Back from Chi-town
Having spent the better part of last week in Chicago visiting Shira's family (as Shira's father said, they had three visitors: me, Shira and her ring), it's good to be back in good old New York City. I got a chance to take a quick stroll through the park yesterday and was happy to see it so full. Always a sign that spring is finally here. It was quite remarkable, though, to see a great deal of Orthodox and Hassidic Jews enjoying themselves in the pond adjacent to the Boathouse. See all the black hatted frum folks paddling around made me feel like I was in a Mel Brooks movie or something.
Anyway, some highlights from my trip to the windy city:
-Got to walk around the loop and Michigan Avenue once I got there, which allowed for my first real wandering time in Chicago. It's definitely a great city to stroll through and the many shops, parks and buildings made for good wandering scenery.
-Made my first strip to Wrigley to see the Reds vs. Cubs game. As a side note, I chose not to wear my Yankees hat as I feared a Chicago style repeat of my experiences in the Yankee Stadium bleechers. Seeings as Shira's father and brother are Reds' fans, I figured I'd pick up a Reds hat at the game. No dice, as apparently the sale of non-Cubs related merchandise was prohibited. Once we got inside, I discovered two important facts. One was that Bucky Dent, my first baseball idol, is now a coah for Cincinatti. This instantally propelled them to my number 2 favorite team. The other thing I discovered is that due to the construction of the upper deck at Wrigley, from where we were sitting, any high pop was not visible. This posed a problem pretty quickly as Adam Dunn smacked a solo shot early on in the game. Overall, a great experience, though baseball sans beer and hotdogs (it was still passove) just doesn't feel right.
-Spent the second seder at the house of the rabbi who will be marrying Shira and I. It was a unique experience for quite a few reasons. One was that the rabbi's daughter, who herself is a rabbinical student, led us through a rather liberal hagadah she had printed out. Not that it was bad, just very different than the fire and brimstone filled one my family and I have used my whole life. Second, the rabbi's wife, Patti, helped keep the seder moving by using a wide variety of props including various musical instruments. Finally, Patti, her sister and mother, all of whom were present, were the first Southern Jews I've ever met. Her mother had one of the coolest accents I've ever heard and overall, it was very cool to meet people who similar but very different backgrounds from me. A unique seder to say the least.
-Spent much of Saturday "pre-registering" for the wedding. What this means is that we went to the stores and figured out what we would be registering for when we actually register. Which means we will need to go back and actually register later on. Which means I will be subjected to the soul sucking new age music these stores tend to play. At one point on Saturday, while looking through different china patterns, I began listening to one of these songs and coulda sworn it was a woman chanting "Ooga-Booga" over and over almost forcing my to grab a plate and smash it over my head to make it stop. This may seem like a bit of an overreaction to crappy music, but it was rather annoying.
-After nearly a year of having it talked up by Shira, I finally got to see Mel Brooks' "The Twelve Chairs." While not Brooks' best film, it was very funny and should be seen, if for nothing else, Dom Deluise's wonderful performance. What ever happenned to him? He was so good in Brooks' films and now, he seems to have disappeared. Sad.
Overall, the week was a great time and I certainly look forward to future trips back to Chicago. It's my kind of town :)
Anyway, some highlights from my trip to the windy city:
-Got to walk around the loop and Michigan Avenue once I got there, which allowed for my first real wandering time in Chicago. It's definitely a great city to stroll through and the many shops, parks and buildings made for good wandering scenery.
-Made my first strip to Wrigley to see the Reds vs. Cubs game. As a side note, I chose not to wear my Yankees hat as I feared a Chicago style repeat of my experiences in the Yankee Stadium bleechers. Seeings as Shira's father and brother are Reds' fans, I figured I'd pick up a Reds hat at the game. No dice, as apparently the sale of non-Cubs related merchandise was prohibited. Once we got inside, I discovered two important facts. One was that Bucky Dent, my first baseball idol, is now a coah for Cincinatti. This instantally propelled them to my number 2 favorite team. The other thing I discovered is that due to the construction of the upper deck at Wrigley, from where we were sitting, any high pop was not visible. This posed a problem pretty quickly as Adam Dunn smacked a solo shot early on in the game. Overall, a great experience, though baseball sans beer and hotdogs (it was still passove) just doesn't feel right.
-Spent the second seder at the house of the rabbi who will be marrying Shira and I. It was a unique experience for quite a few reasons. One was that the rabbi's daughter, who herself is a rabbinical student, led us through a rather liberal hagadah she had printed out. Not that it was bad, just very different than the fire and brimstone filled one my family and I have used my whole life. Second, the rabbi's wife, Patti, helped keep the seder moving by using a wide variety of props including various musical instruments. Finally, Patti, her sister and mother, all of whom were present, were the first Southern Jews I've ever met. Her mother had one of the coolest accents I've ever heard and overall, it was very cool to meet people who similar but very different backgrounds from me. A unique seder to say the least.
-Spent much of Saturday "pre-registering" for the wedding. What this means is that we went to the stores and figured out what we would be registering for when we actually register. Which means we will need to go back and actually register later on. Which means I will be subjected to the soul sucking new age music these stores tend to play. At one point on Saturday, while looking through different china patterns, I began listening to one of these songs and coulda sworn it was a woman chanting "Ooga-Booga" over and over almost forcing my to grab a plate and smash it over my head to make it stop. This may seem like a bit of an overreaction to crappy music, but it was rather annoying.
-After nearly a year of having it talked up by Shira, I finally got to see Mel Brooks' "The Twelve Chairs." While not Brooks' best film, it was very funny and should be seen, if for nothing else, Dom Deluise's wonderful performance. What ever happenned to him? He was so good in Brooks' films and now, he seems to have disappeared. Sad.
Overall, the week was a great time and I certainly look forward to future trips back to Chicago. It's my kind of town :)
posted by Mike at 3:23 PM
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