chicago stories

As Seen at Union Station, Chicago, IL

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From the Jackson Boulevard mezzanine overlooking the Great Hall at Chicago Union Station. 12:34-12:56 PM, 23 February 2016
Da' Bears, reflected in the freshly-polished marble of iconic Great Hall at Chicago Union Station

Da’ Bears, reflected in the freshly-polished marble. Click to follow COA on Instagram

Two Mennonites spring from the mezzanine overlooking the Great Hall, then mount a marble railing, slide down it out of sight. Seeing this is one of the highlights of my life to date. Four Indian men power walk around the rectangular Great Hall and discuss business on a level most people can only imagine. Around the rectangular Great Hall.

Two good ol’ boys wait to board train 21, the Texas Eagle. South-bound. Maybe they head to Texarkana, where the station is split in two by a state border. They have matching styrofoam cups, and giggle a little more with every sip. Might not be just Pepsi. The Indian men pass underneath me again. This is a working lunch in action. The Mennonite women sit and discuss matters humbly. They have no idea the heathen mischief their men just perpetrated on that railing.

The ancient bucket seat benches under the Great Hall skylight have to be one of the best places to catch a few winks in all Chicagoland. And when you awaken, there are the heavens above you. Namaste. People leave their eyes on me awhile, I suppose returning the favor. I wonder how they’d write about the nattily-dressed man staring back at them. They’re right to be suspicious. The commuters put their head down and go. They only look up to grimace at the long distance passengers, they wandering in wonderment and getting in the way. Is all Chicago so grand?

One last pass by the walking working lunch. Teach me your work ethic, man! I go out for lunch, but I stop and write!

 

The reflective marble floor of the iconic Chicago Union Station Great Hall

Old Glory reflected in the marble floor of Union Station. Click to follow COA on Instagram.

For more short stories from Charlie’s trips across the Heartland, check out our Enjoy the Journey archives. To never miss a new journey, follow Cult of Americana via email.

Beyond “Second City”: A New Yorker Moves to Chicago

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This piece was originally published in the February 14, 2016 edition of Write City Magazine, the magazine of the Chicago Writers Association.

After living in New York City for 26 years, I got a dream job in Chicago I simply couldn’t turn down.  I wasn’t sure what the move would entail—my initial associations with Chicago having to do with Al Capone, the Bears, house music—but some preliminary Google searching assured me that Chicago was simply a “smaller, cleaner, friendlier version of New York.”

Across the blogosphere Chicagoans compared their city to New York on nearly every level, from neighborhoods—Pilsen, the new Williamsburg—to amenities—if you like Per Se, you’ll love Alinea.  Deeper Web searching yielded even bolder claims to the ways “Chicago is infinity times better than NYC,” “kicking New York’s ass.”  These claims rested on the premise that Chicago offers pretty much everything NYC does but without all the stressors.  Or as one blogger put it, it’s “NYC Lite.”  What New Yorker wouldn’t love the Big Apple scaled to size and rendered livable?
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