Alan May, Coldwell Banker Evanston Realtor, North Shore Realtor

Living and working in the Chicago area, you knew I wasn't going to post some sappy Valentine's Day Greeting. I had to talk about the St. Valentine's Day massacre of 1929 in Chicago.

The morning of February 14, 1929 St. Valentine's Day, six members of the "Bugs" Moran gang and Dr. Reinhardt H. Schwimmer were lined up against the rear inside wall of the garage of the SMC Cartage Company (2122 North Clark Street) in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago's North Side. They were then shot and killed by the men, possibly members of Capone's gang, possibly "outside talent", most likely a combination of both. Two of the men were dressed as Chicago police officers, and the others were dressed in long trenchcoats, according to witnesses who saw the "police" leading the other men at gunpoint out of the garage (part of the plan). When one of the dying men, Frank Gusenberg, was asked who shot him, he replied, "I'm not gonna talk - nobody shot me." Capone himself had arranged to be on vacation in Florida.

Today the location is a landscaped parking lot for a nursing home, as the buiding was torn down in 1967.

Did you think I was done with Rod Blagojevich? Not likely. At least, not yet.

Days after Rod has appeared on Late Night with David Letterman "in the worst way"... you'd think the fervor would have died down. Not so much. A recent visit to Ebay, the online auction site, shows that when typing Blagojevich into the search line, 131 items show up. Are you ready to shop? Let's see what we can buy these days with our PayPal account.

A "Buck Flagojevich" bumper sticker going for 99¢... that's a good start, no bids yet.. A Blagojevich Inaugural Invitation with 7 bids, going for $38.00. Believe it or not, a Blago Pez Dispenser, with 3 bids, going for only $3.25 (there's still time to get in on this one!). A blago plastic figurine (in the shape of a horses hind end)... going for 99¢ (no bids yet).

There are quite a few autographed photos of the Gov. ranging in price from $29.99 and up... including a few with David Letterman. A signed baseball (who is he now... Mickey Mantle?... a Bobblehead for $19.99 (with free shipping)... Do we really need a Bobblehead for the Gov. Isn't he the original "bobblehead"?

One of my favourites... a "crumb" shaped like Illnois, titled "Illinois Crumbs (all that's left after Blagojevich) going for $2.00 (no bids). Lots of newspaper headlines, and bumper stickers... and even that infamous "Target Rats" poster... T-shirts, Campaign Buttons, and Trading Cards (yes, Trading Cards) with the face of the candidate who put the Goober back in Gubenatorial on them.

You know, if he's planning a run for... er.... um... just about anything... this kind of advertising can't be bought. It's Bleepin' Golden!

Now, who's going to go win me that Bobblehead for my collection? Hmmmm?

This morning, the sun is shining, the sky is a brilliant blue, not a cloud in the sky.

Of course there are no clouds in the sky. They have the common sense to stay in, 'cause it's to freakin' cold!

I knew, that living in the Chicago area was not like living on the equator. We get a fair bit of cold weather.

But look at this morning's map. Okay, Minnesota is taking the brunt of it... (you can see the dark purpleish bruise-like colour hanging over Minnesota,) but they're Minnesota... they're used to it. The Minnesota state motto is "You think that's cold?? You shoulda been here in 1904... now THAT was cold!"

Most of the country is in double-digits. 42 in Washington State (way further north than Chicago) Even 10 and 11 degrees in Main (usually way cold). The Rockys are recording temps from 8 all the way up to 28. and areas all around Chicago are registering 10, 14, 17, 16. And what's the temperature in Chicago? What is it you ask? It's ONE. that's right... ONE. The heart of the current coldwave is surrounding the midwest.

Now I never expected tropical weather. I wasn't anticipating being able to wear Bermuda shorts, here in February. But c'mon!!

I'm gonna bookmark this post... 'cause I'm sure I'm going to want to reference it (and the feeling that came with it) somewhere mid July, when it's 85 degrees, here in Chicago, and an equal 85% humidity. (You know the kind of weather, where you hear that "ripping noise" as you peel your back off the leather seats in your car?).

Try to stay warm. And for those of you in temperate climes. Try to resist the temptation to tell me how warm it is where you are. Any of you who do that, I'll sic Greg Nino on you! (that includes YOU Greg!)

My wife, Amy and I had reservations, Friday night, to join some friends of ours (let's call them Mark & Kim... 'cause that's their names) at a very nice Chinese restaurant in ChinaTown, here in Chicago.

We live in the northern suburbs of Chicago, so a trip to 1800 South, in Chicago, is not a daily event. Mark had made the reservations, as he'd heard the restaurant was really good, and worth the trip. Mark, being the analytical type, had researched carefully, checked all the local review sites, and determined that since we'd just celebrated Chinese New Years, a good Chinese restaurant was just the thing, there were two other restaurants right nearby... (in fact in the same long mall) LaoBejing, and LaoSzechaun (I know, confusing, isn't it?), each had it's own regional style, but Mark had determined that LaoShanghai was just the place for us.

On Friday, the temperature that evening hovered around 10 degrees. Note quite bone-chilling, no... wait... yes, bone-chilling ... we were happy to be in a heated car on the way down... even though we found ourselves in stop-and-go traffic (more stop, than go) on the Kennedy Expressway (do you think they put the word "express" in there, just to piss you off??). Our reservation was for 7:30 p.m. and the bad traffic was making that very, very tight. We arrived at the entrance to the mall, at 7:31.

Mark and I, being the gentlemen that we are, dropped the girls (oops... sorry... ladies) at the entrance, and went to fight for a parking spot on the street. After a short search, we were able to find an open spot, about 16 miles away... (okay, okay... it really wasn't that far.. it was maybe 5 blocks away... but it was really, really cold out, and 5 blocks felt really far). Our walk back to the restaurant was chilly, and it didn't help that I hadn't brought a hat (I did remember my gloves however)... as we made our way back to the restaurant, we realized that we were a bit lost... we had zigged, when we shoulda zagged.. I guess one of the hazards of walking in a strange locale, without looking forward (were were looking down at the sidewalk in an effort to keep from slipping on the ice and snow, and to keep the wind off our faces).

Finally, arriving about 15 minutes later, at the doorway to the restaurant... we stepped inside to the warmth and smells of a great Chinese Restaurant, LaoShanghai, and scanned the small dining room for our wives.

hmmmmm. No wives.

"Do YOU see them Mark?"

"Nope" The dining room was way too small, for them to be hiding... there was no back room... no pillars behind which they might be sitting. We scanned the room, more carefully, now that we'd stopped shivering. Nope... still no wives. I take out my phone, and text my wife.

WHERE ARE YOU? i texted ... I wait a few moments... no response... Mark suggests I just "call" her. (He's old fashioned that way)... So I dial her phone... She picks up almost immediately... and all I can hear is laughter.... no, it's not distant laughter from the back of the room.... she's laughing hysterically. You know the kind of laughter where you can't get a word out... and you can't catch your breath. In fact, I can hear BOTH of them laughing hysterically.

"Where are you?" I try again.... just more laughter. I can hear snippets of words... but nothing cogent. "Where are they" Mark asks... "I don't know... hold on a second"... I slipped on my gloves, and Mark and I stepped back out of the restaurant.. into the cold, and made our way down the mall.

Just a few doors away, is LaoSzeChuan. There is a line of people waiting reaching well outside the front door. I try to look through the windows, but they're difficult to see through. They're fogged-up, from the steam inside. I press my way inside the door... and look around. There, sitting at a back table, are our wives giggling uncontrollably, and waving at me. The mere sight of me seems to have set them off on a new laughing jag. I step back outside, to let Mark know that our wayward wives have been found, and we re-enter, LaoSzeChaun.

How had this happened?? After dropping the ladies at the entry, they had entered the first restaurant they'd seen, paying little heed to the name. Even when the Matre'D (I use the term loosely) told them that they don't TAKE reservations... they insisted that they had a reservations... and somehow, by some miracle they'd gotten seated, ahead of all the angry glares from those waiting in the line outside! The Matre'D, (Let's call him Mr. Lao... I don't know his real name), had been intimidated by these women, who'd taken on the task of getting their rightful seat.

In fact, they were already sitting at the table enjoying some form of Chinese Kim-Chee, and hot tea, when we arrived. Enjoying may be the wrong word... because from the moment they received my text message, they were in some sort of "laughing fit" unable to catch their breath. The kind of laughing that has others in the restaurant staring at them. The kind of laughing that I could hear from the front door of the restaurant. Having forced their way to a table, and already been served an appetizer, there was NO way they could have gotten up and left, to come join US at Lao Shanghai... right?.......right?

As you might imagine, Mark and I weren't nearly as amused as the ladies were (in fact we were a bit peevish at the time...but in fairness, we were cold and hungry... I've come to see some of the humour in it since). They might have stopped laughing by now, except that when Mark & Kim arrived at home... there was a call from LaoShanghai on their voicemail. "Are you coming for your reservation???? I think they started laughing all over again.

... and for those of you interested... Lau SzeChuan was delicious. Every dish was wonderful, fragrant and beautifully prepared. I wonder how Lao Shanghai is?

I am an avid reader of the comics in the daily newspaper. I am not a fair-weather friend, who only reads the Sunday funnies. I read the comics daily, and I typically read them first, before even reading the front page.

Reading the comics in the morning is, to me, as drinking a cup of joe is to a committed coffee drinker.

A missing Sunday funnies section, can truly ruin my day.

For those of you who read the funnies too, you may have noticed a quirky strip named "Shoe". It's about a newspaper editor who is also a "bird"... in fact all of the characters in this strip are birds. It was originally drawn and written by Jeff MacNelly (a local boy made good), but since Jeff's untimely death in 2000 from cancer, the strip has been carried on by his wife Susie and cartoonist Gary Brookins. But that's not what my post today is about.

I noticed in today's strip an interesting "note". If you view the first graphic (which begins with "Who said: The British are coming!"... in the third panel, on the blackboard it says "Charlie Crone Day". I was interested enough to go to the internet and find out who this enigmatic "Charlie Crone" might be... maybe, I thought, there's a blog in it.

I could find no mention of a Charlie Crone day on the web. I did discover, however, as I did my research... that every "Shoe" strip, on January 29th, mentions this Charlie Crone... (see subsequent strips). I can find plenty of Charlie Crones on the internet... some living, some dead... but none, of note, that have January 29th as their birth or death dates. So I wonder, out loud, WTF is Charlie Crone Day, and WhoTF is Charlie Crone?

I don't know how long this has been going on... as without going to the Tribune, and rattling through their paper archives, I can't go back far enough. And quite honestly, while I'm curious, I'm not THAT curious as to spend a day heading downtown to slog through the Tribune's archives. I am curious enough, however, to post this and ask the question of the AR brain-trust.

Any of you have any idea who this Charlie Crone is, and what he's done to deserve a whole day?