The Utah Underground Goes Back to Chicago

I lived in Utah until I was eighteen, but in a lot of ways, I grew up in Chicago. Went from a raw youth to a 22 year old just emerging from naivete. Became acquainted with the awfulness of depression and the beauty of architecture. I cried when I left.

This last week, I went back for the third time. I think the itinerary is illuminating:

Thursday: Arrive at midnight, take a taxi from Midway to the Margarita Inn in Evanston. Heartbeat elevates as we drive along Lake Shore Drive.

Friday: Take the El to UIC, write some poetry in a cafe, participate in a prep session for the Foreign Service Oral Assessment. Have a stuffed spinach pizza at Carmen's in Evanston.

Saturday: Finish a case in the Margarita lobby. The lady at the front desk assures me that it's my home away from home. Pick up Heather at the airport, take the El to downtown. Get off near the Water Tower, eat a half spinach, half sausage stuffed pizza at Gino's East for dinner. Wander around Michigan Avenue.

Sunday: Take the train to Evanston. Get off at the Noyes stop, step back in D&D for the first time in eight years. Buy some baklava and enjoy it on the sidewalk, noting that the old barber shop where I had my hair cut is still there while the laundromat where I washed my clothes has undergone a minor remodel.

Walk down Noyes and stop off to take a look at the old ISP building before crossing the street to step into Tech. A fifty year old, socially awkward, visiting professor asks me if I know who can help him get a presentation ready. Wander through Tech to the old Science and Engineering Library where I worked off an on to help pay for books.

Leave Tech and wander over the Lakefront. Bask in the cool breeze coming off the lake, sit on the rocks at the shore and think.

Wander through campus, walking past the main library, and over to Cresap Labs. Note that Dr. Routtenberg's office and lab (where I induced LTP in dozens of mice) have been moved downstairs.

Walk along Sheridan and over to University Hall. Sit across from the Rock and remember how much more I enjoyed my Comparative and Slavic lit courses than my chemistry and computer programming courses.

Walk out through the Arch and across the street. Stroll through the Sorority Quads and out. Take a look into the old Music Building where I took Women in Popular Music; think about my current involvement in Girls Rock Vegas and Girls Rock SLC. Leave campus at Clark Street, pause at the Administration offices and remember handing in my application to graduate.

Sigh as dozens of cyclists speed by--downtown Evanston has become a racetrack. Note how many places have changed, but how the feel of my old college town is still pretty much the same.

Eat a stuffed half sausage half spinach pizza at Giordano's.

Monday: Take the El into downtown Chicago, pick up a bag of Chicago Mix popcorn (half cheese, half carmel). Walk over to the Art Institute. Chuckle as someone in the museum asks if Seurat's "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" is "the real one?". Stand in awe of the art that comforted me as a struggling college student. Nod approvingly at the new Modern Wing. Leave at five pm, wishing that the museum were open later.

Take the subway up to Water Tower. Indulge Heather by walking over to the American Girl store. Purchase a few Rebecca Rubin books and an equestrian outfit for my nieces. Wander down Michigan Avenue and stop at the Tribune Building for pictures.

Take the stairs down to the Billy Goat. Eat cheeseburgers and watch the Cubs lose.

Walk back along Michigan Avenue and give in to the late-night temptation to eat another stuffed pizza at Giordano's. Note excitedly that Giordano's sells half-baked, frozen pizzas. Take some comfort at the prospect of going back to Utah.

Tuesday: Take the train to the Field Museum. Take pictures with Sue and notice that no one asks if she's the "real thing." Walk through exhibits on the history of the native American peoples, the fossil record and the evolution of life (taking pictures with various fossils, and smiling widely in front of Archeopteryx). Finish off the visit by walking through the birds exhibit and remembering my old ornithology and vertebrate morphology courses.

Stroll along the lakefront from the Museum Campus to Grant Park. Think about how I fell in love with the city, despite my love for the unspoiled, undeveloped natural world, my hatred of corruption in government and corporate America, and racial and socioeconomic inequality.

Walk through Grant Park as a crowd gathers to see Duck Soup on a giant film screen. Think about hot days and cool nights at the Blues and Jazz and Gospel and Country Music Festivals, and a very intimate Marian McPartland concert after a drenching rainstorm.

Walk across the street to the new Millenium Park (well, new at least since I graduated). Talk to a security guard about how a Red-wing Blackbird keeps dive-bombing her ponytail. Grudgingly acknowledge that Frank Ghery's contribution to the city's architecture is actually positive. Take pictures at the "bean" and watch children play in the water at the Crown Fountain.

Watch the Cubs lose, again, while eating dinner at Pete Miller's.

Wednesday: Go to O'Hare to drop off Heather, call Giordano's and order a large, frozen stuffed sausage pizza, check out of hotel, spend day in Evanston, having lunch at Clarke's. Wonder about whether the quality of the North Shore potatoes has really diminished in ten years, or if I was just that hungry most of the time as a college student when I lived there. Pick up the pizza, hop a Purple Line Express to the Loop, transfer to the Orange Line, and shed a little tear as the plane takes off to leave the city I love.