Post 47/2023. Chicago delighted us again. “Us” included Jan and John Schwartz. Weather was perfect. Christkindlmarket came through festive and tasty, if crowded. Sadly, there was an empty spot, our friend Oscar, who always met us at the Millenium train station, now lives in Austin, Texas.

Best of all: meeting Marcia and her daughter Lisa and son David, from eastern Pennsylvania, who were in town to visit with Lisa’s daughter who is an architecture student in the city where skyscrapers were born. We had a delightful brunch at Yolk, near their hotel. We recalled stories from our long friendship, caught up on current doings and beings, were nourished in body, mind and spirit.

What makes a city work?

Kristin, the architectural student, was busy with studies for the end of the semester, so I did not get to quiz her about how buildings, neighborhoods, and cities are put together and maintained.

How does that apply to the 2,608,425 population of Chicago?

As, for instance, our hotel. How does hot water almost instantly come out of our Swissotel 24th floor room sink? What happens when there’s a power outage? Who keeps track of all the minute details of guest services, restaurants, interior and exterior maintenance, holiday decorations?

Cultural and entertainment options abound. Shopping opportunities are endless. (I was glad to get to the 4-story Starbucks Coffee Roastery on N. Michigan Ave. Didn’t have time to tour the whole store but did pick up a bag of one of their exclusive coffees.)

I must admit, being in a large city that I love to visit (eminently walkable), presented me with plenty of food for thought. How does a city work? What keeps it ticking? How does one deal with the signs of wealth and poverty that reside side by side? What role does religious faith play in the lives of residents? How does cultural and civic life prosper? How poor we’d be without the pulse of urban life.

Chicago founding

Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable (1745-1818), founder of Chicago.

The plaque on his sculpture in part notes: “African-Caribbean, born in St Marc, Haiti. In the 1770s he opened the first trading post beside the Chicago River, establishing the settlement that became Chicago.”

More Chicago photos

Be well! Enjoy the city where you live, work or visit.

-John