The Loop is...
~ as tall as it is wide.
~ blessed with a cool nickname: the Loop.
~ the land of no land – the terrain is all streets, sidewalks, and intersections. ~ visually impressive – a tight comergeration of buildings, river, drawbridges,
boats, cars, and trains.
~ filled with over a million people every business day.
~ most like itself when there are snow flurries blowing around. Employees
are bundled and moving quickly, human and street traffic are engaged in controlled jostling, and exhaust is visible from cars and buses.
~ well lit at night. In the afternoon, it feels like daytime.
~ an excitingly glum experience.
~ louder than one would think, because there’s lotsa traffic, and the sounds bounce off buildings.
~ historic, depending on the area. But the Loop isn’t there to preserve its oldness. It’s there to get business done.
LAKE STREET W W E A L B L A S S * H VAN BUREN**
There are numerous subsections in the Loop – sometimes they’re packed together (like Jewelers Row on Wabash street and the Financial District), and other times they’re “together in spirit” (like fast food restaurants). Here is a collection of subsection names. Put the word “area” after most of these:
1970s dull corporateCollege
Commodities trading
Fancy lakefront corporate
Financial District
Government
Jewelers Row
Library
Loft condo
Michigan Avenue shopping
Museum
Newer hotel
Old hotel
Old warehouse
Post Office
Riverfront office
Run-down bar
State Street shopping
Theater District
Tourist/fun/family theme restaurant Train station
Many years ago, there was a giant cigarette billboard with a guy’s face, and out of his mouth billowed real smoke rings. There’s justifiable criticism about cigarette advertising, but...c’mon! I support smoke rings.
People
Most of the Loop’s white-collar workers are younger, because the older
ones move to the suburbs and find jobs out there.
Chicago has a huge stock market, but it’s more for livestock. They have active trading pits, and traders bet on how much cattle and commodities (like wheat) will sell for in the future. They have a rigid social hierarchy that uses colored waist-length jackets (smocks?) to distinguish the top people from the in-betweens, and the hard workers. Many of the top-level men have hair weaves.
In the nice weather, people eat their lunches on whatever outside steps and ledges they can find.In the 1970s, a lot of independent Loop diners served egg sandwiches, so people could eat breakfast while they walked to work. The chains have replaced them.
Pedestrians have the following expression: “I’m getting through the day. The Loop is primarily set up for work, so I’m here without my family and lifetime friends. Ergo, I don’t have much reason to be smiling-happy, but I’m OK.”
BuildingsThe "building landscape" is a patchwork of old/new, granite/brick, lowrise/high-rise, thin/wide. Any long walk in the Loop gives me something I hadn’t noticed before.
Buildings near the lake and along the river are clean and crisp. Chicago’s high-profile areas have a reputation for stunning architecture, so developers would receive a lotta criticism if they cheapened out.
It was a sunny day, and these raindrops fell on me. Soapy raindrops. (?) I looked up, and there were window washers.Jimmy: Now we’re in the big part of the city. That building goes up into the clouds. This seems odd to me. I like it on the country side of the city.
Chicago has these 1900-era tunnels connecting every block in the Loop – 50 miles worth. In 1992, river water burst into a tunnel, and it flooded hundreds of building basements in the Loop. Many companies had their big computers on the below-ground levels, and it was a mess.
Old buildings
In 1885, Chicago constructed the world’s first skyscraper – nine
stories tall. Previously, the outside walls supported a building, but
Chicago developed the now-familiar skeletal frame, and up-up-up
everything went.
I would have thought that during the recent economic boom, all the old buildings would’ve been torn down or rehabbed. But it’s not the case: There are plenty of structures that look 1900s, yet they certainly aren’t national landmarks and haven’t been rehabbed – they’re gracefully getting more worn down each year.
Numerous older buildings have names carved into the granite, and they use old words like Typewriter and Carbide.A bank of lights shines onto the Wrigley Building and keeps it gleaming all night long.
St. Peter’s Church is more like a corporate building – one of numerous structures right next to each other. It used to be a movie theater.
Newer buildings
One of the glass box 1960s buildings was given a new facade on the first three floors. They made the lower exterior look new/modern and kept the upper floors dull/old. The trick worked – it all looks new.
Many newer buildings have truly, truly bad sculptures in their lobbies.An example of how Chicago operates: Beginning in the 1930s, the Lindbergh Beacon "beaconed" over a tall building in the Loop. It could be seen for hundreds of miles, and it helped pilots navigate. In the 1960s, these much taller apartments/condos went in near the beacon, and the light was swooping into residences and driving high-rise people crazy. In the early 1980s, the beacon was taken down, and Chicago again showed its preference for development over tradition.
New buildings
One building has a “rooftop antennae farm.” I regret seeing common
terms like “farm” applied to something unrelated, like communications
equipment. A farm has cows and pigs! If they want to put animals on their
rooftop farm, then it’s OK.
I was at a Loop intersection, and I saw two construction workers with hard hats standing across the street from this high-rise being built. They were pointing at the structure, holding blueprints (or whatever they are now) and discussing something of importance. Construction drama in action.
The new post office operates 24 hours. People professionals are behind counters every moment. Right now, in fact.Elevators
In one giant old building, Al Capone would be driven in his car into the
freight elevator, lifted up, and then he’d get out on the appropriate floor.
I was going up an elevator at 5:00, and several “done for the day” professionals got on.
Me: I’m sorry, this elevator’s going up.
Lady: In this building, you get on any elevator that’s working.
These days, routing people through different elevators is a big thing. On one occasion, I parked in a garage on the fourth floor and...
1) went up the elevator to their skyway floor – 8. I walked through a bridge into their hotel/shopping/office area and...
2) took an elevator to 15. Then I walked around the corner and...
3) boarded an elevator going to 25. Everyone asked why I was there, and I was ashamed.
Hotels
Many hotels have long names to prove how opulent they are. Instead of
the Hallard Hotel, it’s the Towering Gardens Midwest at the Chicago
Lakefront Hotel & Conference Center Hallard. The longer the name the more
they charge.
There’s a turn-of-the-century hotel that’s been converted into a parking garage. True! It still has the old style windows, but I can see cars inside. Senior citizen husband: My dear, for our 50th anniversary we should go back to Chicago and stay in that wonderful hotel where we had our honeymoon. Wife: Yes, and we’ll sleep in our car.
Museums
The big art museum has two metal lions on the front steps, and they get sat
on (tourist photo), decorated with wreaths around their necks, and so forth.
Jimmy and I drove by, and the front entrance was under construction. One of
the big metal felines was in a temporary fenced-in area, and someone put a
sign up: “Please do not feed the lion.”
Jimmy: Ha!
Parks
This guide took us on a tour of Chicago, and we were at the famous
Buckingham Fountain.
Guide: They change the color of the water in the evening.
Me: Don’t they just project different colored lights onto it?
Guide: No, but that would be a good idea.
Oh sheeze, they change the lights, not the water.
Grant Park
It’s on the near south side close to the lake. The hippies and yippies
resided there during the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Politicians were staying across the street in Michigan Avenue hotels
(“overlooking Grant Park and rioters”). The peace lovers stormed the
hotels, and Hubert Humphrey took on three yippies at once.
The point is, the “whole world is watching” riots didn’t take place near the convention hall (a mile away) but in front of nice hotels. Let’s get the facts straight on our Chicago embarrassments.
Residences
People will live in a high-rise named after a nightclub that inhabited the
building in the early 1990s. I’d hesitate before living in “The Big Cahuna
Lofts.”
My friend, Kyle Edwards, moved into a loft right in the Loop. It’s an area
with a lot of regular corporate buildings, and some are getting rehabbed as
condos. Looking at the outside of an office-turned-condo, the only notable
difference is balconies – they’re attached all up and down the building.
Standing on the balcony in the Windy City makes for a memorable
experience.
Parking meters charge 50 cents for every 10 minutes.
When sidewalks are wet, more smells get bounced around.
Every so often, people give away free samples, like shampoos and mints. Sometimes, a person in a gorilla suit stands on the corner and hands out fliers for a store.
A busy city has thousands of service vehicles taking care of the businesspeople – stuff just doesn’t magically appear. But – where to park those vans to make the deliveries, pick up the overnight packages, etc.? ...
Around 1910, the city wisely/strangely decided to raise the main streets – to put them on the second floor. The ground level streets were renamed “Lower ...," like "Lower Michigan,” and became dedicated to service traffic. They’re used by delivery vans, construction vehicles, garbage trucks, and so forth. Also, cabbies who want to get through the Loop fast take the lower roads.
roads.
foot-high outdoor metal sculpture that’s “hard to explain what it is, but it’s OK.” Teens like to skateboard on it. State Street, that nice streetRyan: Why isn’t State Street shaped like one of the states?
Quick notes:
~ State Street has a lot of department stores and apparel places. ~ A giant “one city block” department store has a row of street-level
windows. During the holiday season, they’ll use each window to "show and tell" a story like Cinderella. So, she’s a scrubwoman in the first window, and a queen in the last.
In 1979, State Street was turned into a mostly-pedestrian mall, but this was a mega-mistake. In the mid-1990s, car traffic was brought back. The city gave State Street a 1910s look, with gas-esque streetlamps, wrought iron subway entrances and brass fixtures. It’s a "must-walk."
Theater district
There are numerous movie theaters in one concentrated area, and they got
run down in the 1960s/70s. Reason: Cinemas sprang up outside the city
limits, so suburbanites didn’t need to see movies downtown. Bruce Lee
became the king of the old theaters, and tragically, at least three were torn
down. One of them was replaced by...nothing. After they demolished it, a
recession/building glut hit, and it’s still a vacant lot.
Transportation
A water taxi takes people on the Chicago River to whatever destination
they choose...within reason.
West
The near west side is/was known for soup kitchens, church-run rehab
centers, old factories and big, yet squat, office buildings. Many structures are
being turned into loft space. These changes must be difficult for convicts just
getting out after 10-to-15 year stretches.
Ex-con: OK, here’s where the old bar was. What? It’s a mountain bike store!
Who rides mountain bikes in the Loop? Great balls of fire!
Ryan has been flying by himself down to Grandma’s since he was 4 1/2, so he’s quite an old pro at this.
Me: In a few days, you’re taking the plane to Grandma’s. Ryan: Yeah! Can I bring my barbells?
That day
Ryan woke up, and an hour later, he got into bed again.
Me: Are you going back to sleep?
Ryan: Hey, I’ve got to rest up for my trip to Grandma’s.
Me: The flight is 10 hours from now.
Me: Jimmy, would you want to go flying down to Grandma’s by yourself? Jimmy: No, ’cause I’d be too scared.
Me: How scared?
Jimmy: Fifty eight hundred and a million one hundred and eighty eight sixty six one hundred and three plus a million.
His flight was at 9:00 pm, so we wisely left for the airport two hours early. Me, on the drive down: So, you’re fine with flying.
Ryan: I’m just nervous the plane will run out of gas.
We got near the airport around 7:40 and stopped at Stackers fast-food. I checked the flight itinerary and was surprised it said an “0717” departure date instead of “0716.”
I thought: Today must be July 17th, and I’ve been wrong all day about that. Then I checked my computer calendar, and sure enough: It was July 16th. We were a day early! Uh oh. Big uh oh.
Me: Ryan, we’ve gotta get to the airport. Bring your food.
Errrh! It was a Friday night, there were all those travelers, and I’d have to get a flight booked for an unaccompanied minor child. I couldn’t wait until the next night to take him when his ticket was right, because heck no – we were here. Getting to someplace is a big deal in Chicago. We pulled into our airport’s new parking garage and hustled over to the ticket counter.
I explained my predicament to the ticket agent (TA), but I knew from experience we could only do what that clunky green-screen computer allowed. TA: The boy’s an unaccompanied minor, and I don’t think we can get him on an hour before departure.
Ryan: Thanks a lot, Dad.
TA tapped away at the keyboard and...the computer gave its blessing. What a relief! TA seemed disappointed we got the flight, because that disproved his prediction. Tough!
Me: Ryan, I’m glad we made it.
Ryan: Yeah! And I didn’t have to do anything. I just stood there.
We went through the metal detectors and sat at our Gate A-11 waiting area. I filled out Ryan’s flying-by-himself tags, and he pinned them on. They looked like a fishing license hanging off him. The boy watched TV, and I read one of the newspapers that was lying around.
Ryan saw his plane arrive, and we waited in the pre-board area. He got lastminute jitters, so I told him some positive airline safety statistics that did nothing for him. But his fears passed nonetheless.
Me: You brought your bathing suit?
Ryan: Yeah.
Me: That’s good, because you’re going to be swimming at Grandma’s every day. He gave me an approving look.
Flight attendant: We’ll take your son on the plane first.
I watched Ryan walk up the steps until his feet were out of sight, then I walked to the large windows and looked at the plane itself. I cupped my eyes up to the glass and tried to see Ryan sitting inside one of the little plane windows. I didn’t spot him, but I still waved – maybe he could see me. About 10 minutes later, the vehicle that pushes the jet back did so, and his plane rolled out of sight. I said to the window: Good luck, Ryan.
That night I called Ryan long distance – everything went fine.Me to Ryan: Did you drink a soda on the flight? Ryan: Yeah.
Me: Peanuts? How many bags of peanuts did you eat? Ryan: One. I left the other one on the seat. Me: Good deal.
Then Mom came on the extension.
Mom: Johnny, I didn’t have enough cash for the cab ride back here, but the driver took a check.
Me: Wow – he’s the first cabbie in history who did that.
Mom: Ryan, it’s time for bed now.
Ryan: For what?
Grandma: Bed, B - E - D. Do you want a snack first?
--------
Ryan flew back a week later, and he said he had a good time. Ryan went to Al and Doug’s law office, and he did some filing for his Uncle Al. This surprised me, because I thought Al turned down any cases that involved paperwork.
Me: I hear you talked with Uncle Al about you two being the oldest. Ryan: Yeah. He was always ready to nail you guys. He said it was the worst thing in his life.
Me: You think he’s right?
Ryan: Oh yeah. Every job will be easy compared to that.
Me: So, you traveled around with Uncle Al?
Ryan: Yeah. Man, Dad, he goes everywhere, and you never go anywhere – except for the yard, or, like, you’ll go to the grocery store.
Me: So you’d want to go, say whitewater rafting?
Ryan: Yeah! Or hang-paragliding.
Me: Your Uncle Al will take you to do all that.
Ryan: Yeah. When I’m 18, he’s going to give me his motorcycle. Me: Really?
Ryan: Well, I’ll talk him into it. Besides, he’ll be too old to ride it.
Ryan said he and his Uncle Doug have an ongoing conflict over Doug’s parrot, Sylvester. The bird chewed through Ryan’s videogame cord, and this cost Ryan $15.
Ryan: Can you call Uncle Doug and tell him he owes me $15?
Me, picking up the cell phone: OK.
Me: Doug – there’s a problem with you, Ryan, and a videogame cord. Doug: Yeah, I heard the kid wants money. Put him on.
Ryan: Uncle Doug –
Doug: Ryan, your videogame cord made Sylvester sick! We took him to the vet, and it cost $15 to make him better. So, we’re even.
Ryan: Unh unh, Uncle Doug, you owe me $15!
7.11 July 4th weekend
We took a July 4th weekend trip to St. Louis.
7/2 Friday
On the drive down...
Jimmy: Mom, how much further?
Karen: Three hours.
Jimmy: Can’t you go any faster?
Jimmy: Is this summer?
Karen: It certainly is.
Jimmy: Are we going to lick our hands and celebrate the summer? Karen: Huh?
Jimmy: Yeah, that’s the song.
Me: I think that’s “lift our hands.”
At the rest stop, we had an impromptu picnic. Me: Jimmy, stay on the grass.
Jimmy: I am. I’m getting Mom flowers. Karen loved her cloves.
I looked back at Andy, and he gave me one of Ryan’s well-known expressions. I’m always amazed how siblings can put the same looks on their faces.
7/3 SaturdayBrothers Doug, Al and I went to the major league baseball game. They can get into the stadium club, so we watched the game from there. The club has a posh restaurant with white tablecloths, expensive wines – everything I wouldn’t expect in a ballpark. So, we’re getting into the spirit of baseball, and the hotdogs are an inch long and have toothpicks in them.
After the posh-ball experience, we went down to their regular stadium seats, and this performer was shooting hotdogs (real ones) into the stands – using this sort of frank gun shooter thing. I stood up to catch a red-hot, but Al and Doug sat glued to their seats – and put annoyed looks on their faces. Sports purists have to dislike anything the crowd enjoys.
Afterwards, we hooked up with Al’s friend-since-childhood Luke Westerhold. Notes on Luke: Meeting him is like encountering a bizarre comedic movie character who just walked off the screen. In the course of a conversation, he’ll probably give me a...
~ conspiracy theory even extremists would consider far-reaching. ~ birth date of anyone he’s speaking about – because he has them memorized.~ song from a 1960s TV show, but only the background music. Brother Al: There’s that part in your head that prevents you from saying everything in your mind. Luke doesn’t have that.
We all went to the big St. Louis July 4th fair held at the Arch. Since you didn’t attend this year, I’ll give you my take on it.Half the fair is families. They’re eating/drinking, listening to live music, watching the fireworks, walking through rows of handmade items for sale (including paintings of movie stars on glossed up wooden boards).
The other half of the fair: People having their excuse to get falling down drunk.Speaking of that, I accompanied Brother Doug to a free outdoor rock concert by a band that hit the charts once in 1979, and they’re still getting mileage out of that song. We were standing on a sloping grass hill with the stage at the bottom, and we were packed in with hundreds of sweaty, shirtless guys – ew. The only concert-goers who got elbow room were those passed out on the grass – everyone jammed around them. Next time I go to an outdoor rock concert, I’ll pretend I’m zonked and stretch out.
7/4 SundayIt’s July 4th, and today Andy celebrated his own independence day: He took his first few steps! For the record, he’s 11 months and 21 days old.
Jimmy and I wanted to watch fireworks, so we went to a community production (rather than the big fair – a little too much for us). Everyone had lawn chairs, but we hanged at the outdoor kids tubes at a fast-food restaurant. A little girl there tried to kiss Jimmy.
Me: Why was she doing that?
Jimmy: I don’t know – I told her not to.
The girl’s older brother was doing some dramatic climbing.
Grandmother: Don’t do that, or you’ll break your head again.
The boy rolled his eyes.
Me to the grandmother: He broke his head?
Grandmother: Yes, when he was two. He fell and had a fracture. I thought: Sheez – that guy will be told, “you might crack your head again” until he’s 70 years old.
Jimmy and I sat on the tubes and watched the fireworks. Afterwards… Me: We had a good time.
Jimmy: I had a sweaty time.
8.1 Timeline
8. August
Doug and Peggy just had little Ava. She’s healthy and pretty...and Peggy’s doing great – good deal all around! The word is Karen and I are in the running as godparents, and of course, we’d be honored. Any child would benefit from my religious guidance.
Me: Can I hear about your first day of kindergarten? Jimmy: Not tellin’.I turned 36 years old today. That makes me 252 in dog years.
For a birthday present, Jimmy made me flavored ice cubes out of diet soda.
8.2 Andy at 13 months
8.2 Andy at 13 months
Andy ran with his little football.
Karen, announcing: He’s running around the toys, heading to the kitchen gate
and...touchdown!
Karen was heading out the door and smelled the baby. Karen: Honey there’s poo-poo.
Me, half listening: I won’t respond to that nickname.
Karen: What?
Me: “Honey poo-poo.” Let’s give me a better nickname than that. Karen: No – the baby poo-poo’d.
Me: Oh! Sorry.
We stopped by the Lorenzie family’s nice home in Evanston – a near north town. Paul and Maja are artistic, and they have an energetic daughter who’s a real match for Ryan. Tammy is like his long lost twin sister. For years, they’ve had snowball fights, yard games, and so on. He gets a red face and so does she. He was missing a front tooth and so was she.
8.3 Circle update8.3 Circle update
The other day, friend Lee Kirby took me to an exotic vegetarian restaurant. Their dishes are promoted to cure various illnesses, like a cold or flu. I support their doing this! However, if they had a soup for bunions, I’d leave. I don’t need to see people soaking.
A quick backgrounder on Lee: He’s an artist who follows many creative endeavors, including cartoon drawing, western art painting, and improvisational acting. Someone is much more likely to make a movie about Lee’s life (“he rejected the system and went his own way”) than mine (“he folded immediately”).
Lee was assigned to draw a caricature of this famous, grizzled talk show host, and Lee made him look like a bum. The assistant producer questioned this. Lee: Well, that’s what he looks like.
Quick notes: Lee...
~ is a big fan of Jack LaLanne. Lee does a fine impersonation of him. ~ saves me from learning certain topics, because he knows them. For example,
8.4 Trip to St. Valentine’s Castle
We went to this interesting amusement park in the suburbs. Quick notes: St.
Valentine’s Castle…
~ is in the suburbs (oh, I said that), and set inside a forest.
~ has a red hearts look. The kiosks and concession stands are red mini-castles
with a candy-ish feel ab