My tale of two cities

Huddle up everyone for this is the classic tale of two cities.
… Not the Dickensian tale [will you settle instead for a writer of some disrepute?]
… Not David v/s Goliath, more David v/s his twin [if he had one]; two cities and their populace so perplexed about being similar that they forget to delight in their differences.

You would think Chicago chances are already buried with its epithet of “Second City” but old-timers say that’s part of Chicago chutzpah, her way of cocking a snook at the form book.

What’s the best place in these cities to get a “humanity bath” and experience the pulse of the place? New York has its square [Time Square], although if you asked some folks from Chicagoland, they’d say NY has become “square” - while a witty comment obviously meant to malign, NY is anything but dull. Chicago has its mile [Michigan Ave] – a hodgepodge but inspired show of architecture, museums, fancy stores and other stuff that can only be described as miscellaneous [how for e.g. does one even describe the feeling of mulling a chess move (in a free-staged public game) as you contemplate this giant, egg-shaped structure squatting in front of you?].

Nothing can beat a cycle ride around Central Park as nothing can beat a run by the Chicago lake front. NY has its momentous Met - a historical bulwark that has surprisingly kept with the bizarro times we live in: I can never forget the Fashion meets Fantasy special exhibit of Superhero costumes it once did. Chicago has its Museum campus which as much about the variety museums it houses, is also about projecting an attitude with its impossible location on lakeshore.

NY has Broadway and musicals; Chicago is known for its improv with Steppenwolf and amazingly quirky Second City.

There is the peace of mind from living in a quaint university suburb [such as Evanston] with the joy of being so close to the center of the Universe that is Chicago [did I hear a WTF from New Yorkers?]. There is the impossibility of renting and living in NY city and so the sad compromise of commuting from Jersey.

What about entertainment i.e. the movie glitz and glamour we cannot live without? Movies shot in Chicago – The Dark Knight, Save the last dance, My best friend’s wedding, My big fat Greek wedding, When Harry met Sally; Movies shot in NY - Annie Hall, As good as it gets, Taxi driver, but then also When Harry met Sally and My best friend’s wedding. Not to forget Godfather, whew … guys have that one burned into their soul, don’t we? And then there’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York about the kid who loses himself in O’Hare only to lose himself even more in New York city. That’s before he transmogrifies into Superkid with a mind and drive that can leave grownups feeling inadequate.

And the personal – my Chicago and my New York cannot be the same as yours, can it? There’s the sibling situation - one inhabiting the exciting and reckless world of NY iBanking and the other in a fun and almost poetic neck of the business woods. And the romantic trysts … dressing up for and experiencing your first Broadway musical is a memory and a half, as also marveling together from the 103rd floor on a star-lit, already emblazoned night.

If the world imagined by Escape from New York were to become reality, would New Yorkers make a beeline for Chicago? I think so.

And finally: If in reading through this article you detected even a bit of bias towards Chicago, that’s purely intentional. Sitting on the fence may be the safe bet but its being opinionated that makes this a wonderful world, right?