A Favorite Old Picture

My parents were married on this day in 1950. Half-way around the world at 4AM on June 25, 1950, the Korean War started. Since Korea is past the international dateline, people in the United States learned of the invasion on June 24th. My parents heard the news at their wedding reception. So I thought a bit of remembrance today was appropriate...for my parents, not the war.

My favorite picture of my parents is one of them just finishing a meal together. There is no notation on the picture so I don't know when it was taken, but there are clues in the picture that reveal some information about when and where it was taken. First, neither of them are wearing wedding bands, and my mom doesn't have on an engagement ring. This clearly means the picture was taken before 1950. I don't know how long or on what date they were engaged but I'm guessing the picture was taken sometime in 1948 or 1949. Second, if you take a close look at the larger version of the picture, the letter "P" surrounded by olive branches is visible on the water glasses and the ash tray. This is the symbol for a hotel in downtown Chicago called the Palmer House. When I was in Chicago a few weeks ago, I had other family members staying there (it is still around and is very nice) and I took a picture of the hotel's famous "P" symbol. It matches the photo.

In any event, it is cool to think of my folks having a good meal, laughing together and then maybe going for a drink or dancing. Chicago was and is a great city, so it was fun to visit there and experience the energy of a large city like my parents.

Final thoughts on Chicago

I really lucked out with the weather this weekend in Chicago. Because I grew up near there, I guess I always anticipate that it will either be very cold or hot and humid. Couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. Weather like that expands the accessibility of the city and allows you to explore so much more. I walked everywhere and ran into a few things I hadn’t expected like a book fair, the old popcorn stand that my dad use to buy from and the gentlemen that I mentioned in the post below. The downside to all this good weather is that it doesn’t quite set the mood I was looking for in my photographs. They all look like cheap knockoffs of postcard shots. Would it have killed them to ship in a little mist and fog for me?

One final note on Chicago in general and this is something that my brother John mentioned to me; and it relates to the video I have linked below. (I’m still messing around with the video feature of my little point and shoot camera). The shoreline along Lake Michigan is all city owned, which makes it exclusively public space and not subject to private development. If you watch the grainy, shaky video below you’ll be able to see the vast park space that borders the lakeshore. I can’t think of to many other cities where the public waterfront is so well preserved and protected for its citizens. In most of the world only “the man” gets the waterfront property.

Stranger ot the Week

As I walked through Grant Park on Saturday I was confronted by this gentlemen. The self-proclaimed "King of the Bums". He spoke with a British accent that seemed authentic and claimed to have five children and a pregnant wife. His house was under the bridge I was crossing. I gave him two bucks to take his picture (I've paid more for model releases) and snapped his photo.

In general the homeless population in Chicago seemed to be under control. I'm not sure if they are shipping them out of the central city or if the city services are having a positive effect. I know that when I have visited San Francisco recently there seemed to be many more people struggling and on the street. It is really hard as a tourist to make a determination on those types of issues since you may be seeing cosmetics rather than reality.

My Second City

I visited Chicago this weekend to attend my nephew’s wedding. Chicago is a terrific city. Great cities are self aware of their own significance and it seems that there is this collective consciousness of its leaders and citizens that drives them to initiate projects that are unique in scope and design. To visit Chicago is to be able to participate in the great public benefits that the city has to offer whether it be in the public transportation system, the arts, the many parks and public spaces. That doesn't even consider the legendary sports teams, great institutions of higher learning or it's museums. I walked around the city most of Saturday taking pictures of some of the public art that the city has to offer. The Picasso I remember from my childhood because it gathered so much attention during my youth; you can read more about the “Chicago Picasso” at this link:

Picasso

The city recently completed a new portion of their lakefront park system, which is called Millennium Park. The park has a giant stainless steel jellybean type structure (the name is actually Cloud Gate) as one of the highlights. No matter how you approach it or walk around it, the artwork reflects back a portion of the skyline or the lakeshore thus reminding you of the great city that surrounds you. You can read more about the scupture here:

Cloud Gate

The final pictures is of Marc Chigal’s mural “Four Seasons”. You can find out more about this sculpture at:

Chigal's


I’ll write more later, but wanted to get an initial post up.