The South Side

East 79th Street

The CTA(#14 & #6)

The Regal Theater

Leon’s BBQ chicken

White Castle’s on Stony Island

Jackson Park Hospital

Jewel Foods

Zayre’s

Venture

Harold’s Chicken Shack (87th & The Ryan)

Dock’s

Long John Silvers

Lake Shore Drive

Museums

Visiting the zoo

Navy Pier

The Sears Tower (no asterisks needed)

Roosevelt Road

Forest Park

Downtown

Shopping

Riding the El; the Blue Line

95th Street

Carson Pirie Scott

Marshall Field’s

State Street

Giordano’s

Walking to and from school

Walking everywhere

River Oaks Mall in the late 80s & 90s

The Chicago Bears

The Chicago White Sox

These are some of things and places that remind me of home

These are some of the experiences I shared with my mom

These are some of the reasons that I love my hometown

Yet without my mom’s physical presence,

It’s only the Second City now

It’s like going to the front door of your home only to find that the key no longer works

Another family has now replaced yours

The show goes on

As do my memories

I visualize her riding the train seated in an empty car

Starring out the window

She looks content and at peace

Does she realize that I still look for her

Devastated that I wasn’t there when she boarded