My Chicago

Originally uploaded by .Kerri..

As the New York Times has written yet another insipid travel article about my old hood Wicker Park, I am thinking again of what my Chicago traveler's guide would include. Artists should really be the ones writing these things, as city guides always disappoint me...any boob can figure out where to eat and sleep, and who gives a shit about shopping- how about some substance? If we're talking Wicker Park it's pretty fucking obvious where I can buy an $80 T-shirt or a cranberry chocolate scone. How about where I can see an anarchist fashion show on the roof of a building next the el tracks? How about the wolf man that howls on the bus stop on Milwaukee at the most austere moments of a poetry reading at Myopic? How about a travel guide of what's been lost to the gentrification of Wicker Park over the last 10 years? The giant bull on top of the tire salvage shop on Paulina; The Caribbean restaurant Ezuli that featured larger than life photos of breasts on the walls; Hito's Liquor Store where the task of choosing a six pack was greatly simplified by all that was out of stock on any given day; late night outdoor drinks at the Pontiac before the neighbors sensitive to noise past 11 p.m. moved in...

Photo is from Northerly Island, a few years ago a private airstrip right along the lake that Daley bulldozed in the middle of the night under the auspices of "fighting terrorism." In spite of the city's lucrative deal with Clear Channel to host concerts there, much of island is a wildflower and migratory bird oasis.