I’m guilty of uttering a few of these cliché phrases back in my Chicago days. Heck, I still say a few of them now.
Being at the Eastbourne International Airshow yesterday reminded me of being at the Chicago Air and Water Show along the lakefront!
It also made me realise that while I am content with where I am now, I miss Chicago and perhaps shouldn’t have run away.
Because really, that’s what I did — run away from the problems and challenges I was facing then. So here now, when things are getting hot and heavy, vowing not to run away from London.
I need to make every effort to sort things out here and now. Moving to another location, while very attractive, isn’t the answer. Perhaps in the future, but not now. I need to really work on me and sort a few things out!
Because “running away from problems is not only futile, it leads to a false sense of security. The erroneous premise is that your problems can be left behind by utilizing one or more strategies. The reality is, problems follow you until they are resolved.”
Anyway, here is one of my favourite photographs from the Eastbourne Airshow!
Additional photographs from this event can be viewed in my Facebook Day Out: Eastbourne Airshow album.
When I read statements like the one below by actor James Ellis, I get really homesick for Chicago.
Take Manhattan, glam it up, give it better shops and friendlier people, and you’ve got chit-town.
Btw, for those of you still in Chicago, did you know the following?
Chicago is not known as the windy city thanks to a daily hurricane blowing through its streets. The phrase was actually coined to describe the city’s notoriously corrupt politicians and the amount of bull they spouted. Though it has to be said, it does get bloody cold in winter.
I had no idea that the nickname for the city had a political reference. I really thought that Chicago was referred to as the Windy City because of the “lake effect” of Lake Michigan.
The Chicago Public Schools spends hundreds of millions of dollars trying to educate children in the city, yet the schools continue to fail. How sad.
OF 100 CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL FRESHMEN, SIX WILL GET A COLLEGE DEGREE
By Jodi S. Cohen and Darnell Little, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter Tracy Dell’Angela contributed to this report
Published April 21, 2006
Of every 100 freshmen entering a Chicago public high school, only about six will earn a bachelor’s degree by the time they’re in their mid-20s, according to a first-of-its-kind study released Thursday by the Consortium on Chicago School Research.
The prospects are even worse for African-American and Latino male freshmen, who only have about a 3 percent chance of obtaining a bachelor’s degree by the time they’re 25.
The study, which tracked Chicago high school students who graduated in 1998 and 1999, also found that making it to college doesn’t ensure success: Of the city public school students who went to a four-year college, only about 35 percent earned a bachelor’s degree within six years, compared with 64 percent nationally.
Researchers say they’re not exactly sure why Chicago schools alumni graduate from college in such low numbers, but that poor preparation during high school and too few resources at the college level contribute to the problem.
Now a university degree isn’t the ultimate measure of success, but when only 6 of 100 are completing such a degree, then something is really really wrong with the system.
I think it would be a real shame if Macy’s who recently purchased Marshall Fields were to go through with plan to phase out this strong regional brand name. For goodness sake, the original store on Chicago’s State Street has been serving customers since 1852. As such, I have signed the online petition emailed to my by a friend asking Macy’s to keep the Marshall Field’s name. Hopefully, a few of you out there who also have fond memories of shopping at this landmark store will also do the same.
