From time to time I am going to take a moment to write about the major influences on my life: authors, preachers, music, movies, and the like. I will put these posts up in a thoroughly biased manner because each post will strictly be my opinion. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but hopefully, each post will shed some light on why I think the way I think. And, maybe, you'll come to appreciate them too.
I am originally from a very small town in rural, western Illinois. For those who care, and for those from there, the town is named Aledo. Christen moved to Aledo in junior high from an even smaller town in central/southern Illinois. When we got married, we flew out to Colorado for our honeymoon and then back into Chicago, where we promptly drove to our apartment and began our lives in the Second City. When we told folks from back home that we were planning on starting our married life in Chicago, every single person had the same reaction: 'Why?!' After being here for nearly seven years, I am prepared to more fully answer that question.
Now, before I jump into why I love Chicago so much, it must be noted that this is a tremendously difficult city with a notorious history and a troubling present. Chicago was founded for the purpose of making money - transporting goods from the fertile Midwest to the East Coast was no easy task, but Chicago made that possible. This led to all sorts of greed, swindling, strong-arming, and oppression (mostly of laborers). In Chicago, many people saw opportunity. Those that took advantage of that opportunity built themselves empires which were ruthlessly maintained. Politicians were paid for while laborers were not. Further, due to immigration and the way labor was distributed, Chicago was a segregated city from the beginning.
Today, these themes remain. We can see the greed on display on the Magnificent Mile, the segregation in every neighborhood, the crime and poverty, and the corruption of the political system. This is no city for the faint of heart.
But I love it.
I love that, though the neighborhoods are segregated, they celebrate who lives there throughout the year. There are parades for every possible Independence Day you can think of. It also makes it easier to know where to go if you're in the mood for a certain type of food. Puerto Rican? Head to Humboldt Park. Indian? Go to Devon Street. Italian? Little Italy - or any shady, obviously-mafia-run place you can find. Steak? Downtown. Pizza? It's Chicago - pick one.
I love that there are some neighborhoods that buck the segregation trend. I live in Rogers Park. It is considered one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country, sporting more than 80 languages spoken and every major religion represented. I can go to the park with my kids and hear seven different languages spoken. My kids have learned that the first question to ask isn't necessarily, 'Do you want to play?' but rather, 'Do you speak English?' Even then, if the child doesn't speak English, everyone knows how to play 'tag'.
I love that Chicago hibernates during the bitter winters but wakes up to celebrate Spring, Summer, and Fall. The appreciation is seen in outdoor festivals, block parties, sporting events (including the Cubs, White Sox, and Bears for the outdoor fans, and the Bulls and Blackhawks for the indoor fans), concerts, movies in the park(s), and on and on. There isn't a city I'd rather be in during the Summer.
I love that Chicago embraces culture. This goes back to its founding. Because Chicago was so notorious for being all about manufacturing and shipping and smelly, dirty, hard labor, the elite made a concerted effort to bring in class and sophistication to the city. This is why Chicago has its museums, parks, art, and architecture.
Mostly, I love that Chicago is uncompromisingly itself. It is not a mini-New York or a mini-Los Angeles. Chicago is Chicago. It has its own identity, and it is certainly a force on culture as we know it. It is full of people with Midwestern hospitality and yet an urban propensity to, shall we say, tell it like it is. We have the richest of the rich, the poorest of the poor, the cultured and the not, the educated and the not, the immigrant, the native, the family, the single, the old school and the new, the creatives and the traditionalists.
I love Chicago because it is home.
0 comments:
Post a Comment