Fifteen minutes to midnight on the last day of the 19th century, a real estate historian named Mark Putney climbed to the roof of a downtown Chicago skyscraper and dreamed about the future. » Read the rest of this entry «
#731: Whirled History
December 28th, 2016 § permalink
I’m scared for the microfilm room at the Harold Washington Library.
It’s a vacant place, one avoided by even the street people who come to the library for the heat and the chairs. There’s one staffer there, maybe. Sometimes a security guard sits against the back wall, leans back and strikes up conversation, asks what era you’re looking for.
“1890s?” he said. “I like looking up the 1950s. I like looking at the old car prices. You could get a brand new car for…”
He names a price you don’t remember when it comes time to blog. He chuckles and the two of you walk about cars for a bit. » Read the rest of this entry «
#730: The Metaphoric Parable of the Pies That Actually Represent Other Concepts Than Pies – An Allegory
December 26th, 2016 § permalink
A pie showed up on my doorstep the other day.
It showed up on the doorstep I use every day, so it was quite convenient for me. I guess I could have gone out and purchased a pie, or at least asked for a free pie from any of the many bakeries I know and trust, but this pie showed up on the doorstep I use every day in a convenient and consumable format.
It even had a fork and a little sign that said “Eat me.”
So I did.
And I got violently ill. » Read the rest of this entry «
#729: Empty World
December 23rd, 2016 § permalink
I think I like the business district best when I’m alone.
It’s not alone-alone, of course. It’s city-alone, where solitude means hundreds instead of thousands milling, bustling, shoving, pushing, dawdling, daydreaming denizens crowding the walks and roads.
The day before Christmas weekend is city-alone. » Read the rest of this entry «
#728: January 24, 1975 10:55 am
December 21st, 2016 § permalink
The triple beep every CTA rider knows did its business.
“Beep beep beep. Your attention please…”
It was a medical emergency this time, one that slowed us every few dozen feet it seemed. Southbound on the Red Line, in the underground subway section where the world vanishes around you.
Luckily, we’re girded for these bits of dark. We people-watch, check our machines, read our books or just stare up at the train ads and wonder if “YOU ARE NOT ALONE” is a good thing to have on a sign reaching out to paranoid schizophrenics for a research study.
My eyes flitted around, looked at faces, ads, tried to read off the screens of others’ digital devices, when I saw the heart. » Read the rest of this entry «
#727: The Heart of the Book
December 19th, 2016 § permalink
“Books are…”
He trailed off, glanced around a bit, swirled his mug of coffee, sucked some air in through his teeth and let out a frustrated ah as he tried to find the end to the sentence.
“They’re living things.” » Read the rest of this entry «
#726: Lullaby on Blue
December 16th, 2016 § permalink
You opened your eyes, blinked twice, then closed them again.
You stretched your jaw and nuzzled the air the way a puppy does; half yawn, half testing to see if you remember how jaws work.
Then you glance at the 40 to 50 people standing by and decide you can catch a few more winks before the transit crew rousts you. » Read the rest of this entry «
#725: Help Nonprofits Survive Trump – Venue and Date
December 14th, 2016 § permalink
At 7 p.m. Jan. 18, 2017 — 40 hours before a dangerous man ascends to the highest post in the nation — come to Gallery Cabaret at 2020 N. Oakley Ave. to drink some beer, hear some stories and raise some money for groups that are going to need it.
But before then, here’s how your words can help a few good groups survive the next four years. » Read the rest of this entry «
#724: The Only Story
December 12th, 2016 § permalink
I tell stories. A lot of them.
I tell stories of a city, or at least the North Side, I grumble to myself when not feeling up to task. I tell stories of people and places and that time an alderman bit off another alderman’s ear.
I’m working on a project that, if all goes to plan, could be the first to quote both U.S. Appeals Court Judge Abner Mivka and Nadwuar the Human Serviette.
But is it wrong that the only story I want to tell today is the snow? » Read the rest of this entry «
#723: It’s Time We Talk About the Cubs and Trump, Part 2 of 2
December 9th, 2016 § permalink
On Wednesday, I laid out some of the tight political and financial ties between the family of Cubs’ owner Tom Ricketts and President-elect Donald Trump.
This is all leading up to me deciding if I can still support the team that means baseball to me. » Read the rest of this entry «
