An unexpected payoff

Being a Cubs fan is never an easy thing. After spending almost forty years in that fold, I can make such a statement with complete confidence. The good years–as measured by when the team makes it to the playoffs– can be counted on one hand, or two hands at the very most. And every one

A jewel of a sculpture

Chicago never ceases to amaze me. I’ve lived here for more than twenty years, and I’m always finding unexpected things. Today was just the latest example, and I wanted to take a few minutes to tell the story here. In June of 1865, just a month after Abraham Lincoln’s casket had come through town, Chicago

Making the old man proud

There is a promotional campaign for the Chicago Public Library that offers tips on how to be a “true” Chicagoan. The first of these steps is to pick a side between the Cubs and the White Sox. Other steps include forswearing ketchup on hot dogs, embracing deep dish pizza, and so forth. But step #1,

In the Lap of Lincoln

The statue above is Young Lincoln by Charles Keck, located in Senn Park, Chicago. Thinking about statues generally, there are a couple of assumptions that people might make. The first is that a statue is unveiled in a certain spot, and there it remains for time immemorial. Why immortalize someone if they’re going to be