Tasting Chicago

On medication due to major back spasms, I entered Chicago in a whirl. I must admit it was one of my most anticipated stops. The Art Institute, a friend in town, showers, and the pizza were in the forefront of my mind. Finally after a day of commuting the group got a quick shower and went on to the Taste of Chicago.

Tickets for the event were eight dollars for twelve tickets, but each food item was worth several tickets. I ended up eating away my tickets on dessert items like hot fudge brownie with ice cream and a sample of cheesecake. Taste Chicago’s most delectable food from their best restaurants, I did. Not enough to fill me but enough to curb my sweet tooth.

There I met Katie Graves an old Belmont friend who recently moved to the city. We made our way to the Art Institute for a quick view of the new modern art wing which I did not particularly enjoy. Alas, Renoir’s Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando or Monet’s Water Lilies was all I needed to make this trip worthwhile. But the day was not done yet.

A dash to the Sears tower took my breath -once from the run and twice from the view- as the lights of the city illuminated the gridlines of Chicago into a pattern that I easily read. It said to me that this was it; the world lay below me. I thought about in the olden days when someone was in the presence of a king; they had to be lower than him. Now at this height, I prestigiously looked out onto my court.

This structure identifies Chicago, and if this is how it makes me feel, powerful, that is, then what does it say about the city? Also, what does this say to the rest of the world about America? Do even the buildings we make convey a message of American identity?