Chicago, Chicago, That Toddlin' Town

 

 "Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin' town ..."

Contrary to what Frank Sinatra's song says about Chicago being a "toddlin' town," I think it's more accurate to say it travels at an all-out sprint.

We arrived in Chicago in mid-afternoon - theoretically, ahead of rush hour traffic. But we visitors from rural Kansas thought it was plenty busy. In our rural Kansas neighborhood, the biggest obstacles for traffic are pulling over to let giant farm implements pass by or dodging deer at twilight. 

How did we navigate the concrete jungle and all its roadway options before Google Maps right on our telephones? We missed one turn, but our Google "friend" recalculated quickly, and we made it to the hotel. I let out a big sigh of relief. And nobody even honked at us! Success! (After we were in Houston a couple of years ago for a K-State bowl game, we were feeling good that Randy only got honked at a couple of times. That's one way we gauge our navigation success in unfamiliar territory.)

We got to the hotel and parked our car until it was time to leave for home. Randy texted the kids and asked how many bushels of wheat it would take to pay our parking bill at the end of our stay. It wasn't cheap, but can you put a price tag on letting Uber drivers fight the unrelenting traffic? We think not. 

We were in Chicago to help my sister, Darci, and her husband, Andrew, celebrate the wedding of his oldest daughter, Julia. Before we got there, Darci suggested downloading Curb, an app that connects you to Chicago cabs. I successfully completed a Curb transaction, and we were delivered to Darci's and Andrew's condo for an evening pre-wedding, get acquainted party.

It's just a bit different from our evening view at home.

These shots were taken from their balcony on the 16th floor.

Uber and Curb weren't our only transportation methods. We also walked around the neighborhood surrounding the hotel.

We ate breakfast one day at a McDonald's franchise located next to its Hamburger University. It's where they train McDonald's franchise owners from around the world. Randy says he's already a graduate student in hamburgers. The menu there included a few international options. Kent and Randy tried a British breakfast sandwich.

We also rode the subway to Wrigleyville, thanks to the navigation skills of my sister Lisa and sister-in-law Suzanne.

Once there, we went to a Chicago Cubs game.

The Cubs didn't win their game vs. the Atlanta Braves, but it was still a fun experience.

That evening, we went to a pre-wedding gathering after the wedding party had a brief rehearsal.

For we Kansans, it was our first exposure to the traditions connected to a Jewish wedding.

Julia and Dan with their officiant (at left)

 

On the Saturday of the wedding, we went to the Shedd Aquarium in the morning before we needed to get ready for the wedding ceremony that evening.

 Even though Randy and I have visited Chicago several times, we'd never been to the Shedd. It was impressive.

The wedding was beautiful. (I shared photos from that in an earlier blog post. Click HERE for those.)

Lisa and I thought some of the pre-wedding music sounded like it was from the soundtrack of Fiddler on the Roof. 

 It was quite a party. 

On the blog next time: We stopped in Hannibal, Mo., and Kansas City on the way back home.

Anniversary Accolades

 

If you research what happened in 1953, you might come up with some of these:

• The Korean War ends after three years and one month;
• The first polio vaccine was developed;
• Dwight D. Eisenhower became president;
• Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay make the first successful ascent to the summit of Mount Everest;
• Ian Fleming publishes his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale;
• The first color television sets go on sale for about $1,175 in the US;
• The average cost of a new house was  $9,550, while workers took home an average annual paycheck of $4,000. A new car would cost you in the neighborhood of $1,650, while the gasoline to make it go was 20 cents a gallon. A Kodak Brownie Flash Six-20 would set you back $13 bucks.
  

An event that happened August 12, 1953, in tiny Byers United Methodist Church didn't make the internet list. Janis Neelly and Bob Moore were married. 

We honored their 70th anniversary with a family celebration this weekend. 

It's kind of amazing to see this big group of people that are in this world because two people got married 70 years ago!

They were high school sweethearts. My Mom was 17 years old and had just earned her high school diploma from Byers High School. My Dad, at age 19, had finished his first year at Kansas State. 

I hadn't seen some of these photos before. My niece, Madison, prepared a slide show featuring the anniversary couple. We all contributed photos, but I sure appreciate all of Madi's work to put it together! I think my brother, Kent, was sneaky and raided my mom's scrapbooks when they were gone to get some of these gems. 

 

For some reason, I didn't realize until this year that they'd gotten married on a Wednesday. These days, most couples opt for the weekend and only marry after a year of planning. That wasn't the case back in 1953. Back then, school - including K-State - didn't usually start until after Labor Day.  But their August 12 date got them married before they departed for Manhattan, where my dad was to report early for the K-State football team practices. 

It also gave them time for a honeymoon in Colorado.

They also needed time to pack up the trailer where they'd live during their college years. 

As my niece, Paige, said when she saw the size of the trailer: "That's love, Grandma!"

My Dad made a few remarks on Saturday night:

"We are thankful that we have been compatible, considering we are both firstborns, which is supposed to make it more difficult. We were also very young, which is another reason it is supposed to be more difficult. ... It has been a great and wonderful 70 years. We are very thankful for the many blessings bestowed upon us. ... Of course, things are not always 100 percent rosy, but we are truly privileged to have been granted these 70 years of a remarkably successful and happy marriage." - Bob Moore

Our entire family was able to be at the celebration.

Our family - Brent, Susan, Kim, Randy, Eric, Kinley, Brooke and Jill

Lisa's and Kyle's family

Darci & Andrew

Kent's and Suzanne's family

Cousins - Bill, Landa and Marlene

Time keeps rolling along and the family keeps growing. Ten years ago, we celebrated their 60th with a similar gathering. At the time, there were five great grands. These three oldest kids had a grand time. Two of them will enter middle school this year. Time flies.

2013

Now there are 10 great-grands, plus another granddaughter-in-law and another "in training."

Jill and Eric had just celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary on August 8, so they wanted a photo with the anniversary honorees.

The 70th anniversary celebration came on the heels of a family wedding for Darci and Andrew on August 5. Andrew's oldest daughter, Julia, and her guy, Dan, were married in Chicago. The other Moore "kids" went on a trip to the "big city" for the nuptials to lend family support for Darci and Andrew.

Julia and Dan even got a rainbow over the Chicago skyline during their August 5 wedding reception! Photo by The Kovalchuks - candid wedding photography based in Chicago.

 

 

 

Darci & Andrew before the ceremony

 We Kansas people cleaned up pretty well, too.

 

The next morning on the way to breakfast

In a week's time, there was the beginning of a marriage, followed by a 70th wedding anniversary celebration. On Facebook, I saw a post from a Facebook friend who was attending her nephew's wedding on August 12, 2023. At the rehearsal dinner, the groom's parents had posted some advice that they'd framed for the young couple. It said:

 Becoming Family

Family is commitment and love. Family is showing up and supporting each other. Family is deciding to love, even on the day when you struggle to like one another. Family is making the conscious decision to serve and sacrifice. Family is making the choice to never give up on each other, no matter what. 

Those are powerful words of advice. I hope the young couples getting married in 2023 will be celebrating anniversaries many years from now and finding how true those words are. I know my parents have been a wonderful example of those words for all of us. We are blessed. 

Eventually, I'll have more on the trip to and from Chicago in upcoming blog posts.