RANDOM THOUGHT: In 1980 my family moved to Chicago for a year as my Dad received a promotion with the Wm. Wrigley Co. Hard for all of us but being 19-20 years old it was pretty much a bad experience. Never wanted to go back. FORWARD: 1996- I had to attend a convention and I wanted Jerry & Brittany to go with me. Both had been many places and had flown before, no big deal but I was excited to show them where I had lived. Got our rental car and suddenly Jerry turns into Jethro Bodine! The traffic was awful near the airport and anyone who knows Jerry knows hes a natural born tourist, me-not so much. He was driving like Jethro, trying to see all he could almost doing a full circle on the highway to GO BACK to something he missed. After opening my eyes, Brittany and I couldnt help but crack up knowing the Beverly Hillbillys were now in town. Still near the airport, we hear WHOOAA and we stop completely as Jerry sees a huge passenger plane coming in on an overpass right in front of us. Had to budge ole Jethro along. One day we decided to take the L downtown and hang out all day. It was in November and already extremely cold. The winds were so cold we were all freezing waiting for the L and barely 11 years old tiny, we had to hold on to Brittany for fear of her freezing and blowing away. Once on the train we held on to her for fear of her life. We traveled through all the different communities, some quaint and neighborly, others not so much. Going through the tunnels littered with graffiti, we could hear rocks, cans and bottles being thrown at the train and the youth of the day hanging out in their pleather coats and a mix of vibrant hair color and styles. On the train, an assortment of people were in small seats, much like a Whitmans Sampler, all flavors, some nutty others fruity. People walking the rows asking for change and deaf mutes laying keychains beside you with the hope of coming back through and collecting a dollar. Sadly when the key chain was still there, we learned they were neither deaf or mute. Quite mind-blowing for an innocent little girl and to Jethro. No, no just kidding. He knew the deal from the start. Downtown was beautiful and so clean with Lake Michigan looking more like an ocean instead of a lake. My Father-in-law was worried about our trip even with me reminding him that I had lived there and knew where to go. Many times he warned us not to go in any alleys, dont accidently get caught in an alley, whatever you do, dont even drive down an alley. I think he watched to many movies or maybe it was the Uncle Jed in him. So as we were walking, one of the first things out of Brittanys mouth was, Cmon Daddy, lets go in an alley! Ahhh, our little Ellie Mae. The closest thing to an alley we came to was the back of the Wrigley Building which sits on the Chicago River. The river has been known for having bodies thrown in it back in the days of prohibition and mobster activity, too morbid. We did take an unauthorized self tour of the Wrigley Building somehow making it to the top floors where the offices were. Wheres Security when you need them? Daddy told us later that if we would have told them who we were we wouldve probably gotten a tour and they may have taken us to a factory where the gum was made. I wouldnt have been interested in a gum factory tour having had read a book in elementary school about what some mean people wanted to do to a sweet old horse in a gum factory, not Wrigley though, fiction anway. However, Im sure my Jethro and Ellie Mae would loved it! We finally went to the neighborhood we lived in and Jerry and Brittany were able to see the house we lived in. We went to Portillos, the best italian beef and sausage EVER! We have even had it sent to us before they started offering that service. We had wonderful seats on the plane back home and I remember looking at my Jethro and little Ellie Mae being grateful they were able to go with me. The bad taste of Chicago had left me and new memories were made. And yes it did snow. So much for a RANDOM THOUGHT, huh?
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 16:31:15 +0000
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