As Frank Sinatra sang, "Chicago is my kind of town. Chicago is my home town." In my case, no truer words were ever sang.
Chicago is my home town. Personally, I feel it is my personal city and background. I feel privileged to have grown up in the city. Even with moving to the suburbs in my mid-30's, for the most part, I worked and socialized in the city. My children and I made the trek into the city for every holiday season, plays, museums, special exhibits, etc.
Since I have this great affinity for the city of Chicago, at a moment's notice, I am happy to visit the city or give personal guided tours to my friends and visitors. Early this summer, my friend, Darling, and her daughter, Niceness, no strangers to the city, decided to spend the day in the Lincoln Park for a day of fun. FUN it was. We strolled and enjoyed the shops along Armitage Avenue just west of Halsted. There are two things that are very special about this neighborhood. The first is the buildings and homes along the side streets. Secretly, or not so secretly, even as a child, this is the neighborhood where I wanted to live.
Even with the economic straits of limited funds, my friends and I have enjoyed the city at this best. This summer, my friend, CareBear, and her sister and family wanted to rekindle some memories of a Chicago visit they had taken when they were young. With five full-size adults, we crammed into my Jeep Limited and drove to the Lincoln area and found a great FREE parking spot for the day. On this memory catching visit, we were only 3 blocks away from our first destination, Lincoln Park Zoo. The zoo has free admission. It's the parking that costs big bucks. The second memory was a city beach on Lake Michigan. We walked through Lincoln Park, crossed Lake Shore Drive on the sky walk and landed at North Avenue Beach. Everyone was thrilled and the pleasant memories were recreated.
My most recent tour was yesterday. Monkey is dating a gentleman we will name, GingerBear. He is a Yooper - Yah! sure. GingerBear has never been to the city of Chicago. He chose the visit the Shedd Aquarium. To tell the truth, I have not been there since the Oceanarium for first opened. If I remember correctly, Bill Kurtis was still a celebrity in Chicago. We had a great time. Then we walked back downtown via Milliners Park to see the BEAN.
It's mid-November, of course, we went to view the windows at Macy's. They sucked. Yes, I am one of those Chicagoans who will not give up anger of Macy buying Marshall Fields. The Walnut Room Tree was beautiful. As tradition has it, Monkey bought two small boxes of Frango Mints for the train ride room.
.....my kind of town - Chicago
Happy Trails to you
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
"... all the lonely people." - Eleanor Rigby
The song, Eleanor Rigby, was written by Paul McCartney and released in 1966. As the chorus of the song goes, "Ah, all the lonely people," it's a song about lonely people. These people live among us each and every day. They go about their lives and business. Sometimes, the isolation is a matter of circumstances: fear of rejection, illness, geography, lack of social skills, etc. Whatever the reason, I look at all the lonely people.
Which brings me to social networking. Is social networking making us any less lonely? Or, is social networking isolating individuals from people even more? Why is it called social networking? Facebook, Plaxo, Linkedin, etc. are not really very social. The conversation is in sound bytes and one-way. Yes, there is an acceptance to an invitation, but no face-to-face conversation. Updates are more akin to shouting and announcing to the network, "Hey LOOK AT ME! I DID SOMETHING." While this may be a conversation starts, it's not a conversation. It grabs attention for a moment. Then, the network goes about their business.
Recently, while working at the store, I have come across quite a few lonely people. Every week, we see some of the same patrons. They spend their time shopping, mingling with the salespeople and other patrons. They buy things. The next week, these same people arrive at the store to return 90% of their previous purchase. The cycle continues with the same behavior. At first, I thought these people were not decisive. But the more I observed their patterns and behavior, the more I realized these sad people are lonely. They visit the store for company and interaction with other people.
Wouldn't be great if we could somehow (without pointing fingers) form an actual social group or club. These ladies could gather at the store to shop, lunch and develop a real relationship, and most importantly, make less returns to the store. They could encourage each other and enjoy each others' company.
I could make a page, "All the lonely people, meet in the Missy concept for social interaction."
Which brings me to social networking. Is social networking making us any less lonely? Or, is social networking isolating individuals from people even more? Why is it called social networking? Facebook, Plaxo, Linkedin, etc. are not really very social. The conversation is in sound bytes and one-way. Yes, there is an acceptance to an invitation, but no face-to-face conversation. Updates are more akin to shouting and announcing to the network, "Hey LOOK AT ME! I DID SOMETHING." While this may be a conversation starts, it's not a conversation. It grabs attention for a moment. Then, the network goes about their business.
Recently, while working at the store, I have come across quite a few lonely people. Every week, we see some of the same patrons. They spend their time shopping, mingling with the salespeople and other patrons. They buy things. The next week, these same people arrive at the store to return 90% of their previous purchase. The cycle continues with the same behavior. At first, I thought these people were not decisive. But the more I observed their patterns and behavior, the more I realized these sad people are lonely. They visit the store for company and interaction with other people.
Wouldn't be great if we could somehow (without pointing fingers) form an actual social group or club. These ladies could gather at the store to shop, lunch and develop a real relationship, and most importantly, make less returns to the store. They could encourage each other and enjoy each others' company.
I could make a page, "All the lonely people, meet in the Missy concept for social interaction."
Friday, October 8, 2010
YUM! YUM!
The YUM! subject deserves a second blog report.
By dear granddaughter, Coco, inspires this story. As I mentioned earlier this week, she is now 2.5 years and a fabulous toddler. I love toddlers. They utter the most precious things. A toddler is the most honest human alive.
Of course Coco's immediate family think she is the smartest and most clever child alive. This includes her Mimi, me. Coco truly enjoys cake with lots of frosting. To say the least, it's one of her comfort foods. When you mention cake, her eyes light up.
A few weeks ago after a family dinner, we were playing flash cards with Coco. A for apple. B for bee. When we got to C, Coco shouts, "CAKE! I LOVE IT!" Needless to say, everyone was smiling.
So, this weekend, Coco and I will be baking cupcakes with lots of frosting. I LOVE CUPCAKES!
By dear granddaughter, Coco, inspires this story. As I mentioned earlier this week, she is now 2.5 years and a fabulous toddler. I love toddlers. They utter the most precious things. A toddler is the most honest human alive.
Of course Coco's immediate family think she is the smartest and most clever child alive. This includes her Mimi, me. Coco truly enjoys cake with lots of frosting. To say the least, it's one of her comfort foods. When you mention cake, her eyes light up.
A few weeks ago after a family dinner, we were playing flash cards with Coco. A for apple. B for bee. When we got to C, Coco shouts, "CAKE! I LOVE IT!" Needless to say, everyone was smiling.
So, this weekend, Coco and I will be baking cupcakes with lots of frosting. I LOVE CUPCAKES!
YUM!
Comfort Food - This phrase was included into the Webster Dictionary in 1977. Comfort food is loosely described as food which brings an individual comfort and well-being. It says nothing about guilt.
YUM! Brands is the name of the ex-trinity of PepsiCo Foods: KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Personally, these are not my comfort foods. But they must be comfort foods for millions, maybe billions of people. YUM! Brands is doing quite nicely even through the great recession.
Once upon on a time, I worked with a very young woman. We worked in an office building downtown. Her comfort food was fried rice. But it had to be from China town. So she would send her boyfriend of the moment to China town to bring back an order of fried rice. (Did I mention that she was quite attractive?)
Last evening, I had dinner with some friends, CareBear and Mikey. As we were enjoying our dinner, we were discussing comfort foods and past combinations from our childhood. One was dill pickles and peanut butter. Another favorite was white bread with butter and sugar sprinkled on top. Quite a few of these concoctions were tossed around with comments.
There was a time during my preteen years when I sneak into the kitchen to make a butter and sugar sandwich as a snack. (Did I mention that I was a chubby child?) It has been a long time since I craved or ate a slice of white bread with butter and sugar. At this point in my life, the thought does not appeal to me.
We all crave those foods that bring us good memories or a positive feeling about life. To tell the truth, my comfort foods have not changed all that much. Currently, my list would include:
Yummy, Yummy
YUM! Brands is the name of the ex-trinity of PepsiCo Foods: KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Personally, these are not my comfort foods. But they must be comfort foods for millions, maybe billions of people. YUM! Brands is doing quite nicely even through the great recession.
Once upon on a time, I worked with a very young woman. We worked in an office building downtown. Her comfort food was fried rice. But it had to be from China town. So she would send her boyfriend of the moment to China town to bring back an order of fried rice. (Did I mention that she was quite attractive?)
Last evening, I had dinner with some friends, CareBear and Mikey. As we were enjoying our dinner, we were discussing comfort foods and past combinations from our childhood. One was dill pickles and peanut butter. Another favorite was white bread with butter and sugar sprinkled on top. Quite a few of these concoctions were tossed around with comments.
There was a time during my preteen years when I sneak into the kitchen to make a butter and sugar sandwich as a snack. (Did I mention that I was a chubby child?) It has been a long time since I craved or ate a slice of white bread with butter and sugar. At this point in my life, the thought does not appeal to me.
We all crave those foods that bring us good memories or a positive feeling about life. To tell the truth, my comfort foods have not changed all that much. Currently, my list would include:
- Chicago pizza - sans pepperoni - a true Chicagoan does not eat pepperoni - it's sawsage
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Cheeseburgers - pub style - medium rare
- A well-made cosmopolitan with grey goose vodka
Yummy, Yummy
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Choo-Choo Charlie
Again for a moment or two, let's go back to early television. Do you remember the candy called, Good n' Plenty? It's still around. It was not my personal favorite candy. Good n' Plenty is licorice in candy coated shells of pink and white. You can still find it in a Walgreens in the $1boxes of candy. Yes, it was only 5 cents when I was a child (a million years ago).
Now that you are trying to picture the candy, stretch your memory to remember the commercial. It was a black and white cartoon. The only color in the commercial was the pink and white candy pellets. The main character was Choo-Choo Charlie who closely resembled Charlie Brown. Well, Choo-Choo Charlie was engineer who shook his box of Good N' Plenty to make the sound of a train chugging down the tracks.
As a child and still as a mature adult, when I think about trains, picture the commercial as well as hear the song in my head. Skip ahead two generations to the present. My Coco is now 2.5 years of age. Her frame of reference for trains is the series of Thomas the Train. Can you believe that until Coco came along I never heard of Thomas and his train crew? (Guess television was my babysitter.)
Coco is quite familiar with this entire train crew: Gordon, Percy, and Thomas, etc. Every time she sees a train pass by, she points, smiles and says "Thomas"! So as a potty training reward, on a bright sunny Saturday morning, the entire family boarded Thomas and rode the train to another suburb approximately 30 minutes away. As we passed trains, in complete awe, Coco called out the names of the other train crew members. Her face held great awe and wonder.
Those moments held great awe, wonder and joy for me as well.
Choo-Choo Charlie & Thomas the Train
Now that you are trying to picture the candy, stretch your memory to remember the commercial. It was a black and white cartoon. The only color in the commercial was the pink and white candy pellets. The main character was Choo-Choo Charlie who closely resembled Charlie Brown. Well, Choo-Choo Charlie was engineer who shook his box of Good N' Plenty to make the sound of a train chugging down the tracks.
As a child and still as a mature adult, when I think about trains, picture the commercial as well as hear the song in my head. Skip ahead two generations to the present. My Coco is now 2.5 years of age. Her frame of reference for trains is the series of Thomas the Train. Can you believe that until Coco came along I never heard of Thomas and his train crew? (Guess television was my babysitter.)
Coco is quite familiar with this entire train crew: Gordon, Percy, and Thomas, etc. Every time she sees a train pass by, she points, smiles and says "Thomas"! So as a potty training reward, on a bright sunny Saturday morning, the entire family boarded Thomas and rode the train to another suburb approximately 30 minutes away. As we passed trains, in complete awe, Coco called out the names of the other train crew members. Her face held great awe and wonder.
Those moments held great awe, wonder and joy for me as well.
Choo-Choo Charlie & Thomas the Train
Monday, October 4, 2010
The Secret Word
It's the beginning of October and the beginning of my fourth week with Talbots. Even though my dogs (feet) are barking and howling some days, I am having fun.
Most of us will not remember this early television show with Goucho Marx. It had something to do with a "secret" word. After the contestant chatted with Groucho, the guest would need to guess a secret word. Of course, Groucho would look into the camera, raise his bushy eyebrows, cigar in mouth and say, "What's the secret word"? I digest (even more) for a moment. It's a trivia moment.
Remember this was early television when there were censors. Here's the true story of how Groucho was banned from his show and no longer on television. While chatting with a couple (contestants), the couple mentioned that they had 9 children. Groucho, of course, looks at the camera ready for the punchline and says, "Name, I like my cigar too, but I take it out once in awhile."
Thank you for indulging me. I love that story. Back to my short story. Last week, I learned we have a weekly word. Of course, my imagination runs wild and I call it a secret word. Last week, the word was "glamorous." We are to try and use the word at least once during a conversation with a client/customer. This week the word is "style." For me, a person who already speaks in superlatives, this great fun and comes natural.
Upon further reflection, the secret word should always be sincere. The point of the weekly secret word is to focus on the customer and be positive.
So what is your secret word this week?
Most of us will not remember this early television show with Goucho Marx. It had something to do with a "secret" word. After the contestant chatted with Groucho, the guest would need to guess a secret word. Of course, Groucho would look into the camera, raise his bushy eyebrows, cigar in mouth and say, "What's the secret word"? I digest (even more) for a moment. It's a trivia moment.
Remember this was early television when there were censors. Here's the true story of how Groucho was banned from his show and no longer on television. While chatting with a couple (contestants), the couple mentioned that they had 9 children. Groucho, of course, looks at the camera ready for the punchline and says, "Name, I like my cigar too, but I take it out once in awhile."
Thank you for indulging me. I love that story. Back to my short story. Last week, I learned we have a weekly word. Of course, my imagination runs wild and I call it a secret word. Last week, the word was "glamorous." We are to try and use the word at least once during a conversation with a client/customer. This week the word is "style." For me, a person who already speaks in superlatives, this great fun and comes natural.
Upon further reflection, the secret word should always be sincere. The point of the weekly secret word is to focus on the customer and be positive.
So what is your secret word this week?
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Heaven -
/In the past, I have been part of many discussions about heaven. What's it like? Where is heaven? Does time stand still in heaven? Does time speed ahead? Is it an alternative universe?
Let's face it. It must be darn good. No one comes back to share its secrets. They are all too busy enjoying heaven to share. For this blog, I am going to presume that heaven is something different to each and every one of us. Some people believe it's a place to be reunited with loved ones. (I pass on that notion.) Case in point, my Aunt Marie. She is buried in between both of her two husbands. Where does she hang in heaven? Maybe she found a third husband in heaven. I don't know. She has not come back to tell me.
This past month I took a part-time job with one of my favorite stores, Talbots. For the fall line, we (Talbots) is featuring jackets. But not just any jacket. There are three main categories of jackets. Each line is named after a fashion icon: Grace, Jackie and Kate. One of my duties is showcase the jackets. What better way to showcase the jackets than to wear them. So, when I am on the floor, I change jackets every hour or two. To date, I have worn every jacket item in the fall collection. Some days, I add a piece of jewelry or scarf to accessorize the outfit. Now in my book, that is a piece of heaven.
My personal choice of jacket is Grace......MOM
Let's face it. It must be darn good. No one comes back to share its secrets. They are all too busy enjoying heaven to share. For this blog, I am going to presume that heaven is something different to each and every one of us. Some people believe it's a place to be reunited with loved ones. (I pass on that notion.) Case in point, my Aunt Marie. She is buried in between both of her two husbands. Where does she hang in heaven? Maybe she found a third husband in heaven. I don't know. She has not come back to tell me.
This past month I took a part-time job with one of my favorite stores, Talbots. For the fall line, we (Talbots) is featuring jackets. But not just any jacket. There are three main categories of jackets. Each line is named after a fashion icon: Grace, Jackie and Kate. One of my duties is showcase the jackets. What better way to showcase the jackets than to wear them. So, when I am on the floor, I change jackets every hour or two. To date, I have worn every jacket item in the fall collection. Some days, I add a piece of jewelry or scarf to accessorize the outfit. Now in my book, that is a piece of heaven.
My personal choice of jacket is Grace......MOM
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