Monthly Archives: March 2023

There’s a new layer to people’s reaction when they find out where I’m from. I’ve been in this country a long time and pass for native more often than not. But when someone new hears the foreign name the more forward ones will ask how I got it and I tell them. They’re always surprised.Continue reading “It’s the End of the World, My Love”

Mr. Beef is dead. In the obit his son says his father was grateful to the dumb TV show that made the Chicago delicacy he served for forty-five years out of a humble building near the mouth of a highway known to people all over the country. Business was way up since that show hitContinue reading “Mr. Beef”

I pack a pannier bag with three each of my books and set out. I go to brunch at the Duck like almost every other Sunday. But then I bike north to Rogers Park. It’s a sunny day. Unseasonably warm, like almost every day this winter. I listen to podcasts as I ride. The mostContinue reading “Sunday @ Archie’s”