jopomojo

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The train ride Binx and Kate took

In The Moviegoer was my introduction

To the thought of Chicago before I ever

Visited that grand city as a stop

On my drive across the country in a car

With a starter that was going bad—

At every stop refusing to start,

Which caused me to take it to a shop

And strand myself there for three days,

Sleeping in the cargo hold.

(It was a Volkswagen Rabbit and I

Made myself a bed there.)

The mechanic, wheelchair bound, said there

Was a part he’d need to order, which took

A couple of days, which wasn’t bad.

I grabbed my guitar by way of introduction

And rode the “L” downtown to start

Some kind of adventure: a donut shop

Where a girl said, “Do you only hold

That thing or can you play it?” So I

Pulled it out and played what I called “Used Car”

By Springsteen and scored the day’s

First donut and coffee and the first ever

Bit of fame I thought might never stop.

That lovely girl, though, was my last stop

On a slippery slope that started there

And ended up back at Dave’s shop

In the malaise of the night and my bad

And solitary bed. On the third day, I

Rose from my parking lot tomb, as ever.

Dave finished the job and I paid seven days’

Of my budgeted cash to get the car

Out of there and on the road. I took

It about a mile and, to see if it’d start

Again, pulled off, cut the motor, took hold

Of the key again and suffered a reintroduction

Of the problem whose first introduction

Had occurred in Idaho on my first stop

Of the trip. Never mind. Cut to many days

And nights and years later. Chicago took

Its place as the halfway point where I

And thou would meet and put our lives on hold

To navigate the genie soul of wind whenever

We could, hand in hand without a car,

From O’Hare on separate flights to start

Our explorations of the good and bad—

Trump Tower evincing the latter there;

The former, the Art Institute and its gift shop.

In love, we roamed from shop to shop

And made an extended introduction

Of art and architecture, taking time to stop

For views and drinks to sip and hold

While gazing lovingly, thou and I,

Into each other’s reveling to be there

With each other. Rarely, we’d hire a car

To get from point A to B with a bad

Driver at the wheel in a kind of daze

That made us wonder how many drugs he took.

Other times we’d rent bikes to start

A ride along the lake that could go forever.

Those were the days of after ever

After, when Chicago set the scene to shop

For the future of our new life and fresh start,

Looking at our reflection there

In the bean in Millennium Park, like a stop

On the rollercoaster of time, the bad

Interlude behind us and the days

Of boat rides through downtown and car

Rides in the countryside before us, I

With my daughters and you with your son. They took

To us graciously as the introduction

To this new life began to take hold.

In my Chicago mind, I hold

An image of us at Montrose Beach, wherever

The path had led us, an introduction

To Lake Michigan and a place to start

Our walk along the shore, the wind not bad,

The autumn sun like a golden car

Cruising up the sky while thou and I

Walked like angels ascending to a stop

For lunch at London House, the rooftop there

Commanding views of every café and shop,

And surrounding buildings that, when we later took

The river tour, would fill our minds for days.

That afternoon seemed to stretch for days

As we sat together on a boat built to hold

A hundred tourists or more sitting there

With us to see the Aqua with its ever

Undulating lines, Wrigley’s eye

To terra cotta connecting good and bad,

Marina City’s corncob look and onsite shop—

No need to leave or have a car.

We cruised along and gawked and took

A thousand pictures, our river-introduction

To amazements that seemed to stop

Time in its tracks, until we made it start.

Our Chicago times, from the very start,

Were some of our very best days,

Even when we got our introduction

To Pilsen, staying near the Pink Line stop,

Up the crookedest stairs we’d ever

Seen to an iffy AirBnB above a shop.

We bought a dozen eggs and I

Cooked them for every meal we ate there

Till we decided it was time to put a hold

On eggs—not that they were at all bad!—

And venture out for Mexican art that took

The cake and then to Cindy’s in a car.

An elevator car, that is, a car

That took us to the rooftop for drinks to start

An episode of elegance and views from there

To the bean below and then a repeat introduction

To the Hampton Social, near a beauty shop

Not far from Navy Pier, our favorite ever,

Maybe, a place to put your cares on hold

And enjoy authentic refinement that puts a stop

To the threat of the malaise—not that you or I

Were in any danger, being so in love we took

Each other’s breath away and all the days

Blurred into nights when nothing bad

At all could happen. Except for that one bad

Sandwich we ate that laid us low there

For but a blip, redeemed by Dogs for days

Found recommended with celery salt at the start

Of our third visit when we opted for an introduction

To the theatre district and the Kimpton Allegro. We’d stop

For champagne in the sparkling lobby and shop

For finery and memorabilia after we took

In Bernhardt/Hamlet at the Goodman. If ever

We’d had a glitzier time of lovely fun, we’d hold

That thought aside like a parked car

And just enjoy the loveliness of thou and I.

The next day, being librarians, you and I

Paid our respects to the public library with its bad-

Ass owls, then walked by Buckingham Fountain near there,

St. Peter’s Church in the Loop, its rosary shop

And streetwise crucifix to make the traffic stop.

We were veritably floating from now to ever,

Wondering at our lovely luck and lucky start

And this recurring windy city introduction

To the strange turn we’d taken in our souls’ car,

Traveling to the next opportunity to hold

Each other and to float in the air for magical days

On end and offer up whatever it took.

Back to O’Hare and its brachiosaurus, I took

My flight and you yours, to start our introduction

To a few weeks’ separation. Not forever, not too bad,

Because we’d soon shop for flights to London and there

Eke out a weeklong stop before the pandemic took hold

Like a swerving car that changed the course of our days.

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jopomojo.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jopomojo.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jopomojo.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jopomojo.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jopomojo.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jopomojo.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jopomojo.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jopomojo.substack.com/subscribe