My Kind Of Town

Mike and I had a great time on our date night in the city last night. We are extremely fortunate to live so close to the Midwest’s largest city that we can simply pop in and out rather than making a trip out of it, and we never take that for granted.

Mike’s parents are both from the north side of Chicago. Many years ago, his grandfather’s family immigrated to the city from Ireland. All of the men on his father’s side of the family became Chicago police officers. That is, until his father defied convention by relocating to the Chicago suburbs and becoming a police officer there.

Then Mike went into sales and ruined the tradition completely.

Mike’s grandfather’s picture is on display at the River Shannon, a pub in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, along with several other Chicago police officers from the time. It’s a small establishment with a lot of character, and you can even bring your pets inside. On Cubs game days, fans can also get free hot dogs.

So, there is that Chicago history. Then there’s our personal history with Chicago.

Long story short- In the summer of 1993, we met at Grant Park’s Taste of Chicago. A few months later, we went on our first date at a White Sox game. We dated for six weeks and then stopped talking.

We then became friends for many years.

Then I married my first husband. We started dating after I separated from my husband.

He chose to tell me he loved me for the first time at the top of the John Hancock building. 

This is my favorite city.

So the whole reason I decided to write this post was because Mike had never been to Marshall Field’s on State Street, despite living here his entire life. 

I refuse to call it Macy’s.

With the window displays, the massive tree, and the Walnut Room, it’s such a magical place at Christmas that I couldn’t wait to show him around.

Plus, there is a buzz in department stores during the holidays, particularly in big-city department stores. If you have never been, you should go at any time of year. Nothing beats an old-fashioned city department store.

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We had planned to eat at The Walnut Room, but there was a wait, so they gave us a beeper instead. We were told that the wait could last up to two hours, but the woman said it is rarely that long.

But, you see, we’d left our suburban home HOURS earlier than usual due to rush hour traffic and a babysitter, so we were really REALLY hungry. We ended up exploring the department store, holding hands and giggling like kids out late on a school night before finally admitting defeat and returning our beepers.

We ended up eating at a Corner Bakery on Wabash under the el and were treated to an impromptu show when two of the employees got into an argument that Eddie Murphy couldn’t possibly be the white guy in the barbershop scene from Coming To America, and we decided that this was far superior to The Walnut Room.

Also, he was.

The white guy.

There is an entire Reddit feed dedicated to it.

It’s that good. 

Other highlights of our night out included:

As we walked down Michigan Avenue, a horse and carriage filled with a family yelled out “Merry Christmas!”

Have you seen the movie “Funny Farm,” where they try to make the village look more appealing? That’s exactly how it felt.

Cue the horse and carriage!

Then there was the guy in his ‘78 Vega driving up and down Michigan Avenue with a megaphone shouting “Happy Hanukkah!” I swear to God, I’m not making this up.

There was an elevator on the 7th floor of Marshall Fields full of people who couldn’t get off the 7th floor, and the door kept beeping and opening, and there they were! It was quite comical. 

I wonder if they’re still there? Perhaps someone should go check on them?

Then there were the lights in the trees blowing in the December breeze, and the music from all the businesses spilling out onto the streets. My mittened hand is joined to that of my best friend while we discuss our past and how much of it has been influenced by Chicago.

I really love this city.