Day 13

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Chick-fil-A

I’ll admit that summertime Chicago is hard to beat, but when fall starts to settle in with its crisp weather and earlier evenings, it can be difficult to miss the steaming sidewalks packed with tourists. It’s funny that summertime in the city used to be the only way I experienced Chicago. A cloudy day would have been considered bad weather. Now more often, I deal with quiet Chicago; cold Chicago. I wouldn't say that I like the cold more, but it definitely has its redeeming qualities. I am a firm believer that foggy Chicago and rainy Chicago should be high up on people’s list, but I suppose it really depends on your capacity for appreciating what the kids are calling, “Midwest Gothic”.

I was first introduced to this term when I saw a stupid little video on Instagram consisting of presentation-style photos of the Midwest with some sort of eerily familiar song playing over it all. I immediately sent it to my friend from high school saying, “They have a term for our childhoods?!” Indeed, they do.