August 8th, 2012 § permalink
It looked exactly like a firefighters picnic, but wasn’t.
It had the food tents, the firetrucks parked nearby, the kids running about — I almost rode my bike up to see if I could score some food, but something was off. For starters, it seemed a little closed off, not as spread out and welcoming as your normal picnic.
Also, normal picnics for firefighters don’t have so many people walking around with walkie-talkies. » Read the rest of this entry «
August 6th, 2012 § permalink
The man in the urban-cool cabbie cap took the stage. He looked out on the crowd of hooting, howling drunks. And with a smile, he turned on the PowerPoint presentation. » Read the rest of this entry «
August 3rd, 2012 § permalink
Millennium Park is how people in the 1960s imagined the future.
It’s Starfleet Command, where a multi-ethnic group of happy people wander among shiny buildings and modern arty looking things made by space aliens (or in this case, Frank Gehry). Even the guards travel around by Segway, a machine the producers of Logan’s Run would have considered a little over the top. » Read the rest of this entry «
August 1st, 2012 § permalink
The man in the pink polo and Cubs fisherman’s hat doesn’t use his credit card all summer, he said. The Cubs take care of that.
“All my groceries, every errand — cash,” the man said, trying to flag down a slowly cruising smoker in a black SUV. “It’s a benefit of living here.”
July 30th, 2012 § permalink
In a storefront on Devon between an upscale “Indian kitchen” and a store selling saris and tunics, an old woman sits alone.
She chatters on the phone in breakneck Hindi (or Gujarati or Bengali or Tamil for all you know), pausing once in a while to walk to the street outside and scream “Bread! Bread!” Then she turns back to her store, walking past the posters for Bollywood’s “Housefull 2″ and “Vicky Donor” and the large printed sign saying “Sale! Sale! Sale! Everything must go.” » Read the rest of this entry «
July 27th, 2012 § permalink
There were two WGN news vans on Chicago and an ABC 7 around the corner on Wabash. A newscaster gave the practiced “I’m listening but reserve the right to be suspicious” face to the nervous executive-type looking down the business end of a microphone and TV camera.
“Chicken sandwiches,” a man behind me said. “How can the media care more about chicken sandwiches than people?” » Read the rest of this entry «
July 25th, 2012 § permalink
My friend Nathan sees things. » Read the rest of this entry «
July 23rd, 2012 § permalink
Look, look, see, see. See how the diners dine. » Read the rest of this entry «
July 20th, 2012 § permalink
People sometimes ask me how I can commute 40 miles from Chicago to Aurora every day. *
I usually shrug and ask if they know of a newspaper job in Chicago. » Read the rest of this entry «
July 18th, 2012 § permalink
The young mother in the severe ponytail and blue-white workout clothes stepped up to the ledge, adjusted her grip and leapt, sailing off into the sky. » Read the rest of this entry «
