We are hunkered down. We've brought in supplies for the long November haul. Our new minds are set. Storm windows are affixed and our shutters pulled tight and locked. Our safes are stuffed with inflated tender; confederate currency for a later day perhaps, pilfered from the Dows, the Joneses, and the Banks of middle America. Our media scouts up on the Hill tell us there is hope on the fiscal horizon but the morning on this day is still dark and cool. We put our ears to the ground and sense apathy rumbling amongst our uncivil servants.
We've opened our garage stables and set our horses free to run in the solar wind, too expensive to maintain anymore. We are willing to walk away from our leveraged homesteads, settling for pennies on the dollar when our escrowed notes expire; Selling short. Falling shorter.
On the safe side of the glass we look across the plains and into the vortex. We count our blessings on one hand and await the new Obama Nation with fingers crossed, on the other. Our children join us on our financial corners begging for spare Euros. You can keep the Change. We want Service... and at least two weeks in Cabo (oceanfront) for the holidays. We are, after all, still Americans.
Geno Petro
For months now I've been following with growing interest...no, make that great intrigue, the shaggy chic (if not downright haute) North Side neighbor-hood 'foodie' chatter surrounding a certain hot dog stand at the no-mans-land corner of Roscoe and California Avenues in the Avondale
section of town. Location, location, location (the ubiquitous Chicago real estate mantra) my arse. I kid you not, dear readers...the joint is in an annexed tract of light manufacturing sprawl where you might still be able to get some land for free if you stake a claim with the City of Chicago and know someone at City Hall. (And yes, as always I exaggerate.)
It's "Hot Doug's this" and "Hot Doug's that...." say they all; at dinner parties, over cocktails at unhappy hours everywhere from the Gold Coast to Rogers Park, in churches all across Chicago (I'm guessing). Everyone's talking about it but nobody I know has actually ever eaten there.
Like Yogi Berra (the Ronnie Santo of the East Coast malapropism) once proclaimed..."Nobody ever eats there...the line is always too long to get in." Ahem.
On two previous occasions I attempted to stop in for a taste of their famous Chicago hot dogs and accompanying 'Duck Fat' Chicago fries, mainstays both. Each time the line to simply get in the joint nearly wrapped around an entire city block. Once inside, an equally tedius wait is in order before you actually get your food.
It was raining farm animals yesterday morning as I awoke and since it was indeed Friday, one of the only two 'Duck Fat Days' (along with Saturday), I figured I stood my best chance of finally sinking my chops into a Hot diggity Doug dog. After all, what other knucklehead would be willing to drive through a torrent in a Mini Cooper for a mere taste of 
encased meat and shoe string potatoes deep fried in foie gras? Besides me, that is...and about 75 other knuckleheads? (See picture above)
I waited in the rain outside of Hot Doug's for 30 minutes as the gentleman behind me, (pictured left) actually intelligent enough the bring an umbrella to a rain storm, refused to share his shelter...or even make eye contact. I waited another 10 minutes in the vestibule with 12 other people, and when I finally did place my order---a Keira Knightley (super hot...get it?) with 'everything' (in Chicago 'everything' means mustard, neon green relish, grilled onions, tomatoes, pickle, hot peppers and celery salt), an order of Duck Fat Fries, and a Coke Zero (watching the calories, you know)---I waited another 15 minutes for the food.
Also on the menu that day were Alligator Dogs, Parsley Infused Weisswurst Dogs, Chipolte and Cilantro Smoked Chicken Sausage Dogs, and a half dozen other varieties of blended meat Dogs; bratworsts, sausages, 
and kielbasis. Sadly though, Friday's Special 'Celebrity Sausage' was the Harvey Korman (may his funny soul rest in new found peace)---Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Chicken Sausage with Vodka-Cream Marinara and Burrata Cheese. Oh yeah, just so we're perfectly clear, only non Duck Fat Fries are served up Mondays through Thursdays.
John Lennon and Yoko stopped in (also pictured above) and ordered two Pete Shelley's (a Vegetarian Dog if you can even Imagine such an animal). 'It's easy if you try...'
Finally my own name was called and I grabbed my satchels of charbroiled snouts with all the trimmings and raced home to my bride to share the feast. My dog met me at the door, already having sniffed the duck fatted vittles from two blocks away. I emptied the food from the greasy brown bags onto white paper plates. The kitchen immediately smelled like duck liver. I almost gagged....
Now I'm not quite sure why I would even fathom liking anything prepared in duck fat, or foie gras, or any kind of liver for that matter. (You ought to see what I've done to my own liver over the years, for crissakes.) I was clearly caught up in the hype. Sure, the dogs were good but all dogs in Chicago are good. Hot Doug's makes a darn good Chicago style hot dog, this much is true. And I suppose if you don't hate ducks and liver then the fries are pretty tasty, as well. But if you ask me, people are just looking for an excuse, any excuse, to stand in a long line to say they've done the new 'In' thing. It was Monkees tickets when I was 10. It was Tickle Me Elmo when my niece was 4. It's my wife and her friends tonight for that whole Sex and the City and Cosmo hoopla. It was me yesterday (along with 75 other zombies) in a torrential downpour....
So I digress. As I was about to finally exit the restaurant, the guy with the umbrella, my fellow line standing follower of the masses, made a snide comment as to my constant picture taking during the previous hour.
"Tourist" he muttered.
"No, blogger," I snapped back.
"I'm a real estate blogger," I wanted to say, but didn't---stopping just short. He simply looked at me with his perfectly dry face without making eye contact; collapsed umbrella in one hand, CTA Bus pass in the other, awaiting his own name to be called. I wanted to add a little something extra about him being a professional duck loving line stander, what with his Bus Pass, premeditated umbrella, and all but I let it slide. It was raining farm animals outside and I had my own real estate challenges awaiting my attention. And as I sped off toward the old homestead and the oily waft from the brown paper satchels filled the interior compartment of my Cooper, I wondered what my dog thought about duck liver, the $13 I just spent on hot dogs, and if I really did look like a tourist...
DISCLAIMER
{I recently posted a picture and an accompanying story on my primary Blog and was informed by another site's SEO that my duplicate content might get me banned from Google! Wow, I had no idea. But I reminded myself that ignorance of the 'law' is no excuse. The content apparently needs to be 25% different (am I there yet?) and thus, a commentary before or after should be in order. (Obviously this is an example of a commentary after a duplicate post. All previous AR entires I have already submitted will soon have commentarfies after the duplicate post as well---but I suppose they {the commentaries} will each need to be 25% different) I don't know nothin' about nothin'. It wasn't me. Why didn't you tell me?
The truth of the matter is I stumbled across Active Rain by accident while checking out Sellsious. It wasn't sure anyone in the blogosphere was even looking at my primary Blog since I had a total of 1 comment from a friend and 1 comment from my wife and 1 comment from an insane person (a diatribe, actually) the first 3 months I was up an posting. I didn't think my stuff was that bad so I decided to start posting here as well. So from here on forward and backward, this is my 25% Difference Non Duplicate Discalaimer, and I'm sticking to it...unless its a bannable offense from Google in which case I'll sell my overpriced Google stock and show them! I'll ban them from my portfolio. See how they like it when I give them no page rank! Now I know 'I'm double dog daring' a big guy on the playground (Jean Sheppard reference for my Philly friend, Brian Brady) but right now according to Google, I'm not even another Bozo on the bus. So Thus I Disclaim and wait for the axe.}
Hot diggity Doug...
I reached for the phone but there was no one to call. The six inches of snow on top of the other six inches of last week's snow has made leaving or entering my house challenging, and access to my garage--(the whole point of having one to begin with being harborage from the elements), treacherous. And even though I am my father's son (and the apple never falls too far from that tree, as we are all well aware), it's not my intention this day to discuss the weather.
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Thoughts of a top producing Chicago realtor. Click on 'Chicago's Home Weblog' in the Agent sidebar for more organic real estate-centric content and some very cool urban lifestyle links.
Click above inset to reach my Home Page
I spent 15 years in sales management with a Fortune 100 financial services company before entering real estate leasing in 1997. Recognized each year in the business as an Outstanding Achiever by the Chicago Association of Realtors, I list, sell and close on average more than a million dollars a month every month. As a Buyers Agent I am committed to being a client's advocate and am backed by an extensive referral base and an exacting knowledge of the Northside Chicago housing market.
While I've been a Chicago Realtor since the year 2000 (and a licensed leasing agent for three years prior to that), I was initially a real estate consumer. I purchased my first property in the mid-1980s and have personally bought, sold and negotiated all sorts of residential and investment properties through a myriad of real estate climates. I close over a million a month, every month in buy-side transactions and half again that much as a Listing Agent. If its new and on the Northside of Chicago, I've seen, shown it or sold it. The brokerage I work at, Chicago Home Estates, is a boutique office with 25 agents located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. My local blog, Chicago's Home Weblog is a primary source of my content posted on ActiveRain. If you feel your blog is compatable with mine you may request Linkage in the comment section of any of my postings.
As a Buyers Agent I look at property everyday. With an average closed sales volume of over $500,000 per unit, I speciallize in new construction condominiums, the acquisition of the land they get built on, and the resale listings (as a Listing Agent) of the people purchasing them. Approximately 25% of my annual volume consists of single family homes, 25% land and investment properties, and 50% condominiums. Also, 20% of this business comes from out-of-town or relocation buyers. The remainder come from 'organic' sources such as referrals, internet communication, and open houses.
I am experienced in all aspects of negotiation and delivery, from the initial property search, through all stages of due diligence, to the final requirements for closing. Placing in the top 2% of all Realtors nationally each year I, along with other Chicago Home Estates associates rank among the highest producing agents in the industry.
Specializing in condominiums, luxury single family homes, townhomes & lofts in Andersonville, Albany Park, Avondale, Bowmanville, Bridgeport, Bucktown, Budlong Woods, Buena Park, East Village, Edgebrook, Edgewater, Edgewater Glen, Edison Park, Garfield Park, Gold Coast, Graceland, Greektown, Hollywood Park, Humbolt Park, Hyde Park, Irving Park, Jefferson Park, Kenwood, Lake Meadows, Lakeview, Lakewood-Balmoral, Lawndale, Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Little Italy, Little Village, Logan Square, Mayfair, Near North, Noble Square, North Center, North Edgebrook, Norwood, Oakland, Old Irving, Old Town, Peterson Park, Pilsen, Portage Park, Prairie Shores, Printers Row, Ravenswood, River North, River West, Rogers Park, Roscoe Village, Sauganaush, Sheridan Park, Southport Corridor, South Edgebrook, South Loop, South Shore, Streeterville, Tri Taylor, Ukrainian Village, University Village, Uptown, West Loop, West Rogers Park, Wicker Park, Woodlawn, Wrigleyville & all other neighborhoods of Chicago.
I keep an extensive and recent list of past and present client references available on request.
WHAT I THINK
"It's the team approach to marketing property and the overall Chicago Home Estates philosophy that sets us aside from other Realtors. In the fast and competitive world of Chicago real estate, simple representation is not enough-you must be an advocate for the client..." GP
COMMENTS I LIKE 
ARDELL: Hi Geno, I'm glad that people are being more cautious. We've all seen too many "Who the heck paid THAT for THAT!! in the last couple of years...
PAT KITANO: You're a good writer Geno... I'll be digging you!
JF.SELLSIUS: Thanks for the kind words Geno. We really appreciate your visits and comments. You keep the juice flowing. Continued success with your blog.
BRIAN NYGARD: Tens of thousands of people on a monthly basis" Are you serious? Now that's the power of the internet!
HANAN LEVIN: Thank you, geno... very cool, ha-ha! Hanan Levin, "The Champion Company"
MONA K. PETRO: You are a better agent than all those guys in Hollywood!!!!!
CRAIG SCHILLER: WOW I just discovered your site. LOOKS great and has GREAT information.
I am gonna need to spend some time digesting all you have shared.
BRIAN BRADY: Now that is a really cool post.
MAUREEN FRANCIS: Hi Geno,I was just visiting your blogspot blog. It's great. I'll add you to my blog roll on miOaklandCounty.com
INES HEDEDUS: Geno - I love your writing style - it's refreshing and very entertaining.
...AND NONE OF THESE ARE FROM MY MOTHER (...although one may be from my wife!)
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