My Kind of Town

Puffy winter coats with fur-lined hoods. Bright yellow sweatshirt/peacoat hybrid. Chucks. Brunches at Owen & Engine and escapes to DeKalb. Fall walks downtown. Reading benches: River East, Lincoln Park, and Oz Park. 22, 36, 151, 8, Brown, Pink. Movies at the AMC, at the Music Box, at the Landmark. Rats. Ann Sather's cinnamon rolls. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter at Steppenwolf and a monologue for the ages. That feeling of knowing people are watching out for you. Walking slowly; learning swag. Getting called Princeton again. 11/11/11 at the cupcake place. Injustice; losing a friend. Robyn, Kanye, "Good Feeling," "Whip My Hair," "Feel It In My Bones," "Dust Bowl III," "Help I'm Alive," "Break On Through (To The Other Side)." Fear. Christmas lights softening a room. Snow on the trees outside. ZooLights and Christkindlmarket and chocolate-covered peppermint Joe-Joes. The lowest point; breaking down in hysterics on Lake Shore Drive and pulling off to take surface roads, still crying. The restorative joys of Cloud Atlas, and the staggering power of the Letter Game, immediately following it. Walks by the North Pond; heron spotting; loon searching. Friday pizza nights, Person of Interest, Arrested Development, and Elementary. Rediscovering springtime. Getting beaten down by winter, a once-favorite season. Sunburn at the Pride Parade and dancing at Ravinia. Car trouble. Internet trouble. Decision-making and follow-through. Friends who refuse to see you as anything less than who you are. Finding points of connection to a girl who is even shyer than you were. Baking powder as an air freshener. The universal in the specific and the momentous in the ordinary. Scandal and literal water coolers. Floriole and La Fournette and portable traditions. "Imma need for you to get it together." The architecture boat tour. The beer baron's house. Gino's East. Hanging way too many floors above nothing at the "Willis" Tower Skydeck. The Ferris Wheel. Getting creeped out by the H. H. Holmes Wikipedia entry on Halloween. Walking around on Halloween smelling the air and admiring costumes and eating M&Ms from a jacket pocket. Accidentally getting stuck in Cubs foot traffic. Dining a block from the Obamas. The Tribune Tower and stones from all over the world; a coolness test for guests. Growing up. Empathy. Self-analysis. Specialty drinks. Tacos. Deming, Geneva, Cermak, Washtenaw, 19th, Ogden, Roosevelt, Pine Grove, Lake Shore, Arlington, Orchard, Webster, Burling, Stockton, Larabee, Fullerton, Halsted, Clark, Lincoln, Sheffield, North, Damen, Michigan, Illinois, McClurg. Life-changing at the Duke of Perth and the Violet Hour. Mon Ami Gabi. The Purple Pig. The Burwood Tap. The Hopleaf. Tall, tall tales and professional lies. Other people's beloved plus ones. Dancing all night at business students' weddings. Green river. People watching in The Palmer House. Arguing with a taxi driver who won't go to 78th and Cottage Grove; "There's a Starbucks there. Relax." "I love running errands with a white person." "You're tougher than you look. We thought you'd be long gone by now."