Chicago, where you Bean all my life?

A couple weeks ago my friend Anne and I met up in Denver, and drove our Rav 4 rental up to Missoula, where we met up with Kristen for a week of fun and relaxation, Montana style. It was a truly fantastic time. We cooled down on a 104 degree day with some tubing down the Blackfoot River. We camped in Glacier Park, and survived what we feared was a bear wandering around our campsite in the middle of the night. Could've been a large raccoon, but I've got my money on Grizzly. Thankfully, we'll never know. We got together with a wide array of old friends for Big Sky beers, and grilled salmon and many a laugh. One night we paid a mere $7 for a great band and all the microbrews we could drink. It was the Montana I remembered and fell in love with eleven years ago. The beautiful big sky riddled with stars, the crisp fresh air, the friendly people, and the mountains and valleys that make my heart melt a little. Before the trip I thought that I might fall back in love again and want to give up city streets for open space. It was just the opposite. My fling with my old love Montana made me realize that I think Chicago might be my soulmate.

This is no small realization. I'm not even sure what makes Chicago my potential soulmate. I guess they're right when they say when it's right, you just know. And that a relationship is work but the work shouldn't be in deciding if you want to be together. There are a ton of things about Chicago that I love. I love the Brown Line, even when it's slow and repeatedly closes down stops all willy nilly. I love that I can walk to practically everything that I need. I love the Davis Theater and the way I'm never sure if my chair will outlast the movie I'm seeing. I love the path along the Chicago river and the way it smells like a blend of river sludge and wildflowers. I love the produce selection at Harvest Foods. I love Nehod and Mario, the friendly security guards at my office building. I love Lake Michigan in all its beauty and mystery. I love that I have friends that live on a boat out there. I love the baristas at the Grind. I love the Old Town School. I love that there are an endless amount of plays, and comedy shows and readings that I could be seeing, even if I don't often go. But it's not this laundry list of loves that makes the Chicago the one for me. Chicago just gets me.

Montana's beauty is obvious. In Chicago, I have to work a little to find the beauty, but when I find it, it's that

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