A visit to Chicago

Factual Questions
1

I spent 5 fun days in Chicago at the end of October, joining a group of friends at The Margarita Inn in Oak Park. We all originally met on a Lord of the Rings website and over the years have become friends, and we try to get together for a “m00t” once a year. This year it was Chicago.

I loved Chicago. I especially enjoyed Oak Park. One guy in our group is an architect and it was cool going around with him and having important buildings pointed out.

About the only thing I didn’t like was being stuck in an elevator in the parking garage at the John Hancock Tower: we were in there, all 17 of us, for almost 2 hours. But I now have a pretty high opinion of the Chicago Fire Department.

Just thought I’d write this little love note to a great city, and I hope I get to have the famous brunch at the Hancock Tower the next time.:smiley:

2

My visit to the Windy City was a bit longer, lasting from sometime in 1928 give or take a year till departure at midnight the evening of February 21, 1944 for the milder climate of East Tennessee to work on the Manhattan Project.

Enjoyed the World’s Fair of 1933/34, The Field Museum, Art Institute, Aquarium, Planetarium, Oriental Institute, Garfield Park Conservatoryas other places of interest and The Museum of Science and Industry which was a shadow of the expansion to the many exhibits of today.

If you have to be from somewhere Chicago is a great place to be from and the farther south the better (withing limits of course.)

3

There are several sentences in your post that make me think you have lots of interesting stories to tell! “The Manhattan Project”!

You left Chicago 3 months before I was born, more or less. Jeez.

4

My mother was born there and I’ve been back several times to visit the relatives. My cousins have always shown me an excellent time, and being a bit of an architecture and urban history buff, I always get a kick out of the architecture. Then the ARt Institute is the best museum of it’s kind I’ve seen in this country*, and I haven’t even mentioned the music. I love jazz and blues, and play the latter on guitar.
*OTOH the Field Museum didn’t impress me quite so much

5

Did you happen to see my mother there…about eight years old, dark hair, medium height…

(They had moved to Milwaukee when Mom was 2, but Grandpa brought her down to the Fair.)

6

More than I have the time to write stories about experiences then and since!

Had you visited it for the first time as a young boy it would have been a world of wonder!

Sorry I missed her. I had a season ticket the first year and went AOAP when I could scrape 14 cents together for street car fare!

7

springears, I hope you take the time to record your tales, either on paper or tape. Once you’re gone . . . .

Yeah, I know. I don’t plan on going either.

8

Actually I have considered it but only if I can dictate it, not by typing it out. And yes I do know about “Dragon: Naturally Speaking” to record and type it for me. May do that when current projects are completed, and yes if you put previous facts together, time is growing shorter every year, month, day, etc.

My plan has been made.