Random Flashback for Friday 1/31/14

What this *is* ... the last picture of four of the five us from the winter 1994 Mysterious Murder Quest performed in the LVC chapel entitled "Til Death Us Do Part".  (Sorry, Gully ... I do not have a picture of the door we broke when I threw you through it "play-fighting".)

What this *is not* ... the last picture of any other 1994 Mysterious Murder Quests (check back in Mar/Apr, Jul, Sep and Oct ... because we did five different ones twenty years ago) ... nor is it the last picture of these actors (although it *is* the last picture of at least one of the actors performing in a Mysterious Murder Quest ... just not of the actor as a person [because actors are people too! {ooh .. .riddles!}]).

Good times!  Even better people!!

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 1

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 1:

Exclaiming "we live in Chicago" every time we drive over the Skyway.

It's a rite of passage for a passage right of way ... catching the first glimpse of the Chicago skyline from atop the giant bridge (just beyond the giant Walmart that popped up overnight a few years ago) ... (when traveling in from the east [and most trips out of town tend to include a return from that direction]) ... and then stating the quote above out loud, because it's been categorically true since Sep 2001 ...until today.

COUNTER:  For fifty days now, in the run up to this big move, I've stated something in this blog series that I'll miss about Chicago ... and for forty-nine of them, I've offered a counter that keeps me looking forward to what's ahead as a Floridian.  But dare I say it ... I'm not sure that anything can replace this experience.  And with that ... goodbye Chicago!

Random Thought for Thursday 1/30/14

Like Dominick's, the Sears Tower and the Cubs World Series win ... the relationship between me and Chicago is HISTORY.

In a moment, I'll be posting the final item in my bonus series that I've been writing for the last fifty days ... which seems like the perfect time, in case you missed any of those posts .... to list all fifty entries of "things I'll miss about Chicago ..."

50.  watching Linda Kollmeyer drunkenly fondle the lottery balls
49.  choosing which ethnicity's 7-11 to walk in my 'hood
48.  eating a fresh batch of Chicago mix popcorn
47.  participating in the annual holiday tradition going downtown with family
46.  hearing about all the murders
45.  hunkering down to avoid the derechos
44.  listening to whichever random celebrity was leading the seventh stretch song when the Cubs were home
43.  passing by all of the dogs in the 'hood when I'm out and about walking in it
42.  fighting with neighbors over "saved" street spots during the big snows
41.  seeing the end product of all of the construction currently underway
40.  being on the lookout for the urban coyotes
39.  taking LSD
38.  trying to escape the bottled water tax
37.  getting in the car and going away for the weekend
36.  being harassed by TCF Bank employees upon stepping foot on site at a Jewel
35.  telling the story about how we jumped the line for the Signature Lounge once Mistress Melissa displayed her decolletage
34.  fighting through the crowds of drunken girls outside of the bar on the corner at the end of my street
33.  experiencing Chicago style politics
32.  sighting all those celebrities
31.  determining whether that sudden sound is a gunshot or impromptu fireworks
30.  using CLTV as a remedy for insomnia
29.  hearing "I'm Peter Francis Greaci (Ge-RAAAY-ci) in every other commercial
28.  interacting with landlord Jim
27.  having the news be swallowed up by all kinds of CPS drama
26.  associating my time here with those that have passed (in a remember-y kind of way)
25.  preparing for any and all sports team small talk conversation
24.  celebrating Tornado Tuesdays
23.  scoring a box full of goodies at the book sale
22.  spending time in the local grocery stores
21.  shopping at Old Orchard
20.  learning so much about the Polish
19.  working out of the physical Chicago offices of my employer
18.  zooing it up for free at the Lincoln Park Zoo
17.  leaving town via Midway or O'Hare
16.  hanging out on college campuses
15.  walking through the 'hood on my lunch hour
14.  listening to all of the apartment noises
13.  spending my money at all the tourist attractions
12.  making the rounds of all of the Walker Bros Original Pancake Houses
11.  diversifying my life experience
10.  sampling the goods as if I were on a reality TV show at all the foodie events
9.    weathering *any* meteorological situation with Tom Mother F'in Skilling
8.    seeing snow
7.    getting my buzz on whilst playing a few rounds of Golden Tee
6.    ordering from all the favorite take out places
5.    walking home after hopping around the local bars
4.    transporting myself publicly via Metra, PACE, CTA bus or el
3.    gazing at, driving around, boating on or getting in Lake Michigan
2.    spending quality time with this crew, my Indiana family
1.    exclaiming "we live in Chicago" every time we drive over the Skyway

SEE EACH ONE IN DEPTH HERE:
http://capcognition.blogspot.com/search/label/50%20Things%20I%27ll%20Miss%20About%20Chicago

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 2

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 2:

Spending quality time with this crew, my Indiana family.

With the majority of these people (seen here in black and white to look all old-timey, even though the photo is just a year or two old) once living in the South Bend area (a few of the young uns have scattered as they aged) ... visiting with them was the perfect getaway from the big city ... with the perfect people for the perfect activities (board games, Michigan rummy, feasting on the holidays, the occasional classy croquet contest and drinking ... drinking ... and a bit more drinking).  Plus ... most of them came into the big city multiple times in the past dozen years.  It goes without saying that being farther from them is the hardest part about the move ...

COUNTER:  You'll come see us, right?  We'll come see you, right?  Until then ... we've always got the Facebook to make it seem like we never left (I've been known to post a bit on there, in case you haven't noticed ...)

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 1/29/14

Chasing the Super Bowl.

Used in a sentence:  "I'm going to the Super Bowl ... (place where they had it last year) ... which is the new tradition that we started in 2013 ... chasing the Super Bowl from city to city as a motivation to travel in February."

[Yes, the big move is still on ... the New Orleans trip just kicks it all off.]

This will be my first time in NOLA, and I've already gotten some valuable tips ... consider going commando so as to make it easier to acquire beads ... watch where you step as regurgitation in public is also a New Orleans tradition ... don't upset anyone in the coven (AHS finale tonight!) ... and plan to eat ... and eat ... and eat ...  Oh right ... plus also watch the big game come Sunday (unless they move it to a different date and time due to bad weather, of course).

KEEPING IT FROSTY, NEW YORK (I MEAN NEW JERSEY):
http://www.forbes.com/sites/monteburke/2014/01/27/why-an-outdoor-cold-weather-super-bowl-is-a-great-idea/

AKA ... MY TRAVEL PLANS IN THE YEARS AHEAD:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1514497-super-bowl-locations-list-of-future-super-bowl-sites

50 FREE THINGS TO DO IN NOLA ... SIGN ME UP:
http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/attractions/fiftyfreethings.html

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 3

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 3:

Gazing at, driving around, boating on or getting in Lake Michigan.

I may not know how to swim (insert gasp here), but that doesn't mean I don't love the water (double negative alert -- I do love the water).  From the "crick" out behind my mom's third husband's house in Schuylkill Haven to the Quittie by which I grew up (even through college) to the mighty Susquehanna when I was in law school (loved by Demon as well) ... my living near water hit its peak with my time in Chicago enjoying Lake Michigan.  *This* view is the one I saw from the favorite spot on the beach, and is one I'll miss (but certainly keep with me in my mind's eye).

COUNTER:  Does the powerful Atlantic Ocean trump Lake Michigan?  Only time will tell ...

Random Tune for Tuesday 1/28/14

And, with this post today, so ends another year of my annual series "dead celebrity tune trilogy" featuring those who passed in the year that just closed.

Why not feature this guy (if it were somehow fifteen years ago in '98, I could have featured this woman with whom he duets)?  And why not feature a song that features the great town of Chicago (and the pawn shops therein), what with me being less than 48 hours away from the big move?

No one does story songs better than country music, and no one does love gone wrong better than Ms. Wynette ... and Mr. Jones (RIP).

[Now here's hoping some random famous people die in 2014 so that I have good tunes to randomly choose next year this time.  Wait a minute ... perhaps I have a priority or two out of whack ...]

IN A PAWNSHOP IN CHICAGO ... :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9KniULwvjE

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 4

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 4:

Transporting myself publicly via Metra, PACE, CTA bus or el.

Now I get why they sell these el maps as wall art ... public transportation is baked in to be a part of Chicago living.  Thanks to the job I had in Schaumburg back in the mid-aughts, I really got to figure things out by spending up to two hours each day back and forth on a combination of all four (and I learned how to sleep with my hand wrapped around my bag so I could catch some z's [and hopefully not miss my stop]).  But it's the el that has taken me many places and been an ever present part of my life (the two apartments near Wrigley ... in the same building ... were literally NEXT to the tracks ... such that I'm not going to know how to live with silent sounds [if you permit that oxymoron] in a new place), so it's the el I'll miss the most.

COUNTER:  According to Mr. Wiki:  "Tri-Rail is a commuter rail line linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach ... [a] 70.9 mile long system [with] 18 stations along the Southeast Florida coast."  But the real question is:  "Is there a people-of-the-tri-rail website" mocking its passengers?

Random Memorial for Monday 1/27/14

Gone but not forgotten:

Snowmobiling through the woods near Elverson in the late seventies.

Disclaimer:  this is an image provided by the google, because I wanted to try to find a machine that looked somewhat authentic to my experience.  As much as I had hoped to find a picture of the one I actually rode in all of my dad's photos after he passed last year, I did not find such a winter shot.  It's almost like someone didn't want marriage #3 to exist.  ;)

Actually, to say I "rode" the snowmobile isn't too accurate, as I think I was up front on someone's lap hanging on for dear life, and the more distinct memory is of the snow hitting my face as we sped through the path in the woods near French Creek State Park (which is where my dad and wife #3 lived, with our blended family, for the few months that marriage lasted).  I couldn't have been but 5 or 6 ... but I'm glad I have that memory of that happy time ... in that moment ... in those woods.

And with the weather as it is right now ... all cold and snowy ... it's the perfect memory for this winter night ... a memory of a moment that is surely missed.

IN THE SPIRIT OF SNOWMOBILING IN THE SEVENTIES:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfjX7d9IDZg

I LIVED ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THIS PLACE FOR A FEW MONTHS LONG AGO:
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/frenchcreek/

SPEAKING OF EARLY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES:
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/how-far-back-can-you-remember-when-earliest-memories-occur-962749

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 5

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 5:

Walking home after hopping around the local bars.

I have been spoiled during the last half of my dozen years in Chitown to be able to end a night of social bar crawling ... I mean bar hopping (... as bar crawling in this context sounds like I have a drinking problem when I honestly have no problem drinking ...).  Of course, even walking is not without risk (I know someone who has a scar on his forehead from trying to do this [but hey, it was "slippy out" {as my people back home say}])  Having traveled and socially drank frequently in the last few years, I can state that it is a luxury that few cities offer, and I will most certainly miss it (in five days, I'll be putting extra copper pennies in the car [so as to fool breathalyzers]).

COUNTER:  Since the exact domicile hasn't been secured as of yet, I guess it might be too early to rule out that it won't be a bar-friendly location ... but I fear I'll be much less free to imbibe down south if it's going to involve a car ride home.  (KIDS -- don't drink and drive!)

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 1/26/14

What Chicago is talking about this week:

Polar Vortex 2:  Revenge of the Vortex
Polar Vortex 2:  More Polar than Before
The Return of the Polar Vortex

Or whatever title they'll come up with to keep people scared and inside (where, to be fair, folks probably belong).

Just to show how fast-paced today's world is, I'm already "over it" with a "been there, done that" attitude (whomever is in charge of the weather should really take after the Indiana Jones movies and wait a few decades before releasing a sequel).  Plus, with it being all relative, wind chills of 40 below just don't scare me any more since I survived the walk to get the paper in the last one, and I have already packed my heaviest winter coats because now temps of 5 degrees without wind actually feels kind of warm.

So yep ... this too shall pass (and even if it doesn't ... I'm still moving to Florida in a few days so it will no longer be my problem with which to deal AKA neener-neener-neener) ...

SPEAKING OF SEQUEL TITLES:
http://www.allmovietalk.com/?p=55

SPEAKING OF SEQUEL GAPS:
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1852056_1852251_1852063,00.html

SPEAKING OF POLAR VORTEXES:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/01/polar-vortex-2-the-return-of-some-really-cold-weather/

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 6

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 6:

Ordering from all the favorite take out places.

Is there a sadder sight to see than the whole menu file in the trash? (Yep, there's more packing going on here this weekend ...)  Although I may try to squeeze in another order or two in the remaining 6 days in town (!?!) ... that means no more "Bacon Cheese Mushroom Chicken in a pita, lettuce mayo only with Bacon Cheese Fries" from eat-a-pita ... or "Cheese Thicks" from Leona's ... or "Bibs Bacon Burger/Fried Chicken Dinner/Chicken Cordon Blue Bites with Cream of Chicken Soup" from Panino's ... or the "Cheese Steak Salad with no black olives, add bacon and extra ranch dressing" from Philly's Best.  Oh my ... I'm getting verklempt.

COUNTER:  This too shall pass.  New menus will be slipped under the Florida apartment door.  And those menus are bound to include items that have some combination of chicken and bacon and cheese on them.  Or at least that's what I tell myself to get through this painful break-up with these fine Chitown establishments.

Random Soapbox for Saturday 1/25/14

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...

... why in the world is *this* stretch of Irving Park marked as one of the new city radar hot spots to catch speeders?  (If it's part of your drive, know that the warning period has expired and tickets are now being issued as of last Sunday ...)

Look, I get it ...we need money (I guess I can still use the royal "we" for a few more days until the big move) ... and these are easy ways to get coin in the in the coffers.  And I actually like them a little better than the red light cameras, which were just as Orwellian but even more "on the entrapment tip" in my humble opinion ... since anyone who drives in the city knows that you have to get out in the intersection if you want a chance to turn (and that opposing traffic only gives you that chance once your light is red) -- so it ended up being like issuing tickets to fish in a barrel.

Here's the problem I have ... the zones they created were purposefully placed near parks and city schools.  If you can't see from the photo, this hot spot is bordered on BOTH sides ... by cemeteries -- BIG cemeteries.  Ultimately, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised.  I mean, we let dead people vote in this city ... so it's only to be expected that those same dead folks get some special protection against speeders, riiiight?

BE INFORMED ... BE READY ... BE SAFE:
https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zDIlbNW6Kzv4.kWRTNheTjAho

THE DEAD ZONE HOT SPOT:
http://theexpiredmeter.com/tag/chicago-speed-cameras/

EXPECTED TO RAISE 15 MILLION:
http://www.wbez.org/news/big-bark-small-bite-speed-cameras-so-far-109485

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 7

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 7:

Getting my buzz on whilst playing a few rounds of Golden Tee.

I'm *kind of* a social drinker ... and definitely a binge drinker ... which means, on those once or twice a month social evenings, I start my night Golden Tee-ing at the local bar before beginning the bar crawl.  Mind you, I'm not the best player ever (partly because I refuse to use the backspin and bite features [I play au naturale ... well, except I'm wearing clothes that show off my tattoos], much to the chagrin of the pro-player that occasionally joins in at Mahoney's) ... but it is most definitely tradition, and occasionally I finish with a respectable score (as documented by this photo on my phone from Dec 7 2012).

COUNTER:  You would *think* this would be a national game found anywhere, but apparently people play REAL golf in sunny Florida, so the option is not as prevalent.  What *is* at multiple establishments, however, is made by the same company ... Silver Strike Bowling (I guess because all the old folks in Florida bowl?) ... Time to practice my virtual follow-through!

Random Flashback for Friday 1/24/14

I feel certain that I warned you.

This year (2014) will include many many many pictures related to my theatre endeavors twenty years ago (in 1994) ... and whole months (like this one) will be devoted to the Mysterious Murder Quests that we did at LVC during that time.

Pictured tonight is Erik S ... playing up his Ralph Walters/aka Mr. Raoul character, described as "a recent high school graduate and best friend of Chip (that was me!), known as a funny bungler who occasionally stumbles across some kind of true psychic vision in his amateur psychic business" (hence the spooky imagery and otherworldly look he's rockin' in the photo).

I also had a pic of the "seance" he led in a key part of the show, but his back was to the photographer, so I had to go with this one instead (he negotiated for parity in press publicity back in the day ... so savvy was he ... [just kidding]).  He *did* stay in the business, though, and his next movie is currently in some stage of production:  http://www.12bellsmovie.com/.

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 8

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 8:

Seeing snow!

Have I said this yet?  I don't want my street cred to be damaged ... the move was planned many months ago ... before the worst winter in some time (certainly the worst since I've been here) occurred ... I don't want people saying I wussed out!  But I will miss snow ... and so I made a quick and unprofessional photo montage of three of my favorite Chi-snow pics ... the back yard at Logan Square, the street and the bus stuck on it during the Snowmageddon that closed down LakeShoreDrive a few years back, and the view "out my window" just this season.  Goodbye forever, snow.

COUNTER:  Well, I guess there is a chance I'll be coming back to visit during winter months ... and "Mother" has made Cold Miser and Heat Miser compromise at least once before ... so I guess it may not be completely true that I'll *never* see snow again ...

Random Thought for Thursday 1/23/14

I had a dream.

I waited to share it (it actually did happen this past Monday night ... well, more likely Tuesday morning), because I didn't in any way want to take the spotlight away from Dr. King.  It may have been fueled by the combination of extreme sugar and extreme exhaustion (I increased the intake so as to pack in a craze) coupled with the post I did Monday night in the midst of all that excitement where I remembered the chicken boxes we used for storage when I was younger ... but it was a unique one, and I'm open to anyone's ideas as to what it all meant.

First things first ... it started with me riding in a car that my bio-dads was driving and I was anxiously watching as he kept on falling asleep and driving through the red lights.  The third time, a cop pulled out and was right behind us, but then passed us to chase someone else.  Then he saw an old friend and pulled up beside him (unrecognizable to me ... one of those random characters in dreams supplied by central casting, so to speak), and then he cut off the engine, rolled down the window and started talking to the person, with his foot out of the door pushing the car along (Flintstones style).  He looked at me and said, "that's my boy" and then the scene transitioned (as is done so easily in dreams).

Suddenly we were at the chicken plant that he used to manage (well, kind of ... it wasn't the exact layout that I actually do remember but was a dream created set piece).  As happens in dreams, we also were suddenly much much younger ... and it seemed to me like I was Charlie ... Charlie and the Chicken Factory ... and my dad was, for reasons unclear, a hippie artistic type with flowing long hair (a look he never once had in his life) ... he was the chicken artiste making a triumphant return to his plant.

There was a parade down the assembly line, and I followed along all childlike, even getting a hug from him at one point (that was also a "look" he never once had in his life).  He eventually disappeared and I explored the location, eventually finding his old office/chicken workshop.  In it were hanging two pictures of his muses ... one was my mother ... and the other one I couldn't see ... it was like I was looking at it but it was hidden from my view.  Behind the workshop were a bunch of people sitting around in a break room.  Here the mood was more somber, and one older lady pulled me aside and told me, as if she were sharing the secret of life itself ... "He hurts people because he loves people."

And then, my favorite part ... there were two large rabbits in the room ... and one of them stretched over to me, nuzzled the soda can in my hand like he was sniffing it, and said (yes, they were talking rabbits ... but not cartoons ... live action talking rabbits) ... "Oh goody ... he's got Sprite."

After which, I woke up .... and immediately grabbed the pen and pad by the bed to write everything down because it was such a bizarre experience.  Any takers?  Any ideas as to what it meant?  Or was it just too much sugar (I had been cutting back for the last few months, so it may have been like an acid trip for my overactive imaginative often times too creative brain)?

Either way ... my takeaways ... rabbits like Sprite ... there was a secret woman in my dad's past (hard to believe in light of all the not-so-secret women involved in his many marriages) ... and that, perhaps, in some twisted way ... to love is to hurt is to love.

AN EXPLANATION FOR THE RABBIT:
http://www.auntyflo.com/dream-dictionary/rabbit-or-hare-dream

I WOULD HAVE SO EXPECTED COKE TO BE PRODUCT PLACED INTO MY DREAM:
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/brands/sprite/

COME TO THINK OF IT, THERE WAS A CHICKEN IN WONKA'S FACTORY:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zail7Gdqro

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 9

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 9:

Weathering *any* meteorological situation with Tom Mother F'in Skilling.

Oops ... sorry .. didn't mean to almost swear there.  It's just hard not to get excited ... about a guy who, in turn, gets so darn excited about all things weather related.  Derechos, polar vortexes, murderous heat waves, flooding ... or even just nice and normal days ... all are presented with vim and vigor such that he literally has to be rushed off the sound stage every time he presents on the newscast because he has so much to share (and much of it stats driven).  He has me so trained that I'd rather turn on the TV to see what's going on in my weather world instead of looking out the window ... which, I think, is the ultimate compliment you can pay someone in that business.

COUNTER:  John Morales?  Steve Weagle?  Some other "chief of meteorology"?  One of you ready to step up?  Or in Florida, is the weather simply sun all the time (except between 2 and 3 in the afternoon ... and except when hurricane winds are a-blowin')?  Can you tell I might have visited a time or two?

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 1/22/14

Bessie Cramps.

Used in a sentence:  "Since I've always thought of Charley Horses to be limited to a certain part of the leg in the upper thigh ... and since my muscle spasms are exclusively in my calves, I'm going to refer to them henceforth as Bessie Cramps."

Not that I get them too often ... but almost always after a night of heavy drinking (dehydration, anyone?) and almost always in the same spot.  And because I have no idea why a horse named Charley is so memorialized by this kind of spasmic event in the first place, I'm at least going to name mine in such a way as to make sense (well, to me) ... and Bessie is what I would say in any kind of word game that asks for the most popular name for a cow (did you miss how I get them exclusively in my calves?).

If you see me fall down and yell "Bessie Cramps!", do a man a favor and start massaging me, eh? (Around my calf area, please ... nothing [too] creepy).  Alternatively, I could limit the number of nights of heavy drinking in my social calendar ... but that seems unlikely ... moves are stress-ful!

DID IT MAYBE ORIGINATE IN CHICAGO ... AT A WHITE SOX GAME?:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/charley-horse.html

BESSIE CRAMPS GET BETTER WITH REST AND TIME (AND DRINKING WATER):
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002066.htm

GO FIGURE ... NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THE TEN NAMED BESSIE:
http://www.care2.com/causes/10-famous-cows-to-inspire-you.html?page=1

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 10

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 10:

Sampling the goods as if I were on a reality TV show at all the foodie events.

Like the Taste (before it got too thuggy and stabby and dangerous-y) ... or the Weber Grill fest (which had lots of bite size bits of deliciousness) ... or the various food-truck-in-parking-lot gatherings (the mayor won't let them actually drive on the streets and sell) ... all special afternoons that let me live up to my statement that, although I didn't quite qualify as a foodie by literal definition, I was, without a doubt, an "eatie"

COUNTER:  There's literally a website called www.foodtrucksfortlauderdale.com.  I betcha John P Jack Seiler lets 'em drive around, too!  Oh ... and there are events throughout February already scheduled.  Things may be looking up on this front.

Random Tune for Tuesday 1/21/14

Week number two of my annual series accurately named as the "dead celebrity tune trilogy" ... and I stumbled on this youtube video featuring a track from the 1973 vinyl LP pictured to the side ... which I had no idea even existed.

I mean sure, I knew that Archie and his dingbat liked to gather around the piano and sing about Glenn Miller and Herbert Hoover and exclaim "gee, our old LaSalle ran great" (exact lyrics I didn't decipher until quite late in life) ... but I just simply didn't know they put out a whole album of tunes.

Truth be told, while googling to see if I knew any songs of Mindy McCready for tonight's post (the original post I thought I'd be randomly mentioning, but it turns out I didn't ... I only knew from her seizure on Celebrity Rehab) ... I just kept on googling and found another famous person who passed last year who was probably even more deserving of this spot ... Jean Stapleton.

Oh ... and now I have something to look for at flea markets!

JEAN STAPLETON, UNSTIFLED:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fThKSNRy8o

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 11

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago:

Thing 11:

Diversifying my life experience.

Despite the fact that Chitown remains one of the most hella-segregated cities in America, I can say that I've gladly been exposed to so many different races, religions, political parties, backgrounds, orientations and creeds since arriving a dozen years ago (which, of course, makes for an interesting Facebook feed).  I sincerely appreciate the well-rounded feeling it gives me, from the soul food potluck dinners we used to have when we worked the holiday at TCF, to my learning first hand about Diwali from co-workers at Kaplan, to explaining daylight savings time and Groundhog Day and Halloween to individuals born internationally ... those are just some of the things I might never have done had I stayed back home in central PA.

COUNTER:  I've walked Ocean Drive in South Beach before, so I know that I can find me some international exposure if I seek it out ... plus, I have a feeling I'm about to get to know every type of Latin that exists under that ethnic umbrella before too long (which I'm counting on ... I like Latins and Latins like me!) ...

Random Memorial for Monday 1/20/14

Gone but not forgotten:  my Daddy's chicken boxes.

Among other things, this long weekend (what with the holiday today), was the first BIG packing weekend (three rooms *almost* down ... four to go), and as box after box and bin after bin start piling up by the front door for the movers, I started to miss these 40 lb waxed boxes in which everything was stored when I was little.

I mean, after all, I do come from a heavy-into-the-chicken family ... and my bio-dads did run a chicken plant when I was growing up (which was how he met wives #2 and #4 [the first of which was my bio-moms]) ... so these things were always down in the basement or up in the attic, usually with our winter clothes (come to think of it, I'm not quite sure how it was that I ended up not *smelling* like chicken all the time, but there must have been secret).

Storage containers that I bet would be perfect for the library I've been packing most of the night tonight (I don't think I've ever thrown a book away in my life ... and I don't think I'm starting now), you are most certainly missed!

MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE READ THIS FIRST:
http://www.diylife.com/2007/08/10/packing-books-the-best-way/

ACTUALLY, IT LOOKS LIKE THESE TYPES OF BOXES HAVE BEEN "GREENED":
http://interstatecontainer.wordpress.com/tag/greencoat/

SPEAKING OF CHICKEN PLANTS, GRIMES IS CLOSING:
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/01/perdue_closing_fredericksburg.html

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 12

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 12:

Making the rounds of all of the Walker Bros Original Pancake Houses.

I'm not exactly sure how all six current houses of pancakes can each be called original, but I've managed to take family to eat at three of them (all relatively recently ... even though I've been here a dozen years, it took some time to stumble across this gastronomic gem).  I'm a little sad that I'll be leaving town NOT having eaten at the other three (Arlington Heights, Highland Park and Lincolnshire) ... but any sadness I feel is turned to happiness as soon as I recall their special bacon-infused waffles that have made many a visit the highlight of my day.

COUNTER:  IHop ... are you listening?  Bacon-infused waffles!  Can someone in your Florida stores get on that right away please!  I'll be there in about two weeks ...

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 1/19/14

What Chicago is talking about this week:

Clark!

Not mild-mannered reporter Kent ... and not the nearby street (although that's getting close to the truth)  ... but a *new* mascot for the Chicago Cubs.  I say *new*, because although it's being reported as the first mascot in the team's history, interwebs research turns up an actual bear that was the mascot temporarily almost a hundred years ago.  Sadly, it met its demise when it jumped out of the "express wagon" in which it was being transported and "loped" into a factory, where it "threw thirty five girl employees into a panic" (quotes courtesy of an old timey newspaper article located via google image).

Sadly, I'll never get to see Clark out and about on the 'hood streets (although bears and cubs and such do roam freely nearby, and have for many many years, particular on weekends after bars close), seeing as how the impending move to Florida will take me away from Wrigley ... but I can say I'm glad they passed on Woo Woo man (too loud, and quite possibly soon unable to "perform" as he has in the past) and the Billy the Cub unauthorized dude (too racist, according to police reports of some unseemly things he was doing to passersby who were African American).

I just hope the mascot head has been fitted with working tear ducts ... you know ... for when it's time for the post-season.

NOT QUITE THE FIRST MASCOT AS EVERYONE IS SAYING:
http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2014/01/15/cubs-mascots-a-dark-and-tragic-history

WOO-WOO IS LOSING HIS VOICE (IS THAT A SURPRISE?):
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-10-05/sports/ct-spt-1006-cubs-ronnie-woo-chicago-20131006_1_biggest-cubs-fan-ronnie-woo-former-cub-reed-johnson

LAWYERED!:
http://nesn.com/2013/07/chicago-cubs-force-unauthorized-mascot-billy-cub-to-stay-away-from-wrigley-field-video/

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 13

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 13:

Spending my money at all the tourist attractions.

There's something to be said about Chicago having so many places to go and so many things to see and do (... and good times to be had ... wait, that's Hersheypark's ad from the eighties ...) that, after a dozen years as my adopted hometown, I've only now started to think that maybe I've run out of options.  And there are so many favorites, that there's not room to list them all ... but the show space at the Aquarium with its view of the Lake, and the miniature-rooms and shadow-boxes installations at the Art Museum, and the annual Christmas Trees of the World exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry .. and *this* view (it's me ... that's my Adidas sneaker ... and don't zoom in or you can see up my shorts!) stepping out over Chicago on the 103rd floor near the top of the Sears Tower (look, people, you can rename it as Willis, but when I arrived in town, it was the Sears Tower, so that's what it will always be in my mind) ... they are all for sure on that list!

COUNTER:  Ummm ... the international swimming hall of fame will be in the same town as me in 13 days ... so there's that ...

Random Soapbox for Saturday 1/18/14

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...

... I've noticed that the new boy (funny how when you hit your forties,  young people just seem SO young), at the local grocery store branch of my bank has a teardrop tattoo on the webbing of his hand ... something I notice every time he hands me my rolls of quarters so I can do the laundry every ten days or so.

And in my ongoing desensitization to violence, my first thought is that, "Meh ... doesn't impress me much ... just being one.  I'll *really* be scared when you got multiple drops to represent your multiple killings."

Of course, I'm still smart enough to know that such thoughts need to be reserved for my inner dialogue (or should that be inner monologue?), and I'm not using his body art as an ice-breaker to start a conversation.  I just say "thanks" and leave and then get all Judgey McJudgerton on the walk home (exhibit a:  *this* post!).

I'm also certainly not knocking tattoos ... I have five (with plans for three more ... one for each semester of law school I survived [I was in the night program, hence the extra time]) AND I have a family member who inks for a living.  In my opinion, though, it's just all about placement ... for instance, mine only come out to play in wife-beater-worthy situations (although, let's face it, I do often try to push the limits as to what qualifies for that classification).  Points to thug-life-banker-boy for at least having the foresight to teardrop his hand instead of his face (and even more points if the real truth here is that he's escaped thug life ... and then shame on me for even bringing all this up).

Bottom line ... I shouldn't have to wonder if he'd rather be handing me my rolls of quarters ... in a sock ... prison beatdown style ... every time I do my laundry!  (Admittedly, I *do* have a twisted imagination, which isn't necessarily his fault ....)

A "LIBRARY" OF PRISON TATTOOS:
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/photogallery/prison-tattoo-field-guide.html?curPhoto=1

A SECOND OPINION AS TO WHAT THEY MEAN:
http://imgur.com/gallery/E5xZu

ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE, SOME DO HELP GANG MEMBERS ESCAPE THE LIFE:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/garcia/17382901-452/suburban-counselor-helps-kids-escape-gangs.html

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 14

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 14:

Listening to all of the apartment noises.

Hey ... it's an old building of nine units (almost like that google image was commissioned for this bonus series of posts, no?) ... so there's bound to be some ambient noise that's shared with all tenants.  I'm not just talking about the occasional copulation concert (truth be told, the upstairs girls and the downstairs boy do not appear to have much game ... or else I've shamed them into abstinence by posting about it on Facebook) ... but instead, how almost every dog howls when the fire engine goes by (and, with a station at the end of the block, that's pretty often), or the sound of bathroom ceilings collapsing (once every two years, like clockwork, because of the upstairs neighbors [just like in the picture!]), or the pitter patter of the tiny feet running above (not babies ... the 'hood's too young for all that ... but the upstairs puppies like to play fetch ... for that I can vouch).

COUNTER:  Unless my dream comes true and a house can be found that is the nexus of cheaper price and more square footage down in FL, chances are I'll hear neighborly noise down there too ... and Floridians appear to be crazy ... so that which I over hear is bound to only get MORE exciting!

Random Flashback for Friday 1/17/14

And now ... as I promised last week ... all FIVE of us that were preparing for the murder mystery at LVC twenty years ago at this time of year in 1994.

I welcome the uber-talented Karen H and the oh so mercurial Erik S to this flashback fest ... she holding the candlestick ... he holding the Bible (which does have a knife sticking out of it [so edgy we were back then] and yes, he is wearing gloves [the better to strangle with]) ... and Gully has a gun instead of rings on that pillow.  What can I say?  It was a trope heavy photo shoot.

Why am I shoeless?  Just for the hell of it (I mean, for the heck of it ... this photo was taken in a chapel, for God's sake ... I mean, for goodness sake).  I blame Abbey Road and Paul McCartney, of course.  Two more weeks for this particular show (but murder mysteries were a big part of 1994, so there will be similar photos in flashbacks on many many Fridays this year).

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 15

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 15:

Walking through the 'hood on my lunch hour.

This one is a relatively new development, although it does hearken back to early Chicago living (2001-2008) when my "exercise" was taking Demon out on his walks, but I'll miss turning my lunch hour into a walk through the 'hood, as I've been doing since fall.  I have a southern path down to my old center and back ... and a western path over to Ashland and back ... and a northern path up to the uptown Target and back ... (I never could get an eastern path up and running because there was a lake in my way).  I know for sure I'll miss them because I haven't been able to go out on one for a while (polar vortex first, now I'm doing moving tasks on lunch break instead), and the weight I shed these past few months is slowly creeping back on.

COUNTER:  Well, there might be an ocean in my way down there, but here's hoping I can upgrade from a daily walk to a daily bike ride on my lunch break  ('cause my cardio is severely lacking, yo).  But if I can't, at least I'll get a tan while I'm out and about!

Random Thought for Thursday 1/16/14

I wonder how "rip you a new one" became a phrase that we all are so comfortable using?

NOTE:  With that opening sentence, perhaps you might want to abort now, as it can only get worse.

I mean, was there someone, in some medieval village at some time, who actually turned to the person with whom he was fighting, and said ... "I'll show you.   I'm going to explore your perineum until I find the right spot ... and then I'm going to use a knife, or a tool, or my own two hands and I'm going to create an opening that I'll make sure connects to your rectum."

I don't know about you ... that just seems like such a specific way to escalate an argument, no?  And, ultimately, once the painful process was completed, wouldn't the end result be that you'd now be subject to twice as much ... um ... "waste" from that person at twice the speed?  Seems like the outcome for you is just as bad as it is for the person for whom you opened up a second waste canal.

I just don't get it.

BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU GOOGLE SEARCH DOUBLE ANUS:
http://www.jpedsurg.org/article/S0022-3468(06)00879-7/abstract

FROM A SLANG DICTIONARY:
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/rip-a-new-asshole

A DIGESTIVE SYSTEM PRIMER:
http://www.westonaprice.org/digestive-disorders/primer-digestive-system

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 16

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 16:

Hanging out on college campuses.

Disclaimer ... it's not so much that I was creepin' (mostly I wasn't ... mostly) ... it's that my work required it of me -- and I didn't mind ... which, in and of itself, can't really be any surprise, since I was so comfortable in that space that I extended my college/campus life from 1989 all the way to 2001 (if you count LVC, and California University of PA, and then LVC again, and then Widener, and then back to LVC, and then back to Widener).  When it was all said and done, most of my Chi-time was spent on the beautiful location in the accompanying picture ... Loyola Lakeshore.  I searched for a Damen Hall lobby photo (the *most* time I spent was sitting there at a table next to the escalators), but settled for this instead, because it captures how pretty this place is.

COUNTER:  Maybe I'll be called on by the work locals to visit Broward College or Nova Southeastern University?  Or maybe it's that a 40+ year old man shouldn't be hanging out on college campuses at that age ...

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 1/15/14

Goldtatze ... Good Grief!

As used in a sentence, "By now you may have seen the photos across the interwebs (as I did) ... but I got to tell you, these people really know how to set up a cat kingdom ... Goldtatze ... good grief!"

Once upon a time, I lived with a dog and four cats, and I can only imagine the fun they would have had with this kind of room (well, not the dog, as he would have been left down below chasing them through the options up above).  Truth be told, though, I'm not sure that they would have let each other pass on some of those contraptions.

Filing this one away for some later date in the future when my brood grows again ...

MORE PHOTOS FOUND HERE:
http://www.hauspanther.com/2014/01/09/amazing-german-designed-cat-climbing-furniture/

WORD HIPPO'S TRANSLATION OF THE GERMAN WORDS:
http://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the-meaning-of/german-word-tatze.html

THE BEST AMERICANS HAVE TO OFFER (WHERE'S OUR CREATIVITY)?:
http://www.catsplay.com/cat-furniture-styles/modern-cat-furniture/hollywood-franklin-cat-tower-catsplay

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 17

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago:

Thing 17:

Leaving town via Midway or O'Hare.

I like driving (and I cannot lie), but there are certain trips where one must fly (look at me being all mix-a-lot-esque).  And whether doing the poor man's flight and taking Southwest out of Midway OR the work sponsored trip or two out of O'Hare, I'm afraid to add up the number of hours I've spent in line at the ticketing counter, or at the checkpoint, or wasting time at a restaurant, or camped out in the gate, or next to my appropriate pillar before boarding, or fighting impolite crowds at the luggage area, unsure if my baggage would actually arrive on the carousel I was told.  But you know what ... all that goes out the window (metaphorically) when I catch a glimpse out the window (literally) of the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan from many many thousand feet up.

COUNTER:  What's this?  Not one?  Not two?  But *three* airports service what will be my new hometown (Palm Beach, Hollywood AND Miami)!  So many choices (and let's face it, I can always come back to my adopted hometown to visit to get that skyline view again).

Random Tune for Tuesday 1/14/14

I sure do love a tradition (almost as much as I love a countdown) ... and so, without any further ado, tonight I'm launching my fifth annual "dead celebrity tune trilogy" (yep, this tradition has been with me for the FIVE years I've been posting).

The rules are simple ... for the next three weeks of Tuesdays, the random tunes will each be somehow connected to a celebrity (as I define the word) who passed in the year that just ended.

And I have to kick it off with Lou Reed, if only because I was at the Pearl Jam concert in Baltimore this past October when Eddie added a tune or two that night in honor of the legend.  (Also because I secretly hoped that, at his funeral, there was a row of african american women in a semi-circle behind his casket, saying ... "doo, da doo, da doo, do da do doo, da doo, da doo, doo da doo dooooo".)

THOSE WHO HAVEN'T WALKED ON THE WILD SIDE HAVEN'T YET LIVED:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUntj4z3v0w

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 18

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 18:

Zooing it up for free at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

I'll admit that zoos sometimes make me sad what with animals that pace back and forth or seem holed up in a small space ... so it takes a special one to have exhibits, where the animals actually look content to be there and where I start to buy into the thought that we are the people being observed by them instead of the other way around ... but LP Zoo goes a long way to alleviate those concerns of mine.  And this picture (from 2009) is my favorite that I took when I was learning how the fancy new camera worked back then.  I'll miss spending the afternoon there any time of year (because they also put on an outstanding holiday light show).

COUNTER:  I'm not sure that *anything* could replace the LP Zoo down in southern Florida (I got to see gators out in the glades in their natural habitat on a previous vacation, but , that same attraction also had a piss poor version of a "zoo" out back that almost ruined the memory of the trip) ... but I do have a Butterfly World, a Monkey Jungle and a Parrot Jungle all close by to check out shortly after the big move!

Random Memorial for Monday 1/13/14

Gone but not forgotten:  spending hours playing with the item in this picture.

NO ... not the weedwacker ... the classic Tic Tac Toe Toss plastic game.

I know you kids have your cornhole as a substitute ... but this was how me and mine rolled back in the day (that day being squarely in the seventies, I believe).  I saw it at the flea market this past weekend and *almost* bought it -- but they didn't have the beanbags and I was in a "anything-I-buy-I-have-to-pack" mood for the move to Florida, so I begrudgingly walked on by.

Xs and Os of my youth (and the occasional one that got stuck in the middle and didn't fall all the way through so arguments would break out over which one it should be) ... you are missed!

NOTHING BEATS THE CLASSIC:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/138345019774346322/

NOT EVEN WHAT THE KIDS NOWADAYS PLAY:
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=12067610

ALTHOUGH THIS COMES CLOSE(& WOULD BE A COMPANION TO MY CHESS GAME):
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=12067610

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 19

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 19:

Working out of the physical Chicago offices of my employer.

I was a student for so long (longer than most people tend to be students ... but hey, I'm a late bloomer), that once I was done (the government just wouldn't loan me any more money!), the move to Chicago happened and, shortly thereafter, I found my career at Kaplan (I celebrate 10 years there in just a few weeks).  This photo is what I saw out of my office at the (now-closed) Schaumburg location where I started ... and I have many memories from that spot and from the one in which I spent so much more time, nearby in Lincoln Park.

COUNTER:  My company transformed a few years back, and so my office is now my home office ... which means I work from anywhere there is an internet connection (maybe even poolside?), but, across divisions, it's known that there's some real estate I'll have to check out in what will be my new neck of the woods (I mean ... neck of the glades).

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 1/12/14

What Chicago is talking about this week ...

The life in prison sentence for the man who slashed a Bears fan's throat at a bar in Jacksonville, Florida in the fall of 2012 -- just handed down this week.

Somehow I missed this story when it first came out ... and I'm sure that the supposed closure with this stage of the trial does little to the widow and children that were left behind (our thoughts and prayers are with them)...but at least this part of the process has ended.  Hopefully the slasher, whose defense was based on PTSD and alcoholism after his stint in the Navy, can get whatever treatment he needs behind bars ... but behind bars is where it sounds like he should be, based on the randomness of the act of violence he perpetrated.

I will admit that I'll treat it as a personal cautionary tale, seeing as how I'm less than three weeks away from being a Chicago transplant in what I'm learning is one of the craziest states of the nation ... just sayin' ...

THIS WEEKEND'S NEWS:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-bears-fan-murder-sentencing-20140110,0,119569.story

THE ORIGINAL STORY IN 2012:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-10-10/news/ct-met-bears-fan-killed-1010-20121010_1_bar-albany-park-neighborhood-bears-fan

THE BEARS PLAYERS' RESPONSE:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-funeral-held-for-slain-bears-fan-bears-player-launches-fundraising-effort-20121012,0,4631991.story

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 20

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 20:

Learning so much about the Polish.

I learned quickly that this was a place where one daresn't tell certain jokes that I learned on certain playgrounds of my youth ... as the Poles in Chicago are well organized (evidenced each year by the proliferation of flags attached to cars that were driven around 'hoods adjacent to Logan Square, where I first lived).  My father's people (way back) are Prussian ... so I guess I kind of feel connected ancestrally anyway.  Although I had already learned about Pirogies and Halupkis and Haluskis from Bev G during my Cherry Tree cafe waiter days in Uniontown ... Chicago taught me about Pulaski Day and "mowimy po polsku" and how to get comfortable at my job with spelling students' names that only consisted of consonants!

COUNTER:  I have a distinct feeling I'm going to be learning much about those who have a ham, roasted pork, Swiss cheese, pickle and mustard sandwich named after them, so as much as things change ... they sure do have a way of staying the same.

Random Soapbox for Saturday 1/11/14

I don't mean to go off on a rave here, but ...

[oh yeah ... I'm continuing my tradition of turning over at least one Saturday per month into a rave instead of a rant, in the spirit of balance and yin-yanging and all that ...]

... tonight is the night for my annual birthday tradition of STEAK DINNER at a Chicago steakhouse!

I'm pretty sure we didn't have this for my first bday in Chitown (that would have been back in 2002 when I turned 30) ... and it's a good thing I'm moving to Florida, since, as I age, I sometimes feel like I'm on borrowed time as it relates to my upcoming first (and hopefully not my last) heart attack -- which is all the long way to say that I'll probably have to convert this annual event into a FISH DINNER at a Southern Florida fishouse instead in the years to come.

Being a relatively simple person (ish), this night is the highlight of any year in which I'm blessed to celebrate a birthday.  Over the last nearly dozen years, these meals have sometimes gotten postponed until way past Jan 7, which is my actual birthday (once all the way to the summer, I think!), especially since there is another January tradition of late where loved ones get hospitalized around that same time each year ... and the last few (including tonight's), have all been made better because Walter and Dolly L joined us.

For some reason, I didn't keep OCD-like track of them (which I've been known to do with other things) ... but I do have the ability to recall something special about each of them that I remember (in alphabetical order and not necessarily the complete list):

Carson's   *with ribs!
Chicago Chop House   *with erstwhile co-workers!
Gene and Georgetti's   *in the upstairs!
Gibson's   *one of the first ones (I think) ... too long ago to remember since I am getting older!
Morton's   *favorite memory of the meat tray that the waitstaff brings around before one orders!
Myron and Phil's   *friendliest staff, from the valet boy all the way to the owner!
Prime House   *mistakenly ordered steak tartare after seeing the BodyWorks exhibit!
Ruth's Chris   *actually was in South Bend IN (but that still counts ... it was during the great recession)!
Select Cut   *most harried waiter, who literally didn't stop running around all night!
Smith and Wollensky   *best view over the Chicago river!
"South Loop Steakhouse"   *not the real name ... remember the meal and the booth but not the name!
Sullivan's   *subsidized with monetary award I had won at work ... and where the above photo was taken!

Tonight ... in just a few hours ... the tradition continues (or is that the tradition ends!?) with a table at Wildfire.  In the words of Chandler Bing, I couldn't BE more excited.  Happy birthday to me indeed!

I'VE BEEN FASTING SINCE BRUNCH!:
http://www.wildfirerestaurant.com/

WHY IT WAS BAD TO ORDER THE STEAK TARTARE APPETIZER AFTER:
http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/exhibitions/current_exhibitions.html

DIDN'T GET TO EVERY ONE ON THE LIST ...:
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/November-2008/Of-Prime-Interest/20-Best-Steak-Houses/

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 21

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 21:

Shopping at Old Orchard.

Especially in the early 2000's, what with the Williams Sonoma connection I had ;) many an hour was spent in this modern day mall mecca just outside of Chicago (in total hours, it even beat out the world-renowned Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg [although it was close, what with the time I spent on a bench outside of its entrance waiting for the PACE buses back when I public transported to the suburb Kaplan center for two hours each way for my job around the same time]).  More than that, though, it represented the outdoor mall style that I had seen featured on Days a few years before ... and it had a Barnes and Nobles (which, as time passed, became one of the few places where I could still Christmas shop)!

COUNTER:  Sure, Florida has malls.  But they're all indoors (you know, because of the alligators and the need for air conditioning, I guess) ...

Random Flashback for Friday 1/10/14

Before this month is over, I'll have pictures of each of the five cast members from the Murder Mystery we were preparing on LVC's campus this time twenty years ago in 1994.

New to the picture this week (as compared to the one from last week) is the bride, Kim H, sitting on the lap of (and making googly eyes at) the best man (and my brother) Gully, while I, as the groom, went looking for the garter.  [That's not creepy at all, right?]  To be clear, we were all playing characters and none of us were "method" trained for this to have an effect on our personal lives at the time.  Well, not *too much* ...

And I'm not saying if they were the murder weapon or they weren't, but there sure are some hefty looking Miller Chapel candlesticks there framing the picture, riiight?  [If you weren't around to play with us back then, these shows were often compared to live interactive scenarios a la the board game Clue ... so "the brother ... in the chapel ... with a candlestick" was a perfectly reasonable guess for what might happen before the night was over -- although, to be fair, it was never that simple, was it ...]

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 22

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 22:

Spending time in the local grocery stores.

I guess it only makes sense that, since I'm such a healthy eater, I have to understand that being so has to be predicated on spending a good bit of time in grocery stores.  So to those on (or off) this list ... the Jewels, the erstwhile Dominick's, the new-to-the-block-but-soon-to-be-number-two Mariano's, the Cub Foods, the Tony's ['cause sometimes one has to have a super-ethnic meal], the Strack-and-van-Tils [mostly because you stocked Lebanon Bologna for a hot minute] ... I'll miss all the time I spent in you.

COUNTER:  Money's on Publix to be the place from which I live-update on the Facebook twice a month after the big move (it's ALL about the meat) ... stay tuned to my feed!

Random Thought for Thursday 1/9/14

Let me start tonight by saying that I know that we don't always live in the most tolerant of societies, so anyone that wants to reply should feel free to private message me if you don't want to "out" yourself.

But seeing as how I know that I have a very diverse collection of friends on the old Facebook (and I wouldn't have it any other way!), and in light of the polar vortex situation and all the other vernacular that has been thrown around this past week, if any one of them who are of a certain persuasion (that will become momentarily apparent) could do me a favor and kill two birds with one stone ... by performing a breast self-exam (because women should do it once a month anyway) and then letting me know if said breast is particularly cold?

I just want to know if I should continue to use the phrase "colder than a witch's tit" ... or if it's scientifically inaccurate (and then I'll stop).

Thanks!  I knew I could count on (at least) one of you guys!!

GIVING CREDIT FOR THE PHOTO WHERE CREDIT IS DUE:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/88818730@N00/5498026424/

BECAUSE YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY PHOTOS OF THE END OF TIMES:
http://mashable.com/2014/01/07/polar-vortex-photos/

PSA TIME!:
http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-self-exam

Bonus Post (Gbye Chicago): Thing 23

50 Things I'll Miss About Chicago -->

Thing 23:

Scoring a box full of goodies at the book sale.

I regret that it took me eleven years to find something in Chicago that could replace the Book of the Month Club sales to which I was invited by a certain someone back in Camp Hill in the late nineties.  But when I did finally find it in 2012, I let loose and filled up this box (which I lugged off the El as seen in this photo), and expanded my collection of real actual tactile books (I don't support what I consider the bibliocide underway in the e-environment).

COUNTER:  Considering that my personal library is scheduled to take up quite a few cubic feet in the movers' truck, I'll have my collection to tide me over until I can find a similar old-fashioned book sale down south (and I wonder if the types of books will differ ... or if they'll even be in English)?