Things I Will Miss About Our Neighborhood

Chocolate
The Blommer Chocolate Company is about a mile from our place and the cocoa powder frequently makes the neighborhood smell like baking brownies. Some people--lunatics all of them--don't like the smell, but it's one of my favorite things about living in West Town.

Bloomer Chocolate: the reason West Town is the best smelling neighborhood in the city

Police Officers
This might seem like an odd thing to list, but I really will miss walking the dog past clumps of cops hanging out on the street corner outside of Nini's Deli next store before they go in for sandwiches (this happened earlier today), or passing Oggi Cafe on the corner and seeing a table full of police officers eating spaghetti. They're always smiling and sweet to Roo (or, in the past, Henry), and there's just something about police being all prosaic that makes me happy.

Henry
Henry was only six months old when we moved to this loft in 2005, and he was just three months shy of his seventh birthday when he passed away in March, 2012. He explored every inch of this neighborhood in that time, and we have a lot of memories of him here. About three years ago, Trevor and Henry were on a walk and they passed a square of wet sidewalk cement. And Henry couldn't resist signing his name. He'll always be a part of West Town.

Roo having a moment of silence in honor of the older brother she never met

Kids
You'd think I'd get enough of teenagers and young adults during the day at school. Day in, day out. Every day for weeks, months at a time. Lots and lots of kids. But I actually enjoy seeing all the kids in our neighborhood. It's different when they're a part of the scene and I know I don't have to stand in front of them in a classroom.

We live next to Rauner College Prep and the kids from the school--dressed in their navy blue polo shirts and khaki slacks--wander the neighborhood in the morning on their way to school, at lunchtime when they're filing in and out of Candy's corner shop with bags of Cheetos and giant cans of energy drinks (god bless their own teachers and another silent prayer that I'm not one of them), and in the afternoons when they're going from school to football practice, or home from band practice, waiting at the bus stop, using their instrument cases as seats. And the band room is actually right on Ohio, just off the street, so I hear them practicing on my walks with Roo. They're not usually that great, but there's something so wonderful about listening to a high school band practice. 

Sandwiches
We have seven (or more; I'm probably forgetting one or two) sandwich places within a four block radius of our place. And, well, you see, I love sandwiches. I love them. I love bread. I love cheese. I love other things that accompany bread and cheese, like tomatoes, a nice crispy leaf of lettuce, and a blob of mustard. And maybe even more cheese. Who knows? So this abundance of sandwich shops is something I will miss. Tremendously. Like, probably a lot more than a normal person would miss sandwiches.

A delicious sandwich from D'Amato's on Grand, a mere four block walk from our front door

There are approximately 1 million other things that I will miss about living in my neighborhood, and in Chicago generally: the transportation, the culture, the fact that my entire nuclear family lives within a 6 mile radius--a radius of which Trevor, Roo, and I are the geographical center. It takes me twenty minutes on the CTA to get to the corner of Michigan & Adams, or another twenty to go north and get to Lakeview. And what's in either of these locations? More of anything I would ever want.

Except, that is, quiet. And a yard next to a little cottage off the lake. And the smell of flowers on the breeze through our open windows. That's what we're gaining, and it's going to be worth it. But I will  really, really miss those sandwiches.

Saturday Afternoon Sentiment

I went through my files today, trying to weed through some of the papers and get rid of things before I packed them for the move. I ended up spending a couple of hours feeling sentimental about all of the old cards, papers, and photos. Here are a handful of the gems.

Grandma Bosco and my cousin Carly, circa 1999

One of the earliest pictures of Henry, taken at John & Fran's house, Summer 2005

Henry's first time meeting Lake Michigan, and the first time we saw his "running" face

Me and my college roommates, as the Solid Gold Dancers for Halloween, 1997

An amazing wedding card from Fran, Neill, and--of course--Destiny, 2007

My college friend Andre and the potbelly pig, Otis, that he and his roommates adopted

Me (a bookmark in the middle of CITR) and my friend Tiffany (Daphne from Scooby Doo), Halloween circa 2001

My second trip to NYC, to visit my friend Taco, who snapped this picture

My vintage Barbarino folder signed by John Travolta

There were many, many more snapshots of history I sorted through, and I might post a few more as time goes on. But now, back to the packing. And the sentimental day dreaming.

Henry "Paul Rudd" Bork

Trevor and I are unhappy to have to break the news that Henry, the best dog in the world, passed away on March 8, 2012.
This past May, Henry developed cancer, and although he beat it and got better, his health was never quite the same. He was diagnosed with a bowel disease this winter and, after a couple of months of losing weight and inconsistent eating, his health deteriorated further.

We didn't write about this immediately because, frankly, it was too hard. But over the summer we didn't tell many people about Henry's cancer, and that didn't feel right, either; so we figured we'd let everyone know and show some happy images of Henry doing some of his favorite things.

Henry especially liked it when he got to get dressed up. Although Trevor liked to believe that Henry didn't like this, I knew the truth. Does this look like the face of a dog who didn't like to be dressed up? Please.

Just doing a bit of reading.

What's up, player?

Yes, I can do your taxes.

Does this make me look fat?

Shark Face!

Henry also liked to be outdoors, and he made a lot of trips to Door County with me and Trevor.

Hi.

No, I absolutely did not eat any snow. No way.

But, although Henry had boundless energy, he also liked to relax and enjoy the quiet moments.

With his cousin, Pepper

At Jim's cabin in the Door

After a giant Thanksgiving dinner with Adam

On a Tuesday...

Wednesday...

Thursday...

What do you mean I "won't fit"?

Henry was always happy. In fact, he got so happy that he developed "Happy Tail Syndrome" and we had to dock his poor tail into a nubbin. But that nubbin never stopped wagging and he was always trying to give everyone giant slurping smooches and looking to cuddle up with someone.

What is that, a camera? Can I kiss it?

Um, Maya, can I have that blue guy, please?

Happy Tail Before, Nubbin After

Smooch attack

Henry also liked art.

Well I like that sculpture, but this horse is quite nice, too.

These are part of my collection. Yes, you may photograph me with them.

Poster art is art, too.

And graffiti is some of my favorite. Irreverence is valuable.

And Henry was irreverent himself, too.

No, I won't look at the camera.

Comin attcha, man. Look out.

 But more than anything, Henry liked to pose for pictures. He was handsome and he knew it.

I realized, after going through the blog archives to look for some of my favorite pictures, that Henry made it into almost every single post I  have written over the past six years. So, even if you didn't know him in person, odds are that you have read about some of his hijinks. And if you did know him, you remember his Chewbacca like yawn, his giant head, and his wagging butt (and if you ever spent the night at our place you remember his tongue in your eye at six a.m.). We miss Henry more than anything, and there will never be another dog like him. Thanks for sharing him with us.

What Has Henry Been Up To Lately?

He went for a bath at Soggy Paws in Logan Square (his fashionable head wear is meant to calm him down while we used a dryer on him. it did not work)

He got a new jacket and new boots for the winter

And he rocked his new outfit all over the neighborhood

He found some shorts on the sidewalk

He revealed to us that he is, in fact, a superdog

And then he ran away to save the city from canine criminals