The March Issue Of Chicago Magazine

I just got around to reading the March issue of Chicago Magazine, and I must say, it makes for very interesting reading. The cover story is about Pete Crow-Armstrong, the 23-year-old Chicago Cubs superstar. Last season Crow-Armstrong became only the second Cub in history to hit 30 home runs and have 30 stolen bases. The other player was none other than Sammy Sosa. The first half of the season Crow-Armstrong stole 25 bases, hit 25 home runs, and batted in 70 runs, something no other player has ever done before the break. He became the second youngest Cub to ever start an All-Star game, but during the second half of the season, he hit only .187 with 6 home runs. Crow-Armstrong was not happy about that and is determined to regain his form this season. And although he grew up in California, he has grown to love Chicago and the dedication and passion of the fans at Wrigley Field. He comes across as a nice kid and an intense competitor. He very well might make the difference this season up on the North Side. 

A truly fascinating article this month is The Power 50, which lists the 50 most influential Chicagoans who "have shaped policy, molded minds, and redefined this city - and this country." It is not possible to discuss all 50, but what amazed me were all the Chicagoans on the list who I have never heard of, but have a major influence across this country, including Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, who now has a major influence on the Catholic Church due to Pope Leo naming him to the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State; Penny Pritzker, head of Harvard's top governing board; Valarie Jarrett, who has overseen the creation of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park and helped raise the $850 million to pay for it, and Mellody Hobson, wife of Star Wars creator George Lucas, who was once the chair of Starbucks, is currently a director of JPMorganChase, and who owns pieces of the Chicago White Sox, the Denver Broncos, and the WNBA. And did you know that Nick Fuentes, White Nationalist Streamer and number 7 on the list, lives in west suburban Berwyn? I sure didn't. 

There is also an article about seven Chicago-area staycation spots, where you can feel like you've gotten away without the travel costs and headaches. All of them sound very nice, but most would cost about the same as a week or two in Europe. The cheapest on the list was the Wind Creek Chicago Southland in south suburban East Hazel Crest, a casino and hotel, with prices ranging from $199 to $299 per night. The article says it has a "glitzy" Italian steakhouse atop the 17th floor. What? There is a 17-story hotel and casino in East Hazel Crest, Illinois? I used to live near there. How the hell did that ever happen? In summary, it is definitely an issue you should check out. And yes, the two photographs of Chicago on this blog were taken by me on my last visit to my old hometown in April of 2010. Definitely time for another visit.

The First Day Of Spring (aka The Spring Equinox)

Today is the first day of spring, and right on time, the Tabebuia trees, one of which can be seen in the photograph above, are in full bloom all over Stuart, Florida and environs. These trees were the brainchild of Edwin A Menninger, who came to Stuart in 1923 to start the Stuart News, which, by the way, still exists, although is now owned by USA Today. Menninger felt there should be more flowering trees in the area to welcome in the spring, and contacted people from around the world, asking them to send him seeds from their flowering trees. Which they did. His favorite was the Tabebuia tree, which is native to Mexico and the Caribbean. He distributed the tree's seeds to people all over town, who dutifully planted them, with the result that they are now everywhere, a vibrant symbol of spring coming to Stuart, Florida. Thanks Edwin!

The 2026 Major League Baseball Season Begins Exactly One Week From Today!

And yes, I do know that the official opening of the season takes place next Wednesday night between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, but that is just a gimmick. It is indeed next Thursday, March 26th when most of the teams start play, including my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, who will be opening the season at 1:10 against the Brewers in Milwaukee. Their North Side rivals, the Chicago Cubs, will have their home opener at 1:20 that same day against the Washington Nationals. Meanwhile, my adopted hometown team, the Colorado Rockies, who now actually have people who know something about baseball in charge, will be waiting until Friday at 7:10 Florida time to begin their season against the Marlins in Miami. Last season the Rockies lost 119 games, 2 short of the record for worst team in the history of baseball - which is of course held by the 2024 White Sox - and so I suspect there is no great rush by the Rockies to start the season. They will definitely return to contention over time with new management, but definitely not this year. Or the year after. Or perhaps even the year after that. But it doesn't matter right now. Every team is starting out undefeated next week, and hope springs eternal. We should all enjoy it while we can. And yes, that is indeed the view of Coors Field from the press box, which I took at the Colorado Rockies Fan Fest this past January. A great view of the field, although last season I imagine many of the reporters did not want to look.

Watching The Marlins Take On The Blue Jays - A Late Spring Training Matchup

My sister Susan and I watched the Miami Marlins take on the Toronto Blue Jays this past Monday afternoon at Roger Dean Stadium in the Abacoa neighborhood of Jupiter, Florida. The weather forecasters predicted heavy thunderstorms starting after lunchtime, and so we were taking a chance, but since we already had the tickets, we forged ahead. The first thing I noticed as we approached the ballpark were the number of license plates from Ontario and Quebec, showing that despite what you hear on the news, there are still large numbers of Canadians who still winter in Florida, not letting one unhinged bully drive them away. And when they played the Canadian national anthem, there were lots of cheers, which I was very happy to hear, especially since Florida is such a red state. And best of all, when the first pitch was thrown at 1:10 P.M., the sun was shining brightly.

During the game I was surprised to hear a Toronto batter announced whom I knew well: none other than Eloy Jimenez, the former star player for my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, who gave him a six-year, $43 million contract in 2019 even before his major league debut. Eloy got a base hit, seen in the photograph on the right leading off first base. Eloy did very well for the White Sox, winning the Silver Slugger Award in 2020. Then in 2024, the year the Sox lost 121 games and knew they were about to undergo a major rebuilding, they traded Eloy to Baltimore, who the following year declined his club option for 2025. Eloy then signed with the Tampa Bay Rays, and the year after that signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he is currently a designated hitter and outfielder. And will he go north with the Blue Jays when they break camp next week? Although only 30 years old, he is not the same player he was with the White Sox, but perhaps he can regain his form with Toronto. After all, that was a pretty sold hit he made this past Monday. Good luck Eloy!

It was indeed warm and sunny for the first 2 1/2 innings. Then the storm clouds came, and it started to rain. Susan and I made our way to the main concourse, and under the shelter of the roof. As we discussed what we should do, the sun came out again, and we made our way back toward our seats. The usher suggested we take the two handicapped seats right behind home plate, since it would be easier for Susan and me to leave when the rain started again (I think he had inside information). And so, we sat back and watched the game until there were two outs in the bottom of the 6th inning, which is when I took the photograph on the left. Then the downpour began and we hightailed it back out to the main concourse. As we headed toward the ramp, I saw all the players heading for the dugouts, and when we approached the exit saw that everyone was leaving. The game had been called. Toronto, the visiting team, was leading 5-4 after 5 innings, which made it an official game. Since everyone left the stadium at the same time, it took forever to get out of the parking garage. But no problem. Two groups of Canadians were parked on either side of our car and were very friendly and entertaining. Despite Donald Trump. Go Blue Jays!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today is St. Patrick's Day, and if you are thinking about putting on some green and starting to celebrate, I've got bad news for you - all the celebrating took place this past weekend. Here on the Treasure Coast of Florida, the main event not to be missed was the Jensen Beach St. Patrick's Day Festivities and Parade, hosted by the Jensen Beach Chamber of Commerce this past Sunday and sponsored by Mulligan's Beach and Sports Bar and AC Doctors. While the festivities started at 11:00 in the morning, the parade itself wasn't scheduled until 2:00, and my sister Susan and I were on Indian River Drive waiting for it to begin. There was a bit of a delay, and as I watched storm clouds gather in the distance, I had to wonder if they were waiting for the rain to start before launching the parade. Finally, the parade came into sight, the bagpipers in the photograph on the left walked into the street from the corner where we were standing, joined the parade, and started marching and playing those bagpipes.

Not surprisingly, Mulligans, being one of the sponsors, was quite lively, and many of the patrons took a break from their celebrations to step outside and watch the parade, including all those ladies in green wigs and sunglasses seen in the photograph on the right. The Mulligans in Jensen Beach is two stories high, and the upstairs area has a great view of the Indian River, while the location in Vero Beach has a patio that is right above the ocean, where you can sit at a table and gaze at the Atlantic. Neither of which I have ever visited but keep thinking I should. As for the other sponsor, AC Doctors, I assume they were having an equally lively celebration, although for the life of me, I have no idea where they are located or if they have a bar in the middle of all those air-conditioning parts.

This is an extremely popular event around here, and a lot of fun, but it really is a small town, community affair, and the parade includes a lot of community organizations and elected officials, in addition to a group walking their dogs in tight formation, two kids on unicycles, each holding an end of a banner advertising a new brewpub, and even a group of young violinists marching down the street, as seen in the photograph on the left. Meanwhile, back in Denver, the St. Patrick's Day Parade took place this past Saturday in Lower Downtown (LoDo), after which everyone stayed around that neighborhood to celebrate at places such as Scruffy Murphy's. In Chicago, they dyed the Chicago River green in the morning and then had their parade down Columbus Drive at 12:15 P.M. with bagpipers, dancers, and green floats.

There were a LOT of families with their kids at the Jensen Beach St. Patrick's Day Parade, and it wasn't until the back end of that parade that I found out why. After all the other groups marched by, they were followed by a line of about 500 or so golf carts, all decorated like the one in the photograph on the right, and from which they threw trinkets and candy - lots and lots of candy. The parents, no doubt regulars at this event, all brought paper bags with them, which they filled with all that swag and candy their kids were enthusiastically picking up. The woman standing next to us made sure Susan got a lot of the candy and trinkets, too, including a green necklace, a "Kiss Me I'm Irish" bracelet, and many, many lollypops. She and her husband also offered to help us as we got ready to leave the crowd and head back to the car, which was very nice of them, too. A small-town parade with friendly, happy people. I would have liked to head around the corner to Jensen Beach Boulevard, the main downtown area, where the "festivities" part was taking place, but those storm clouds were almost upon us, we had a way to go to get back to the car, and I didn't want to tempt fate. And so, including the Fort Pierce Block Party on Saturday, it was a really nice St. Patrick's Day weekend. But what do we do today, on the actual holiday? Beats me.

The March Mutt Of The Month

I took the photograph above of the March Mutt of the Month the Saturday before last, when leaving the outdoor patio of the Sailor's Return, located at the Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart, Florida. It was only 4:00 P.M. in the afternoon, and I had found a parking space - the last one, actually - but when my sister Susan and I arrived at the patio, all the tall-topped bar tables were filled with what I assume were snowbirds, as was every space at the bar itself. We sat down at a regular table that was vacant and located right next to one of the bar tables, but were told, as a friendly reminder for next time, that we would need to see the hostess to sit at one those tables. Which I am loathe to do if all we want is to have a drink, enjoy looking at the boats (yachts, actually), and then head home. In any case, sitting next to its owner, who was at one of the other regular sized tables, was that dog, who was the center of attention for everyone entering the place. I was not able to get a decent photo on the patio, but as luck would have it, I was able to take the photograph above as we were heading back to the car, with the dog happily posing for me while standing on that blue bench. And resolving to wait until April, after "The Season," to venture back to the Sailor's Return.

The St. Patrick's On 2nd Street Block Party

I stopped by the St. Patrick's on 2nd Street Block Party yesterday afternoon up in Fort Pierce, Florida, and my timing was perfect - it started raining as soon as I got there. But fortunately, not to hard, at least for a while, and the rain didn't seem to be bothering anyone. This St. Patrick's Day celebration is hosted every year by Sailfish Brewing Company and 2nd Street Bistro, both conveniently located on 2nd Street itself, as seen in the photograph on the left. There was a stage midway down the block where a trio were playing Irish music, there were booths with various items for sale, a street bar, food vendors, and a bounce house for the kids.

As usual, a number of people dressed up for the occasion. Most of the crowd decided to just wear green, or a St. Patrick's Day hat, while the two gentlemen in the photograph on the right decided to go "full leprechaun," drawing high fives from the crowd sitting on the outdoor patio of the Sailfish Brewery. Which makes good beer, by the way, and distributes it to grocery and liquor stores throughout the area.

As far as I could tell, most of the crowd was hanging out at the Sailfish Brewing Company, as seen in the photograph on the left, especially as the rain began coming down harder. There was a line to order beers that started at the end of the bar and went almost out the door. I would have suggested that they should have had a booth outside on the street, but of course, if they did, those people waiting in line would have looked like drowned rats by the time they got their beer. This was actually the first time I have been in that brew pub, and I was quite impressed. The front of the building consists of a long, covered, and rather dark patio, and so I did not expect to see such a lively and inviting interior. But, of course, long, covered, rather dark patios are quite useful when the sun is beating down on you, or there is one of those sudden cloud bursts that Florida is famous for. In any case, everyone was pleasant and seemed to be having a good time, and it was a fun experience, despite the rain.