Once again, the Internet has wrought cross-country friendship for Yours Truly. Departing today after a whirlwind Windy City vacation are Seattleites Café Kasey and John Dramatist. Emerald City barista Kasey originally contacted me after visiting a link to my blog. He and actor-boyfriend John were ready for a change of scene and were coming to Chitown to see if the flatland urban shores of Lake Michigan would fit the bill.
Earlier this month, a visit to the Brookfield Zoo uncovered new depths of hidden obsessiveness in Yours Truly. I’ve always liked the place–it reminds me of a pancake-flat Bronx Zoo, minus the Bengali Express monorail ride through Wild Asia that I grew up riding. But there’s one thing I unfortunately didn’t grow up with at the NYC animal park: Mold-A-Rama!
Out of nowhere, my four-month-old blog post about my newfound love for Cincinnati is making the rounds on the Queen City blogosphere. I’m gratified to have helped raise the debate about the real future potential–and current coolness–of my second-favorite Midwestern urb.
‘Most of all, please make it fit for young readers. My sister has standards, I beg that you meet hers. Under no circumstance unveil the puzzle. The item I sought to buy? Call it…the wuzzle.’
When the Wisconsin police attempt to stop you for driving without a license, it’s usually a good idea not to take them on a high-speed chase back to Illinois down I-94. Unfortunately, my friend, Gay O.J., didn’t have a good idea when those flashing lights started.
This is an epic post, so let me eat my words up front. Despite my pre-trip trepidation to travel to the land of the abandoned subway, as it turned out, Cincinnati is cool. And don’t you know, ex-New Yorker and current Downtown Chicagoan that I am, I half-expect to turn into a pillar of salt for saying so.
It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature. Just ask Matt B. (aka ‘Polomex’), scribe of the Chicago Traveler blog and current refugee from the onslaught of the Gulf Coast’s pesky new resident, Hurricane Gustav.
Ohio? Why, oh why, oh why-oh? Because Yours Truly needs a break from his breakneck work and blogging schedule, and new friend Jamie needs to go check on things at the Cincinnati abode he ditched eight weeks ago for a new life in Chicago. In fact, in my five years as a Chicagoan, I actually haven’t ventured all that far into the Midwestern hinterland. So God help me now.
The day I celebrated my 38th birthday by visiting my favorite Windy City hot wings joint, I never expected to have to outrun funnel clouds on a mad dash to make it safely home. Until the moment when every tornado siren in Chicago sounded the alarm.
As soon as newcomer Cincinnati Jamie and I arrived in New Chinatown, his brow immediately began to furrow. ‘This place reminds me of something,’ he said. And then things really got animated….