Why I Oughta...

Imagine my delight when I walk into the train station in Nagoya to be greeted with this Garrett's (as I call it) popcorn shop.  They sell the Chicago Mix as you'd expect.  And the place was very popular.  I didn't stop in, but I hear that the Matcha flavored corn is a big hit - which wouldn't surprise me based on all the various, weird popcorns I came across at Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea .  There are these big multi-national organizations that one expects to see in international cities.  Think things like McDonalds and KFC.  And heck...even Disney.  But, I kind of considered Garrett's (I know...that's wrong, there is no 's in the name), a Chicago thing.  How wrong am I.  V ery wrong . 

After shuffling down the driveway and through the middle of the street to avoid slipping on the ice, I was greeted by this glorious sight at the Fairview Avenue Metra Station one morning this month.  This was one of the early mornings moments that I was able to enjoy the Winter instead of just keeping my head down and trying to survive the day.

I go through Union Station everyday that I'm downtown for work, but I very rarely go through the Great Hall.  Most of Union Station is gross, but it is slowly improving - starting with the unveiling of the renovation to the Great Hall.  I took this photo last week showing off the new (costly!) skylight and you can see a little bit of scaffolding in the upper reaches of the Hall.  From the Tribune : Union Station’s Great Hall, a stopping point for millions of travelers since 1925, is a lot brighter this holiday season, thanks to a $22 million renovation of its skylight and decorative walls and ceiling.  The centerpiece of the Great Hall is the 219-foot-long skylight rising 115 feet above the floor.  For almost a year, the skylight has been obscured by a suspended working deck as Berglund Construction and architect Goettsch Partners repaired it and added another modern, protective skylight 5 feet above the original. Natural light in the Great Hall has no...

Most mornings, I catch the train out of the Fairview Station on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Metra line.  Bordering the south passenger platform, past the station is a Pepperidge Farm factory.  And it totally gives off a "Stranger Things" vibe to me.   Every morning when I walk past it - and even more on mornings when it is snowing a little bit - I get this very specific Hawkins National Laboratory feeling as I see the trucks moving to/from near the docks.   Now, making Goldfish crackers isn't going to open a hole to the upside down.  But it doesn't keep me from smiling about it each morning I head there. You might be wondering...why is there a Pepperidge Farm factory there in the first place?  Well...it is a place that provides a diverse employee base.  And has been there for 65 years .  It was selected due to our proximity to Chicago, but there also is this cute little story about how the founder just liked the ...