When we think about peace on Earth, do we think mainly in terms of preventing global wars? Perhaps. But unfortunately, there is violence closer to home. What about violence within the home? World peace should begin with a person’s own family, but too often it doesn’t. Victims of domestic violence and the volunteers and staff members who help them know this well.

Holidays are celebrated, in part, with food and drink. From the Fourth of July barbecues with ribs and pink lemonade to winter holidays with turkeys, hams, cider, hot chocolate and eggnog, good eatin’ is a staple. No one would argue with that. Nor would anyone likely disagree that music is another important aspect of celebrating special occasions.

Want to hear something funny? Seriously. Although that sounds like the lead-in to a joke or amusing anecdote and often is, what I’m referring to here is Grove Players upcoming production of “A Funny thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” opening on Friday, Nov. 7, for a three-weekend run.

Working backstage to help make a live show happen can be as fulfilling and as exciting as being on stage. The current crop of Tivoli Theatre backstage volunteers can certainly attest to that fact.

Fall brings flurries, but not of snow. The flurries are of falling leaves and of activities. School is back in session, and all of the local organizations get back into gear with their first meetings and programs of the year. Other events — some of them once-a-year — also take place.

How many people in Downers Grove know that it is the site of an outstanding example of permaculture? How many people could even explain what permaculture is?

Vicki Nowicki, a recent past president of the village’s Organic Gardeners Club, holds this obscure knowledge. She and her husband, Ron, own the property referred to.

Erin Seal of Downers Grove subscribes to the philosophy that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. It’s a concept she said she learned early on.

Downers Grove resident Sue Stealey, who is seven-eighths Welsh, is involved in North American Festival of Wales.

From Montreal and Indianapolis to Denver and Nashville, members of the Downers Grove-based West Towns Chorus have been ringing chords on stage in the Barbershop World’s International Competition these past few years.

Although the Fine Arts Festival — a September event hosted by the village of Downers Grove for many years — is a couple of months away, it is not too soon for planners to be hard at work coordinating it. Even more impressive is the community’s efforts to promote local offerings.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are not countries Mary Carlson, Helene Fields and Sharon Maher have actually visited. In a sense, though, they have been transported there through the power of both the written and spoken word.

What does it take to be a decent docent? For tour guides at the Downers Grove Park District History Museum, the qualifications certainly are appropriate. Museum Supervisor Christa Christensen states that “a willingness to help keep history alive is the only requirement.”

Houses, history and harmony make an interesting combination — especially in Downers Grove. Houses are a part of the village’s historical fabric, and the town’s history has been memorialized in song. Recently, there was a whole concert dedicated to the topic.

 It wasn’t like pulling teeth for the Downers Grove Noon Lions Club to get member Don Tuck to serve a second term as president. Maybe that’s because saving teeth is his profession. And, of course, because he is committed to volunteerism and the causes espoused by Lionism.

Even dying of cancer, the character played by Marilyn Weiher of Downers Grove could find humor in her situation.