Celebrating…Anything! in Chicago
The thing is, when you are writing anything about the city of Chicago…the “!” is necessary in the title. This is a city that celebrates, from the first buds on the flowers of spring time, to the senator being elected to President of the United States, to the fact that Joe–the local bartender in the pub on the corner managed to start his ‘57 pick-up in the middle of a snow storm…all is cause for celebration. And these kinds of celebrations and not here and then gone…they last days, weeks even.
Anyone who has booked a hotel room in Chicago during the month of March knows that it isn’t Saint Patrick’s Day…it’s Saint Patrick’s Month. From the moment the first beer breakfasts begin to the days of bloody mary brunches that follow, St. Patrick’s Day is a week-long festival. There is no other way to put it. I drove to work one day, just prior to the actual holiday, and my short drive was made a bit longer due to the fact that many, many people were already on the trolley buses having a good time. I got to work a few minutes late, set my station in the restaurant and began my shift.
My first table was a couple. They seemed to be around 75 or 80 years old and they were seated at one of the tables next to the ceiling to floor windows up front. I was taking their order, facing the window, when one of those trolleys was stopped in the traffic on Fullerton Avenue, just in front of our restaurant. All 20 people on board, were “mooning” us in broad daylight. I looked up, pointed out the window, and all I could say was, “butts…lots of butts, naked!”. The couple turned around, saw the spectacle, turned back to me and ordered their spaghetti. As if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I asked them how long they had lived in Chicago…they said their whole lives. And I understood their acceptance of normal behavior on the days surrounding St. Patrick’s Day. It wasn’t my idea of normal, but it sure was funny. It sure was Chicago!
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