An attempt by Mike’s friend to set him up failed miserably, as he was distracted by the girl down the table talking about science and art, a girl from Michigan by the name of Susan. The common name aside, Mike was intrigued.

After finally wrestling a neuroscience degree from Northwestern, Susan headed to the state where they legit fence the ponds to keep the gators out. Confident he knew to zigzag if chased, Mike happily followed. But, the northern city girl eventually decided the Gainesville swamps were a bit too much and took a job up the road with NIH to help tackle traumatic brain injury.

The special kind of anxiety that comes with a worldwide novel virus aside, we’d totally recommend everyone have a pandemic baby! At least so far. Sheltering at home, Mom had a particularly gentle pregnancy. And, since the day Dad was coaxed into catching him, Evers has had a rather full dose of his parents.

Long ago, Mike had the realization that relationships were the singular stuff of life. Seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time is great and all; sharing the experience with someone is simply better. In your early years, life enables relationships. Then, the script surprisingly, disappointingly flips and it mostly disables them. Robust relationships need proximity. And, whatever the form, that’s community. So, Mike has lived in informal cohousing settings for years and has always hoped to someday make it official.

And, it’s those same beliefs that have them focused on another chapter in Chicagoland, this time pursuing proximity to Grandma and Grandpa, seeking robustness for Evers.