The October Issue Of Chicago Magazine

The Best of Fall. Theater! Music! Books! Art! Podcasts! Dance! That is the cover story for this month's issue of Chicago Magazine. These "best of fall" cultural events include a concert by Ratboys, a ballet that "turns Mexican lore into a metaphor for postpartum depression," and a doomsday podcast, among other can't miss events. Is it just me, or do these best of fall events sound like something to miss rather than attend? Probably just me - I'm old. Much more interesting was French novelist (now an American citizen living in Chicago) Camille Bordas' take on the recent 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which kind of confirmed what I have always thought. Most of the speeches and events were repetitive and boring, and there was very little substance beyond platitudes. The press briefings were mostly uninformative, and there was no reason why the convention could not have been held in one day instead of four, except to generate publicity and television time.

The 312 section of Chicago also had an interesting article speculating on how the city would fare if Trump were elected to a second term. During his first term, he compared Chicago to a Middle Eastern war zone, called its crime rate "an embarrassment to the nation," and sent in agents from various law enforcement agencies as a publicity stunt. Sadly, we very well might find out what he will do during a second term pretty damn soon. On the bright side, I am happy to report that the ads for real estate for sale in Chicago Magazine show quite a few bargains, ranging from $715,000 to 11.7 million. They even have a place on Sedgewick Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, where my sister Susan once lived with 5 or 6 roommates, for sale at a bargain 2.5 million. When I was in Chicago back in 2010, which is when I took the photograph on the right, I did not see that house. Susan suspects it was probably devoured by roaches years ago and collapsed into a pile of rubble.

A Sort Of Anniversary

Today would have been my 42nd wedding anniversary if I was still married, but my ex-wife Lisa and I have been divorced for 37 years now. Is it still an anniversary if we don't exchange gifts? In any case, the photograph above was taken at Maroon Bells, located just outside of Aspen, Colorado back in October of 1982 while we were on our honeymoon. This is an extremely popular tourist destination, and these days you need to make a reservation if you want to visit there between May 15th and October 31st. It costs $10 for a permit to park a car, but you must arrive before 8:00 A.M. No cars are allowed to enter between 8:00 and 5:00, which to me seems to be quite a hassle. You can take a shuttle, which costs $16 for an adult, but a mere $10 for seniors, due to their advanced age. Back when that photograph was taken there were no such restrictions. You drove there and parked. That was it, and thankfully, there were not too many tourists during the month of October. In other words, the good old days. Perhaps I should call Lisa, who now lives in San Francisco, and tell her we could get senior discounts if we decided to go back there for old times sake? I wonder how that would go over? Not well, I suspect.

Watching Nations League Soccer AND Women's World Cup Cricket With Mark.

I went over to my friend Mark's place to watch a UEFA Nations League soccer match between England and Finland Sunday morning and a cricket match broke out. When I arrived, Mark was glued to the television watching Australia play India in a Women's T20 World Cup cricket match. I didn't even realize there were national teams playing women's cricket until two days ago. The games were supposed to take place in Bangladesh, but due to political unrest, they are being played in the United Arab Emirates instead, a place I never hope to see in my lifetime, if possible. Australia won the match 151 to 142. Meanwhile, in Helsinki, England was beating Finland by a score of 3-1, which is how the game ended. I myself have never been interested in visiting Helsinki. It seems too modern a place, and I prefer to visit cities that have a lot of history attached to them. However, seeing the above view of Helsinki Olympic Stadium, with the city in the background, it does indeed look like a very pretty place. Mark, seen in the foreground of the photo, is one third Finnish, visited the city a few years ago for half a day, and wants to go back and stay longer. Be sure to bring a jacket, Mark. I hear Finland can get pretty nippy.

Columbus Day! (aka Indigenous Peoples' Day)

Today is - or was - Columbus Day, which to me always meant a welcome day off from school back when I was attending Fort Dearborn Grammar School in the South Side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago. I revisited that school for the first time in 44 years back in 2010, which is when I took the photograph of it on the left, evidently still going strong. These days, Columbus Day is still a federal holiday, but in Chicago, it is now called Indigenous Peoples' Day, although students still get the day off. Frankly, back when I was going to Fort Dearborn, I wouldn't have cared what it was called as long as I got the day off. As you can tell, I was never crazy about school, which is probably why I never went back to visit Fort Dearborn for 44 years. 

Here in Colorado, Columbus Day is no longer a state holiday, and students do not get the day off. Columbus Day was replaced by Frances Xavier Cabrini Day on the first Monday of October, but students don't get that off, either. If I were a student in Denver Public Schools, that would make me very mad indeed. Columbus Day has always been very controversial here in Denver. In the year 2000, the Columbus Day Parade was restarted by an Italian American society after being discontinued in 1992, and each year Native American groups, up to 600 to 700 in number, would protest the parade, blocking the parade route and facing off with Denver police, resulting in many arrests. It was an annual free-for-all for many years, but eventually the parade was reduced to just a few floats, and eventually just faded away. Perhaps it is now time for an Italian American - Indigenous Peoples Friendship Day here in Colorado that will once again be a school holiday. Colorado's youth will thank you for it, governor. And yes, I also took the photograph on the right back in 2010, showing the one thing that was different from when I attended Fort Dearborn - a sign at the main entrance. Progress at last!

Speaking Of Circle Bay...

I mentioned Circle Bay, which is located on the St. Lucie River in Stuart, Florida, in yesterday's blog post. It is located right next door to my sister Susan and my condo, which we inherited from our parents, Nelson and Mary. One of my favorite photographs, which I took in the late 1970s, is of my father standing on the dock at Circle Bay next to one of the boats moored there, as seen in the photograph above. When Susan and I would visit our parents down in Stuart, we would often wander over there and walk past the boats, admiring them and sometimes hopping aboard for a quick photo. Circle Bay has an inlet from the river that allows each tenant to dock a boat in front of their condo. However, my father's interest in boats only went as far as looking at them. He actually loved golf, and our condo has a 9-hole course that he loved to play. And as I have learned over the years, golf clubs are much cheaper than boats. My parents had many friends at Circle Bay, and so we were always welcome at that condo complex back then. These days, Susan and I don't know anyone there, and since everyone in the State of Florida seems to be armed these days, I'm afraid that if we did try to walk around over there, we probably wouldn't be walking back. It is Florida, after all.

The Weirdest Boat I've Ever Seen...

I have to take my car in for an oil change next week, which made me think about my last oil change, down in Palm City, Florida. I drove my car across the Palm City Bridge, left it at the Goodyear Auto Service Store, and then walked back across that bridge to my sister Susan and my condo in Stuart. I must say, the view was much more interesting than the walk down East Evans Avenue I will be taking next week. As I was crossing that bridge, I saw the vessel in the photograph on the left going under the span. And my first response was "What the hell?" I have no idea what that boat's purpose might be. I assume it is a work boat, but why is it square? I don't expect to see it moored at the Sunset Bay Marina the next time I go for a drink at what I call the Jolly Sailor Pub (the outdoor bar at Sailor's Return), which overlooks the marina, but you never know. After all, it's hip to be square. Right? Or not so much these days?

When I crossed that bridge, I also got to see our condo complex's yacht club from the water. It is the building on the right, with the red roof, in the photograph on the right. And as you can see, there are no yachts, or for that matter, even dinghies in sight. When the complex was built, prospective buyers were told they would be able to moor their boats there, but the developers could never get permission to dredge. And so the yacht club is now only used for parties, which is exactly what it would have been used for even if they could have had boats moored there. Next door, however, is Circle Bay, which was able to dredge, and provides a berth in front of their condo for each owner. Which means the boaters are over there, and the golfers (our complex has a nine-hole course) are over here. Just as God, or perhaps Martin County officials, intended it to be.

The $15 Breakfast - Say It Ain't So!

The other day I once again accompanied my sister Susan, seen in the photograph on the left, to one of her favorite spots for breakfast, which has a patio overlooking City Park here in Denver. I myself just have coffee, but Susan likes to order a traditional breakfast of 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon, toast, and potatoes, at a cost of $15. The coffee is an additional $4, and so the total bill, including a coffee for me and the tip, was $30. If I had the same breakfast as Susan, the bill, with tip, would have been almost $50. For breakfast. Does this not seem a bit pricey to you, or what?

Granted, this breakfast place has a nice view of City Park from its patio, as seen in the photograph on the right, and people are often willing to pay more for this. And in fact, the minimum wage in Denver ($18.29 per hour for regular employees and $15.27 for tipped workers) has made keeping costs down hard these days in Denver. Piccolo, an Italian and Mexican restaurant that operated in Denver for 50 years, shut down last year mainly because they could no longer afford to pay the minimum wage. They used to hire kids going to school looking for extra money, but now had to pay what politicians determine to be a living wage. I understand the reasoning, but still, it is pricing small businesses out and driving customers away. In comparison, Maria's in downtown Stuart, Florida serves the same breakfast (less one egg) for $8.50. But since it is a long 3-day drive from Denver, going there for breakfast might not be cost effective.