tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post3215412154871369084..comments2024-03-29T05:29:08.934-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/29/24: Neil Steinberg's Day offNeil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-43471505581048519532021-08-01T22:06:08.783-05:002021-08-01T22:06:08.783-05:00No doubt the suspense has been killing everyone, b...No doubt the suspense has been killing everyone, but no joke about the river water. Didn’t really speak directly about the river. As it turned out, it wasn’t a CAC tour, just a Wendella one. My daughter bought the tickets, so I wasn’t sure going in. Regardless, it was a gorgeous day and a scenic voyage. Coeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06130250489695215525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-19466586990547596312021-07-30T13:40:35.634-05:002021-07-30T13:40:35.634-05:00"women in hijabs learning to kayak"
The..."women in hijabs learning to kayak"<br /><br />The most American image I've heard in a long time...<br /><br />Thanks Neil.Ed P.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08587757371758033796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-31687445121773633052021-07-30T06:03:57.497-05:002021-07-30T06:03:57.497-05:00Because I wrote a comprehensive piece on the cente...Because I wrote a comprehensive piece on the centennial in 2015, and sometimes repost that. You're a newcomer, so might not know the lay of the land: I try not to rewrite the same material. Yes, 211 W. Wacker is still there. If you're wondering why your remark about the canals in England wasn't posted, it didn't meet the blog's standards, failing due to being inexplicit. Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-31480132428186830172021-07-30T03:03:33.493-05:002021-07-30T03:03:33.493-05:00In a couple more weeks, it'll be nearly three ...In a couple more weeks, it'll be nearly three decades since I moved to Cleveland, after having been born and raised in Chicago and living there for half my life. Including 17 years as an adult. I miss live jazz and the Cub games. I miss the 'L' and the pizza. I miss South Evanston. I miss Rogers Park. I don't miss the expense, the traffic, trying to park, apartment living, gentrification, and too many other hassles.<br /><br />When I left in '92, Millennium Park was still nothing more than a vast parking garage. Downtown has grown and changed and expanded so much, both outward and upward, that I barely recognize it when I see images of it, or when I make an increasingly rare visit. Haven't been back since the night the Cubs won the pennant. I'll always have that.<br /><br />When I was driving the U-haul box truck south on the Ryan, past "New Comiskey"...I glanced in the rear-view mirror, saw the "Sears Tower" and the rest of the famous skyline against the hazy August sky, and realized, with a sudden jolt to the heart, that my Chicago days were truly over, at 45. After 36 years in the city and suburbs, I would never be living in my birthplace again.<br /><br />Paraphrasing Neil Diamond: "Cleveland's fine but it ain't home, Chicago's home but it ain't mine no more." <br /><br />Twenty-nine summers ago. Sometimes, it feels like a day.Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-85273432702757092602021-07-30T01:08:59.715-05:002021-07-30T01:08:59.715-05:00What, not a mention of the Eastland so close to th...What, not a mention of the Eastland so close to the anniversary of the disaster? Here’s a question: is the building that housed the Sun-Times before the paper moved to the site of today’s Trump Tower still standing? Bulldog Editionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07352485457515388570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-22557940633257454172021-07-29T21:21:05.740-05:002021-07-29T21:21:05.740-05:00You go in. You go up or down. You go out. That'...You go in. You go up or down. You go out. That's a lock.<br />A few years ago, we were on a barge trip on a canal in France (highly recommended way to spend a week, by the way). On the first day we went thru 16 separate locks.mellowjohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16543634125013198207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-64046056566649958042021-07-29T20:58:35.294-05:002021-07-29T20:58:35.294-05:00Nope… one lock. When its water is at river level, ...Nope… one lock. When its water is at river level, boats exit to and enter from the river. They close the gate on the river side. Then they crack open the gate on the lake side; the water fills in, raising the level to lake level. The gate opens wide and boats go out, and in. They close the gate on the lake side. Then they crack the gate on the river side and let the water out. Repeat. MLWeilandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01471768325241899794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-31746700974406836102021-07-29T16:59:19.970-05:002021-07-29T16:59:19.970-05:00Fixed, though I'm confused. Don't they hav...Fixed, though I'm confused. Don't they have to have a pair? One to go through, then the water height is adjusted, and the other opens. Two locks. Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-5649555933227453352021-07-29T16:53:10.649-05:002021-07-29T16:53:10.649-05:00Worked as a tour guide on the Wendella boats for s...Worked as a tour guide on the Wendella boats for several summers (you were on my boat once), and was quickly corrected at the beginning of my tenure: it's "lock." There's only one.mellowjohnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16543634125013198207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-59591427057636608922021-07-29T14:35:59.187-05:002021-07-29T14:35:59.187-05:00I once had a Seadog cruise from work, so I didn...I once had a Seadog cruise from work, so I didn't pay for it & the guide made one mistake after another, while on the river.<br />He even said Union Station was built by the Union Pacific, which is not only wrong but absurd, as there are Union Stations in many other cities the Union Pacific never went to.<br />It was actually built by the Chicago Union Station Co., [CUSCO], which was made up of the Pennsylvania, Burlington, Michigan Central & the Milwaukee Road.<br />The UP trains that entered Chicago used Northwestern Station, which never should've been built, because the original plans for the Northwestern was to enter Union Station at the second floor level at Adams St., but the Northwestern, which was perpetually close to bankruptcy, couldn't afford the extra cost of demolishing their building, buying the land & extending the tracks to Union Station.Clark St.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09634234069783123180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-16504109101703375032021-07-29T14:31:33.133-05:002021-07-29T14:31:33.133-05:00Sounds like a typical day for us when we come to v...Sounds like a typical day for us when we come to visit our son. <br />Before our first visit, everyone told us to make sure we take the architectural boat tour. We've gone three times so far. Same thing, we sort of know the area now but each guide has their own style which keeps things interesting.<br />Looking forward to our next trip in October.Leshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16679840606511726447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-72699352772741471362021-07-29T14:01:30.113-05:002021-07-29T14:01:30.113-05:00What do you mean? I didn't say a word. A guy&#...What do you mean? I didn't say a word. A guy's allowed to think, isn't he?Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-86965830598257487722021-07-29T13:47:49.677-05:002021-07-29T13:47:49.677-05:00Coincidentally, I’ll be taking a tour tomorrow, so...Coincidentally, I’ll be taking a tour tomorrow, so I’ll let you know if the joke is made.<br /><br />Neil, I’m so sorry to hear that you’re “that guy" on tours. 🧐Coeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06130250489695215525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-91114513719797640312021-07-29T11:03:21.384-05:002021-07-29T11:03:21.384-05:00Neil, I'm a CAC docent (and speaking for mysel...Neil, I'm a CAC docent (and speaking for myself, not the CAC). In fairness to your docent Corinne, there are only so many seconds we can devote to any particular building because we only want to talk about things that you can see without looking behind. I'd bet any of us could talk twice as much than we do about any buildings we include. <br /><br />"She didn't make a single factual error, and that might have riled me too, because I was primed and waiting for the joy of correcting others." -- the absence of factual errors doesn't surprise me! -- the docent training (and constant refreshing) is meticulous.<br /><br />Thanks for taking the tour, and writing about it. MLWeilandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01471768325241899794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-26451362747384508172021-07-29T10:17:12.931-05:002021-07-29T10:17:12.931-05:00I've taken a river tour 4 or 5 times, but the ...I've taken a river tour 4 or 5 times, but the last couple of docents failed to repeat the old joke about Chicago sending polluted water down the river to St. Louis, which puts it in cans and sends it back to Chicago as Budweiser. I assume there were complaints from St. Louis or Belgium. Lawyers are no fun -- I know from very personal experience.<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-50716279855765281372021-07-29T09:54:33.376-05:002021-07-29T09:54:33.376-05:00After 35 years in and around Chicago I moved to St...After 35 years in and around Chicago I moved to St Louis two years ago. I was surprised to learn how much there is to do in St Louis - world class symphony, great theater, the zoo, botanical garden, St Louis Art Museum, an amazing History Museum, wooded hills loaded with wineries, a remarkable park system, sports stadiums, Cahokia Mounds, Fairmont Park, the Muny Opera, and on and on. But riding a bike along the Mississippi pales in comparison to riding along Lake Michigan, and the skyscrapers are few and far between in Mound City. Your article mirrored adventures I've had countless times in the city and made me a little wistful and a lot jealous. Chicago is a remarkable place and I miss it terribly - but, the next time I go to one of the many free cultural institutions in St Louis, zoom into a free parking place, then zoom back to my house without cursing traffic, the wistfulness and jealousy will be tempered. Thanks for the great article and a reminder of what a wonderful downtown Chicago has. Oh - St Louis now has it's own Jeanne Gang building overlooking Forest Park. Not as grand as her work in Chicago, but on a scale that befits St. Louis' spot in the pecking order of great midwestern cities.Dennis Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03936110563379328219noreply@blogger.com