Random Acts of Togetherness

What are the odds that Steve and Amy would be here for two weeks and that we got to have dinner with him!  It’s been three full years and a pandemic in the middle between when we have seen our good friend.  The world is a mess, Portland is a mess, but it was such a great meal with great company. 

 “People who love to eat are always the best people.”  --Julia Child

 And she’s right.

New York and The Hamptons!

Heading to New York City for work and then a long weekend in the Hamptons.  Weather looks amazing, looking forward to seeing my co-workers in person (some for the first time!), staying at the University Club, and then lazing in The Hamptons for a long weekend after. 

I probably won’t be arrested for trespassing on Ina and Jeffrey’s property, but it would be amazing if I was.

Home again...

Breakfast with my Joe (forgot to take a picture, god dammit).  And then we were off.

Barbara was our travel buddy on the way home, and we stopped at Charlie's for lunch (subs) and to see his new house.  How that child is old enough to be a home owner is beyond me.  

It's nice to be home, but what a great week.

Last night in the Windy City

Dinner just around the corner at Victory Tap - whoa.  So so good.   And the heat broke so it was an amazing dinner out on the patio.  Seeing Joe tomorrow for breakfast, picking up Barbara, then headed to Charlie's for lunch and to see his new house in Madison.  

 

Breakfast with an old friend

After 30+ years, breakfast with Dan Lukas.  How wonderful to spend the morning with one of my best grade school buds.  💓

Tears for Fears

The reason for the trip!   Good concert, they sound pretty good for being 61 years old.  But still, I give it a 5.8 out of 10.  

Chris and I are Songs from the Big Chair people, and Dave and Jen are The Seeds of Love people.  Barbara was sad because we thought Alison Moyet would open...one of her faves, but that was only the European tour.  

Still fun.  If not hot.  And...I'm real sick of driving here.  Everyone is an asshole.

Sub Extraction

No trip to Chicago is complete without a sub extraction.   I bought a dozen to take home, take to Charlie, and for Barbara and Paul.  They are just the same.  

I also took Dave and Jen on a little 20 minute tour of Hammond.  Notable things:

1. My old house still looks the same and the porch has not been jacked up to level.  Dave said, "you should go up to the door and see if you can go in!"  I said, "NO.  I'll probably get shot."  At which point we pulled up and the biggest German Shepherd was in the window barking like mad, as if to prove my point.  
2. The neighborhood in general actually looks alot better than the last time I was here - so that is good.  Lots of greenery, people watering lawns, etc.
3. Morton looks pretty good, and I guess it's a music magnate school or something.
4. The Bonanza dumpster behind the alley is no more.  Thank god.  Although driving down the alley was depressing as hell.
5. More depressing was St. Catherine's - my old grade school.  It closed last year, and was a sad and dilapidated, overgrown and a shell of what it once was.  

When they say you can't go home again, they are right.