Chicago Chi ca gooooo

I watched The Golden Boy last night. A Chicago based cop show. I mean... Chicago... of course I watched it. And it was interesting, well written for TV and the introduction of the characters and storyline was intriguing. There was one thing it was missing though. Chicagoans have a very unique sense of humor. It is dry, subtle (except when it isn't) and it is dark. And some of the best jokes aren't directed at anyone in particular but are more of a comment, ironic comment, on politics, the way things work, society and especially people. Most of the jokes we might say begin with a statement and end with a gleam in the eye and a question, usually just a few words. And we crack up. Only nobody knows it to look at us because we are freakin' in hysterics on the inside. Its also a way we connect with each other and bear suffering. I think that's why I like watching the Chicago news in the morning on channel 9 and Windy City Live; the humor is more authentic to the way we actually talk and think. Our humor is similar to people who live in New York or New Jersey, except without the accent..... ba dum'bump.

It is steeped in generations of hard working survivors who understand that corruption exists and so isn't shocked by it but we also like a fair playing field, so there's that. Chicagoans may not have all their I's dotted or their T's crossed but we can tell it like it is in a few words that never fails to hit the nail on the head or give someone due a verbal kick in the... pants. But not without a well timed punch line to take away widht.

I like Chicago Fire because hello, its a show about firemen and in Chicago... and they are our hero's. We love dees guys. So yeah, I'm a fan. It has more of a Chicago flavor to it though. The writing is better. Its more true to the way we see things and the way we actually express ourselves (which includes facial expressions that everyone in on it recognizes).

We don't have to agree with each other. In fact, we won't. And we can think we're all full of shit now and then too. Because that is inevitable. And we can make fun of our ethnicity or lack of one and nothing is off limits. Except treading on someone else's because that just wouldn't be cool. And you might get punched out to boot. But we can sure as hell all laugh together and cry together and bitch and moan together and that is true blue.

I couldn't wait to leave this f'n city when I was younger. I couldn't wait to get out there and see what was happening in the real world. And I did that. I traveled and met all kinds of interesting people and after many years out west I came back to be near family and raised my kids on a farm in Michigan. And I dug that too. But out of all of the places I've lived, and some had great weather and scenic views and prettier people too, nothing beat what I found here. I've been back for a decade now. My kids, grown and thoughtful and hard working from farm life and a more Taoist/Buddhist uprbringing, have become well rounded by the city. They share a dark gritty humor and sense of ironic truth and all kinds of interesting thoughts, music, art, theater and just hangin' out good fun, like Chicagoans do, with everyone who knows them. And I get to be included in all of that fun, which is so way cool. Who needs money when you've got a kitchen and a piping hot pot of stew on the stove and a few dingbats to share it with?