Overhead in Chicago

I'm on a trip to Chicago. E is here for work and since I had a free plane ticket I figured I'd take advantage of a free trip. And you all know I love Chicago.

There have been serious things on my mind - but in a full and complete effort to block them out I'm choosing to blog about things I've heard in Chicago and NOT the other things.

I'm writing things down in my journal while out walking and will transfer them here. Here are some juicy nuggets thus far:

Wednesday:

(at dinner at Pizzeria Uno)
Grandma: "You stink. What are they feeding you at that daycare?"
Little boy: "Food."
Grandma: "What kind of food? Dog food? They giving you Alpo? You smell like dog food."

The best part of Wednesday night dinner, besides being with just E, was sitting next to a table with three women (I'd say mid-fifties). They had quite the verbal agenda and I had a hard time carrying on a conversation with E instead of eavesdropping.

Episode One:
Woman #1: My Mom died, two weeks later my husband filed for divorce, and the next week was Christmas.
Woman #2: That's horrible. During the Christmas season?
Woman #1: Yes. I treated myself to lots of pedicures. Figured it was worth it.

Episode Two:
Woman #3: Have your read anything of Sandra Lee's?
Woman #1: From the song?
Woman #3: No. She's a cook. She does semi-homemade food.
(She then goes on for a good twenty minutes about Sandra Lee's history which not only sounds like a mix between a sales-pitch for Sandra Lee and a religious testimony AND it works this woman up to tears. Tears. At some point they change the subject but woman #3 is determined to share everything she wants about Sandra Lee)
Woman #3: But back to Sandra Lee. She's a semi-homemade food maker. You get that right?
Woman #2: Yes, you told us. She makes homemade food but with shortcuts.
Woman #1: I think we all agreed that she's got a good concept.
Woman #3: You should see some of her recipes! I mean, she has you just take a cake mix and then you can do all these things with it. It's all semi-homemade.

Thursday:
Walking around downtown.

Man on cell: No, I did not say you could use my bathtub. You just don't use other people's bathtubs.

Man & Woman on corner. He's looking at a map and she's trying to explain her directions.
Man: You don't know your way around this town like I do.
Woman: Well I did live here for ten years.

more to come...