Oh, I Think So

When it's a lovely, clear day in Chicago, there are other places I might also suggest a tourist go to sit and watch the world walk by and Federal Plaza is a another great place to pause and enjoy.  (Hey! "Meet me under Flamingo" could be a thing!)  Here are some reasons to choose Flamingo and Federal Plaza: 1.  A nice, steady flow of locals.     1.a.  Weekly farmers market featuring locally grown fruits and vegetables and locally baked goods.     1.b.  Occasional protest march/action ending/beginning in Federal Plaza.     1.c.  A mediocre Oktoberfest featuring loud bands, drunken young professionals, and decent beer.     1.d.  [Insert nationality here]fest but Daley Plaza is the preferred venue for that sort of fest. 2.  A nice, steady flow of tourists.       3.  The law enforcement officials that linger and rest for a minute.  I was advised that about 60 minutes ...

I left work early on Thursday as I had an hour overtime that I had to take.  I got over to Federal Plaza, guards were still on duty in the lobby of the Kluczynski Federal Building, and I went in and asked a question. "Can I go to the passport office, please?  I want to take a picture out the window." This brought a barrage of negatives.  The passport office takes no one after 3:30 pm.  No pictures can be taken inside that building.  No pictures can be taken inside that building looking out.  No pictures.  No.  None.  Nope.  Ixnay. My response:  "Really?  Really?  Really?" to every single negative. "Really?" Finally one of the guards gave information.  (Clearly, when you see just saying no is not enough, give up something even if you know the something will probably lead nowhere.  It will stop the flurry of "really?" and get the strange woman out of your face.)  Get approval from the General Service...

It depends on the time of day that I approach, but it's usually about 5 pm, after work, that I've made my way to Federal Plaza.  One day was right after a rain and I grabbed a few Panorama shots and didn't wait for everyone to leave.  The remains of the passersby were tremendous.  Observe: He had a cart, he was booking, he might even be flipping me off. No, this wasn't the Twin Parade.  XOXO to Panorama!       A day later, it seemed like it could become a Transformer and blow a hole in that movie franchise. (No need to blow a hole, just make it stop.) Ready?  Aim! ... ------------------------------ One of my favorite summer flowers is the hollyhock, especially the red ones.  In Detroit, where I grew up, if people had alleys behind their homes, they seemed to plant them near their garbage cans.  Bees also love hollyhocks so taking out the trash or even walking down an alley was an adventure. No bees! 5:30 pm on a...

So I belong to a goofy little gym that's part of a goofy little chain.  There's nothing about this goofy little gym that's luxurious.  The parking situation is weird -- either park on the roof or park on this street.  If you park in the street level parking lot, you will be towed.  There are no classes offered.  There is no swimming pool.  There are no massage chairs or tanning beds.  You cannot ever get a haircut.  The locker rooms are spare but clean and the showers are the same way.  The toilet area has never made me cringe.  The towels are threadbare washclothes. The employees are nice or nice enough and don't seem to have attitude issues.  If you need to know how to do something, they will show you.  They all seem to get along, especially the weekend crew of three men.  The weekend crew used to be two women but no two men could ever replace two women and so a third man was brought in.  The women bustled about m...