I was a little pissed off at myself after I finished chalking today’s quote. There was a time when I would go do stuff at a drop of a hat.
Get on the Lake Street L and go to a baseball game an hour before the first pitch. Jump on an airplane and go to New Orleans without a hotel reservation. Hop in the car and drive to a rural town just to find a good pork tenderloin sandwich.
Why did I stop doing these kind of things? Oh yeah, fatherhood.
The glorious 1990’s when all of my friends were having families and I didn’t have any responsibilities. Now all of those friends are empty nesters, while I’m picking up my daughter at the middle school.
And when did junior high school become middle school?
Being a thirteen year old kid is awkward in the first place. Now you want to stick them in the middle. Getting stuck in the middle sucks.
My Oldman was a “Let’s jump in the car” kind of guy. Out of nowhere he’d tell me to put my jacket on because we are going for a ride.
We’d end up buying a loaf of bread and a couple cannoli at D’Mato’s or at Bishop’s for a bowl of chili.
Sometimes he’d want to go get the Sunday papers on a Saturday. Instead of heading to the White Hen five blocks away, we would drive to a newsstand at the corner of Cicero and Irving Park or the one down on Ashland Avenue. My Oldman knew where every newsstand in Chicago was and which one had a diner or hotdog joint nearby.
When my Oldman would throw my coat at me and tell me we were going to get the papers, I knew we were getting something to eat.
I need to tell the Shepkids to go get in the car more often. They need to know where to find a good almond cookie in Chinatown.
Life doesn’t have a schedule. Have you marked down on your calendar the day when you die?
I actually have… May 21st, 2051. That is one day longer than my Oldman lived. I think it’s the perfect time. I can one up my dad and go see him in heaven at the same time.
Then we can grab Saint Joseph and jump in the car and go get the Sunday papers. I can go get an Italian beef with my Oldman and Jesus’s Oldman.
Here is your challenge you Chalkheads.
Go do something off the beaten path today. Go find a Jewish deli and get a bowl of matzo ball soup.
Here is a good one for you Chicago Chalkheads. Grab a sack of sliders and drive to the lakefront. Park your car facing Lake Michigan before it becomes Lake Indiana and have a dashboard lunch.
You don’t know what a dashboard lunch is?
It’s when you sit in a parking lot and watch shit do stuff. You turn the radio on and listen to a ballgame or a jazz program and try not to get those little flakes of onions in the cup holder or on the steering wheel column.
Drive up to Wrigley Field and take a picture of the Harry Caray statue. Drive down to Comiskey and take an at bat on the old home plate.
Grab a growler from BuckleDown and a sandwich from Alpine and go have a picnic at the forest preserve. Just don’t back your car into the parking spot.
My Oldman and I found out the hard way…
….parking backed in was code for looking for a quickie.
That’s a story for another chalkboard. Just make sure you pull in forward.
I’ve been rambling this morning.
Go be astonished with something that isn’t scheduled.
