Above and Below--Chicago I

Chicago. The windy city. Home of the Cubs, White Sox, and the Bears. Cultural mecca for opera, symphony, ballet, art, chamber music, and all kinds of theatre. I am here enjoying the city and realized something strange during my rather gauche pilgrimage through the congeries of stores, restaurants, shops, and people. There is a city below downtown Chicago and a city above downtown Chicago. Below my steps I heard the motorized sounds of the subway and watched as hundreds of people emerged out of the tunnel and onto the street. Above my walk I again heard the frightening roar of the train as it reverberated through the lifted steel that contained its fierce undulating movement. And as I gazed upward, I looked in awe at the massive buildings that dotted and almost obliterated the sky above. Buildings covered with marble and glass and buildings rising from ab ovo only to end with a minaret so high as to be almost disguised and masked with the clouds hovering deliciously over the skyscrapers.

As I reflected on the city above and below me I found myself curious as to the people. Are they different in Chicago from people in Texas? Are they uglier, meaner, prettier, or nicer? Are they friendlier, ruder, smarter, stronger, less intelligent, or weaker than Texans? Do we in Texas rise above Chicago in pride, in spirit, in integrity, or in individualism? Or are we below Chicagoans in culture, in experience, in education, or in collective wisdom?

From my brief experience in this amazing city, I conclude that Texans and Chicagoans are simply people. There are nice ones, mean ones, scared ones, confident ones, tall, short, ugly, pretty, casual, intense--just people of all types, shapes, personalities, and values. I did notice that my propensity to strike up conversation in a folksy style brought smiles to faces. Apparently this is a bit unusual in Chicago. And I learned not to violate personal space in a revolving door. One lady began to laugh uproariously as we rotated around and stepped on each others feet amidst my inexorable apologies for not waiting for another rotating slot in which to reside. As we tumbled out of the door and on to the street, she glanced at me and laughed at me and continued her trek toward her own goals.

All in all, my day was enjoyable as I experienced this multi-layered city. I encountered many fine, helpful people along the pathway. And so I dispel the myth that Yankees are not friendly. Like Texans, some are and some are not. The layers of Chicago are as complex as are the people. But while the people may be similar, there are some things about downtown Chicago that are very different from where I live. Those differences will be outlined in Chicago II.