Just thinking. That’s about all I’m doing tonight. I was going to hit up the International Cafe’s open mic night, but I just kinda wanted to sit at home. Add in listening to
The Lawrence Arms and it’s picture perfect. Of course, I’m not content to just sit here, I have to be thinking. Always thinking.
The Larry’s always remind me of my (very) brief time spent in Chicago. The first time was for the grueling 12 hour long interview/bar fun with the
PIRGs. That was, for all intents and purposes, the end of my college career. I remember feeling really different right after that, as if something very particular had changed. But that’s for another time, when I’m feeling a different kind of wistful.
Blustery winds and spiky hair, suits and sweaters from the late 70’s, that was my trip to Chicago. I came armed with a head full of pomade and a spiked belt, ready to see the city of wind. I didn’t do much outside Evanston, as I am gloriously afraid of getting shivved. However, I did wander about, and it was the first
real taste of a city I’d had in a long time. True, I’d been to all three C’s in Ohio, Boston, DC, etc, but they all felt like repeats. Don’t get me wrong, I love them all, but after the first few times in Cow-town, I knew what to expect from Cleveland and the Natty. DC is like my backyard, and Boston was just familiar (in a good way). There was something…interesting about Chicago. I can see why so many people I know love it. I can see exactly why that girl I dated my junior regretted leaving it. It’s got a pull, and it’s strong. The towering buildings with the crisp air. That sense of industrial butting up against gentrification, pulling people of all races and creeds in together. Intoxicating, to say the least.
I think it was the glory of the true midwest, for the first time. That’s definitely what I was experiencing. The airy flatness that gives way to nothing until Colorado, bounded by the
godless hordes to the north. But it’s a stop on the way out. It’s the last major city before the expanse. A gateway, worthy of it’s own arch. It’s a transforming point for those of us who grew up halfway between here and there, in Appalachia.
justinª