistic affair; David and Rina’s exchange of vows touched my heart, as did the speeches about them given at the wedding dinner. Less emotionally moving was the fact that I had to get up at 4:20 AM the next day to catch a flight back to Chicago with my father, so that we could collect what I needed from my house in Skokie and then drive back to Marquette.
Whoof! That was a lot about me. But, of course, I’m just as eager to hear from the Will’s Place family as I am to speak to you all. Feel free to reach out to me about how Will’s Place celebrated Halloween, what the Rustic Fair was like, notable guest baristas, new sandwiches and bakery items, and goings-on in Skokie! I look forward to hearing from you, and to sending you my next column at this time in November. But until then, the whole Will’s Place family is in my heart!
Until next time,
Reed Larson-Erf