November 11 -- The Meanest Cat in Old Chicago Town!

Sunday was an awesome family and friends day!


My uncle Greg, his wife Elizabeth and their son Max picked me up at 8:45 a.m. outside Greg’s Mom’s condo, which she offered to let me stay in. (Thank you, Ann!) We drove through the part of Chicago that has fabulous old theaters, and which was America’s film Mecca before Hollywood. We then had breakfast with my high school friend Paul and his partner, both of whom are university professors here in Chicago. (G, E, P, R and Max have a meal together weekly.) I had not seen Paul in at least four years and Rob in even longer. Small world: Greg and Paul met at a Halloween party here in Chicago some years ago, after I’d been out of touch with Paul for at least 10 years. They have been friends ever since, and that’s how I reconnected with Paul.


BTW, on Monday, while driving back from South Bend, I heard a Chicago Public Radio piece on a new cookbook. All of a sudden, there was Paul was commenting on a pesto cheesecake recipe! I had thought his observations about the banana pancakes at The Golden Nugget were insightful. But really!

After breakfast, I spent the day hanging out with Greg, Elizabeth and Max, mostly in their great turn-of-the-century apartment. Max, just two years old, chatted merrily in English, and also revealed that he speaks Russian equally well. Greg, Max and I went to Borders and had a fun time reading books there, and Greg gave me an overview of the part of Uptown Chicago in which they live. While we were out and about, Elizabeth managed not only to do weekend office work, but also fixed the four of us a delicious Midwestern lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup.

Among other things, I learned about Spongebob Squarepants (just “Bob” to Max), and discovered that he is just as much fun for adults as for kids! Greg also gave me some preliminary exposure to Noam Chomsky – probably better just for adults – and we took a look at Groton School’s slick, slick, slick new website. Great time.

In the evening, after a full day of hanging-out (yes, Greg, Elizabeth and Max were very generous with their time and hospitality!), I met up with my old friend and colleague Jenn. We went to the apartment near Evanston that she shares with her partner, Geoff, own. There, the three of us (and their Boxer, Joey) had a great time catching up. Jenn prepared a delectable dinner of Asian spice barbequed pork tenderloin with mango citrus salsa, and sesame noodles. The recipes come from Rachel Ray’s “30 minute meals” on foodnetwork.com. I highly recommend them!