Michigan Avenue in the 1950s

I was born and raised in Chicago, in the Windsor Park area, attended public schools, the Art Institute of Chicago (on a Dudley Crafts Watson scholarship, while in grades 5-12 at Myra Bradwell and South Shore), and later two universities for graduate study (Chicago and Northwestern). Although I have no special claim to fame, countless others do…either born there or closely associated with it. Here are several, listed in alpha order:

John Belushi
Jack Benny
Ray Bradbury
Dick Butkus
Al Capone
Stephen Colbert
Walt Disney
Tina Fey
Harrison Ford
Bob Fosse
Milton Friedman
Hugh Hefner
Jennifer Hudson
Michael Jordan
Ray Kroc
Bill Murray
Michelle and Barack Obama
Robin Williams
Oprah Winfrey
Frank Lloyd Wright

Another Chicagoan, Carl Sandburg, once said that Chicago was “America with the lid off.” Be that as it may, it was the perfect city for me growing up. I’ll always be grateful for those special years in that great city.

So many fond memories of so many experiences. Highlights include Christmas shopping on State Street, listening to The Cinnamon Bear on radio and watching Kukla Fan and Ollie television, baseball games at Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field, the annual Railroad Fair near Soldier’s Field, attending softball games at Bidwill Stadium (home of the Blue Birds and the Leo Rose Brown Bombers), skating at Rainbow Park in the winter and swimming in the summer, round trips to the Loop on the IC, riding Green Hornets that were trolleys, Ls, and subways, caddying at the South Shore Country Club, delivering newspapers before school, playing golf at Jackson Park, and roaming the Museum of Science and Industry at least 2-3 times a year.

Long ago, Thomas  Wolfe said “You can’t go home again” because the home we remember is no longer there, nor are we who we remember then. I agree. But memories persist, vivid and precious. I cherish all of them.