Revival

03-01-08

I never thought I'd be crossing the Michigan Avenue bridge again. I had tried, in vain, over five years of visits on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and sometimes in the Spring to visit downtown. But I had come to accept that I had traversed what Hunter S. Thompson referred to as "One of life's Great Forks." Either you are going to be a customs slipping, immigration official duping, International Man of Mystery or you're going to find yourself walking from Randolph to Billy Goat's Tavern in the dead of a Chicago winter wearing half a dress suit and a yarmulke.

I used to work on Randolph in another life. The shops have changed, but that particular distance I could cover underwater, blindfolded, with duct tape over my mouth and heavy boots on. I spent every morning on that walk for breakfast and every afternoon picking up lunch. I'm more familiar with that stretch than most people are with the distance from their beds to the bathroom.

For all that I never thought I'd see it again. But I knew The Whole Damn Show would turn up sooner or later.

It always does.

I can't believe it's been ten years now. I really hadn't counted on being alive this long. The Romantic in me had the odds set on me joining the 27 club with Jimi and Janis and Jeff and Kurt and Elliott and I think Belushi ran a bit older... but that's besides the point. Against every possible odd I not only went everywhere there was to go and lived to tell the tale... but I still have a place to write about it.

Putting all these stories together again I noticed, by the huge gaps, how much more I still have to tell. I like how it drifts back and forth in time. It's only natural. So many people and situations are reoccurring. I haven't seen the last of the wild monkeys that tried to kill me in Niko-o, or the cake that nearly did me in at Amsterdam.

Against all probability there's still a diner half-way west on 22nd just out of the reach of Chinatown and Pilsen. Chances are you've never seen it before. It's a greasy hole in the wall that I reserve for people only making cameo appearances in my life. I only go there alone when I've abandoned all hope and no mix of advice, encouragement, or wanton lust can bring me back to earth. I'll tell you all about it one of these days over a cup of coffee.

But be warned: If you see a special on 2 eggs, 2 pieces of Sausage, 2 pieces of Bacon, and 2 pieces of toast on the menu... there's a chance you'll never see me again.

-David Hawkins