No matter how old you are, arriving in Chicago at night is really, really exciting. Matter-of-fact, several weeks ago when we drove along Lake Shore Drive, I felt just like a kid at Christmas. White lights twinkled in the towering buildings, and multi-colored lights revolved around the Ferris wheel at the Navy Pier, giving the skyline a holiday feel.
What a gift it was to experience all the diverse sights and sounds of the third most populated city in the United States! I have to admit, however, I was a bit insecure the first day. When I noticed most people in the Windy city were dressed in black and wore stylish leather boots, I tried to pull my coat up over the bright pink sweater I had on and tried to forget I was wearing comfy old Skechers. Well, that all changed when I noticed a confident young woman standing beside me at a crosswalk wearing her Hello Kitty pajamas. As I was gawking at the cat ears on her hooded sweatshirt, she turned toward me and I saw her nose ring and bright pink hair. Pink hair -- the exact color of my sweater. I might have met a soul sister that day if we had talked.
Speaking of kitties, I may have been a little too giddy when they delivered my hot chocolate at The Goddess and The Baker, an all-day cafe. The steamy cup had a beautiful white cat design in it, worthy of the Chicago Art Institute. I sat and stared at it as if I were studying one of Picasso’s cat paintings. The waiter was snickering by the time I was trying to figure out how to eat my dippy egg, ham & cheddar biscuit with apricot dijonnaise and no silverware. When I was done, I had several dots of yellow decorating the front of my obnoxious pink sweater.
Chicago’s 7,300 restaurants definitely tantalize people’s taste buds. From the Roof Top Restaurant at The Gray Hotel where my granddaughter is the event planner to the trendy Atwood located in a 19th C. building in The Loop, I was captivated by the awesome atmosphere and delicious food. My $18 grilled cheese with bacon jam, arugula, gouda, cheddar on sourdough may actually be worth another trip to the Big City. However, the highlight of our restaurant tour was at Girl and the Goat owned by Stephanie Izard, first female winner of Bravo’s Top Chef. The menu invited us to “join the herd.” The place was extremely noisy because of its popularity. I sat close enough to lock arms with the diner at the table next to me. Oh, by the way, I bought a black sweater so I’d fit in to that herd. Ha!
The global flavors served in six courses on small plates were an amazing experience. From beer brioche, shrimp salad, sticky glazed pork shank, peanut butter & chocolate mousse to two others dishes, we had fun celebrating my older daughter’s birthday and retirement.
The noises in a city of 3 million people can be deafening, especially the garbage trucks and police sirens in the middle of the night, but most of the clatter was pretty exhilarating. The clacking of the elevated trains delivering thousands of people to the city was invigorating. Hundreds of visitors laughed as they took their pictures in the iconic Cloud Gate statue (aka “The Bean) at Millennium Park while others protested loudly about the war in the Middle East as they marched down Monroe Street beside the 24.5- acre park.
There was absolutely no better sound that week, however, than an entire audience singing Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” with the cast of A Beautiful Noise at the Cadillac Palace. I don’t know if that was the same night I was sharing how wonderful the show was with a guy in the elevator or the time I was about to ask another young man if he knew my granddaughter — when my daughter whisked me off the lift a whole floor early. Ha!
I might have made a connection if those guys and I had talked.
After those exciting days in the Big City, I returned to Ohio, “The Heart Of It All.” I met my friend Cindy LaMantia in Napoleon, a small town of 8,750 people in the Northwest part of the state. We were having breakfast the next morning with Amber Marshall, the star of the popular Canadian TV show “Heartland,” Dana Croschore and Krisanna Sexton, producer and director of the documentary “Rescued Hearts,” and 298 other people at Lily Creek Farms, a therapeutic riding center.
That night when Cindy and I drove to Spengler’s Restaurant & Pub, a Henry County landmark, for dinner, there were no twinkling lights in skyscrapers or mutli-colored lights on a Ferris wheel lining the country road -- just a dark sky full of stars shining over acres of winter wheat. When we opened the door of the packed pub, everyone in the cozy place looked up from their cheeseburgers or fried bologna sandwiches and greeted us with warmhearted smiles. Even a guy at the bar watching TV turned and said, “Hi, how are you?” before the place erupted in cheers because their high school football team scored a touchdown in their Regional tournament game.
When I told our waitress that their glass case with homemade pies reminded me of the G&R, a bar near us, she asked where I was from. When I said Upper Sandusky, she exclaimed, “My daughter’s roommate at The University of Toledo is from Upper Sandusky. Maybe you know her. Her name is Kendra and her mom is a physical therapist.”
I smiled, “Probably. Everyone in Upper knows each other. Does she cheer with your daughter for UT?”
“Yes,” replied the friendly woman.
“Well, that has to be Kendra Conley. I taught her mom Jill Sheaffer in high school. Wasn’t that terrible how her Uncle Joe died after running a marathon?”
“So sad.” And with a warm grin, she added, “ You definitely know her.”
I found a wonderful connection that night because we talked.
Although it was really cold waiting outside the horse arena the next morning, I had a good laugh when a woman with a concerned look on her face burst out of one of the porta-pots next to the barn. She was worried that someone in one of the other johns needed help when she heard the farm’s potbelly pig squealing as its handlers lead it inside.
The smell of rescue horses wafted through the arena as 300 of us visited with each other while gobbling down our homemade breakfast of eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, biscuits & gravy, muffins, fruit, orange juice, and fresh coffee. I was surprised that the lady and her granddaughter we enjoyed talking to so much had actually driven there from Chicago.
It was amazing to hear from Lily Creek Farms’ executor director and the creators of the documentary how horses can rescue children with special needs, with haunted past trauma and others who feel unlovable and lost in grief. And I’ll never forget what Amber Marshall said when she started her speech about creating healing and transformation: “Never apologize for your small town.”
Well, I’ve definitely learned one thing as I’ve aged: if we approach life with a warm heart and talk more to each other, we’ll all be more excited and hopeful about life. As Croschere and Sexton confirmed on their “Rescued Hearts” website, “…finding the way back home…through connection.”
Big cities AND small towns. Let’s talk.
It’ll Be OK.
~~~
“Dear Teacher, I talk to everyone so moving my seat won’t help.” ~ someecards
COMMENT: Do you have a favorite Big City and Small Town?
Thanks, Jan for sharing this with us!✨️💗💯
Love your story! Your experiences and observations are so well told. I enjoy both small town and city living but Chicago would be too big for my comfort. Vancouver, which is much smaller than Chicago out grew me a long time ago. Calgary is not a bad compromise as we can get to the country easily. We also loved our small town experiences we had an acreage nearby Sundre for 26 years.