I arrived in Chicago 2 days ago… and jumped into a cab heading to my friend, Carolyne’s place. Weeks ago she had graciously agreed to put me up. We have known each other since kindergarten… now that’s a long time friend.
After 51 odd hours on the train… and as much as I enjoyed the ride… it was wonderful to see her welcoming face. The last time I got to hang out with her was about 7 years ago. We went right into “catch-up” mode while she prepared dinner.
In fact, that’s her prepping the fabulous meal we had that night. And with delight she showed off her new apartment. It’s a beautiful place. And to keep the sanctity of her sanctuary I decided not to take or post pictures of the inside. You’ll just have to take my word that it really is a wonderful find… in a building that was built in 1912.
I did however take pictures of her back landing area… which I also love.
Some of you already know how much I love back alleys.
And in my book… this one is pretty supreme.
There is so much to love here that I spent a full half hour just gawking. I mean… look at it… there is so much to love here. I asked her if she was ever tempted to break out into a scene from “West Side Story”… her response… always.
It is always wonderful to reconnect with someone one has known for a long time. We have both a common cultural heritage… and friends to boot. There is a warm comfort to it… short-cuts and colloquialisms in conversation that provides a tie from the past to the present… and all the time between disappears in a flash. Everything becomes… present.
The next day I left on a train to Detroit… but we’ll sit down and chat and laugh over a meal or two soon.
As you can see I’m trying to bring this up to the present as much as possible.
“But what about that third day of travel on the train, Marcel?”
That… will be coming soon enough. In the meantime… Cheers!
Hmm… what is that big body of water up ahead?