I love my Chicago neighborhood, but after my ground-floor, back of the building apartment was broken into twice in six months and, rather than doing something about building security, my landlord treated me like I was a stupid girl who probably just left my doors and windows unlocked when I left the house,I decided it was time to move to a new building.
I walked around looking for For Rent signs,
I checked The Reader,
and for the first time ever, I looked for ads on Craigslist.
I was excited to see a listing for a sublet in my price range just 8 houses away.
I grabbed my shoes,
locked my windows and doors ... I'm not stupid,
and I ran down the street to take a look.
Nice!
It was an old brick building and there was beautiful stained glass above the picture window. I went back home and responded to the ad and 20 minutes later I was in the apartment.
The young married couple who had just closed on a condo was already packing up boxes and distractedly let me roam around with just their big, friendly dog for company. They shouted selling points about the apartment while I wandered
The water pressure is kind of weak ... but the water is really hot!
We've been here for five years and have never had a bug problem. Well, there are those blond hairy creepy millipedes that are everywhere in Chicago, but nothing else"
I went into the small room off the dining area.
It was perfect.
It was underneath the steps going to the second floor apartment and had a slanty, Dr. Caligari ceiling.
There was a little cubby at the back, just the right size for a bookcase.
We use that room for an office, but you can fit a double-sized bed in there if you wanted a spare bedroom.
The door back there is painted sealed shut. They plastered over the other side in the building entryway.
I've never met an old doorknob I didn't want to turn.
I walked over and jiggled it in spite of their explanation.
It creaked and it stuck and I pulled a little harder.
We won't need that desk, we could leave it for you if you want it?
It opened .... just a few inches, with a puff of dust and cobwebs.
I coughed and the dog sneezed.
Sorry about all this dust, we've been kicking everything up with all this packing. We'll mop and clean everything before we leave.
That's okay, I know how it is with wood floors!
I didn't tell them what I found. I poked my nose and squeezed my face in the narrow door opening and my eyes were adjusting to the dim light in the little room, more of a closet than a room. There were stacks of Viewmaster reels in one corner and several shoeboxes full of something shiny .. buttons maybe? And a rack of old dresses, but they didn't look like the tiny size 00 dresses in vintage shops, these dresses looked like they might be big!
Part 2
I moved to Chicago from Denver in 2002, but every once in awhile, I can catch a glimpse of the city with my visitor's eyes instead of my resident eyes.
It's big with those eyes and more confusing.
CTA seems serpentine and complicated instead of just inadequate, infrequent and full of regulars on my morning commute.
I can usually figure out which way is East, but North from South is tricky and I can't figure out how to get to Cabaret Metro from the Art Institute.
My first visits to Chicago were in the late 80s.
My college boyfriend Marty and I would drive down from Detroit for weekend trips and stay at the Hotel Cass, the only place in town we could afford.
Hotel Cass is not far from where I work now, and has been bought out and renovated by Holiday Inn Express.
There's a sleek new sign outside and the graffiti has been scrubbed.
I've peaked into the lobby and the bullet-proof glass is gone and the surly clerk with the greasy comb over has been replaced with a team of attractive young women with uniforms and French twists.
They've probably fixed the elevators, the plumbing and the air-conditioners too.
But I still see what's behind it.
I've had similar, but opposite experiences too, when I've gone home to visit familiar places in Detroit or Denver. {>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>to be finished}
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