I’m headed back to the old neighborhood this morning. Apparently, some medication was not forwarded to my new address by the Post Office. It’s now been 20 days since we moved out. In that period, I’ve only used my car 5 times, including a trip to and from the airport. It’s another cloudy day, so a matinee is certainly in order, but we’ve already seen the Joker presentation at the theater nearby. We also have dinner tonight at a friend’s home so it will be an active day of driving. Tomorrow, I may ride with a friend to the coast for the day if the weather cooperates. 

I have to remember to call my sister this afternoon. I was in the habit of making the weekly call that used to go to my parents. They passed just over five years ago so I now spend that time with my sister. It’s going on two years since we’ve gotten together. She’s back in Elkhart, Indiana, where I grew up, but since my wife’s mother also recently died, we have not make any visits back to our Hoosier state. This year we’re going to Florida on Christmas Day, breaking a tradition that extends back to the beginning of our relationship. We are planning to go back for a niece’s wedding in December of next year when we’ll also celebrate Christmas early. In the process, I’ll probably get to catch an I.U. basketball game with my long-standing buddy. 

We used to make four trips a year from Portland to Indiana to visit family. It was an expensive proposition, but my wife’s business trips to Chicago helped defray some of the cost. We would then accompany her mother on doctor appointments and visit with her sister in Indianapolis. It required a lot of driving and patience as we wandered the state. With my wife’s recent retirement, I doubt that we’ll spend much time in Chicago, preferring to fly into Indy. I will miss going to Wrigley Field for a Cubs’ game and Joe’s Stone Crab for dinner. I will not miss flying in and out of O’Hare, and renting a car, particularly in the winter. 

Where I grew up in Elkhart was only a couple of hours drive down the Toll Road to Chicago. I have many fond memories of the area like baseball games with my dad, a train adventure to see the Bears, concerts, musicals, field trips to the Science & Industry and Field museums, the Brookfield Zoo with my parents, skyscraper observation decks, the Magnificent Mile, Lake Shore Drive, the Skybridge, and Garrett’s Popcorn – just to recall a few more. Then there were many business meeting and luncheons of my own throughout the years. As Frank Sinatra crooned,”Chicago is my kind of town.” I now wonder when I’ll ever get back, as there are so many other worldly cities yet to be explored?   

Now this could only happen to a guy like me
And only happen in a town like this
So may I say to each of you most gratefully
As I throw each one of you a kiss
This is my kind of town, Chicago is
My kind of town, Chicago is
My kind of people too
People who smile at you
And each time I roam, Chicago is
Calling me home, Chicago is
Why I just grin like a clown
It’s my kind of town
My kind of town, Chicago is
My kind of town, Chicago is
My kind of razzmatazz
And it has, all that jazz
And each time I leave, Chicago is
Tuggin’ my sleeve, Chicago is
The Wrigley building, Chicago is
The union stockyard, Chicago is
One town that won’t let you down
It’s my kind of town

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Jimmy Van Heusen / Sammy Cahn
My Kind Of Town lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group, Concord Music Publishing LLC