3 Cheers for Surprises!

Eric here. So, Mira mentioned something about surprise activities on Valentine's Day (we celebrated on Sunday instead of Wednesday since Mira usually has to work until 8 or so and doesn't get home until close to ten). I was excited, thinking about a possible vegetarian restaurant visit or a trip to see a movie or something to that order. Little did I know the lengths her sneakiness could go! Mira led me through the city deftly and without so much as a clue as to what our next activity would be--whenever I would ask how we would be arriving, what the nature of the activity would be, or something specific, she would respond only with general answers like "I don't know" or "Maybe." I really had no idea. So, for the first activity, I was right about the veggie restaurant, but I didn't know we would be going to Karyn's Cooked, downtown! For those of you who aren't familiar, here is a website linked to Karyn's establishments. While her other place is a raw food restaurant (nothing cooked over 100 degrees), this restaurant is "only" vegan, meaning it serves no animal products whatsoever (milk, eggs, honey, etc), but cooked. I had the French Toast with bananas and a raspberry sauce, cooked with tofu and soymilk. It was amazing! Mira had the taco-style seitan and the scrambled tofu with homemade tortillas. Since she wasn't able to finish, I begrudgingly batted cleanup, polishing off the rest in 3.6 seconds! For those of you who are at least curious about a vegan lifestyle, or just a completely cruelty-free meal every once in a while, Karyn's Cooked is a good place to see that it really is possible to have flavor and sensibility in one setting.

After our wonderful meal and a short el-ride and walk, we arrived at step two: The Chicago History Museum. Mira mentioned her visit in a earlier blog ("Life in the office, the Y, the museum, and the Gallery"), but I was not able to go with Mira, Joey, and Maiko for that visit. A great display of Chicago history, this visit was particularly meaningful since we have both read two books are set in Chicago, Erik Larson's Devil in the White City and Alex Kotlowitz's Never a City so Real, which, along with one of my favorite books, Upton Sinclair's The Jungle paint vivid pictures of the awesomeness and the horror of this city's past. Many of the names and neighborhoods figure prominently in the museum, so it was cool to have an association. I am fascinated by the ever-changing history of the most American of American cities, so Mira's second surprise was a great match.

The third surprise would be little while after the museum closed, so we shared a smoothie and a sandwich at a local place, and Mira was her usual unhelpful self when pressed to give clues for our final destination. A visit to a bar I had never been to? A street performer who could tie himself into a half-hitch knot? A zip-line trip from the top of the Sear's Tower to Navy Pier? All suggestions came with the same response: "Maybe!" As we got off the bus in front of the Lincoln Park Zoo, I thought, "Huh. Maybe we're going to a special presentation on the mating habits of Siberian Tigers" which is not something I am totally intrigued by, but hey, whatever! But the zoo was't open, so that couldn't have been it. No, we crossed the street, approaching a theater--the Park West theater. The sign with the list of billings said this: Feb 11 Josh Ritter. "Wait," I thought, "that's tonight!" And then we walked inside. Mira had bought tickets for both of us to see Josh Ritter, who is one of our favorite singer/songwriters (and Moscow, ID native!!!), introduced to us by my brother Mike. Mira purchased the tickets with stealth and cunning, never so much as mentioning anything or leaving anything around. I had completely forgotten that he was going to be in town, so it wasn't even on my radar! Anyway, the show was amazing and the Park West was a great place to see it. Another singer/songwriter named Stephen Kellogg opened for him and proved to be very enthusiastic, funny and tight performer in his own right. He ended his performance with a song that included many lines from hit songs over the past 50 years (he called it an "introduction to musicology"), and got a standing ovation from a crowd that, for the most part, didn't even come to see him! Josh's performance was totally amazing. His songs are hypnotic with their imagery and feeling. Mira and I were both impressed with the passion that accompanies his obvious talent. Although we only have one album of his ("Hello Starling"), we were just as excited to hear the music we weren't familiar with as our old favorites. From the sounds of it, we need to buy his latest album as soon as we possibly can! Two songs he sang unplugged (for which I was glad for our fifth row seats!)--just him and his guitar and no microphone or amplification. After he was "encored" by the crowd, he called up Stephen to the stage and they harmonized together and Josh ended the night with an a capella, traditional Irish blessing. It was truly the best Valentine's Celebration ever!

Here are some pictures:
Mira and I on the platform between surprise numbers one and two.

















Here I am looking at some Chicago innovations. A lot of items, like the color and style of the Schwinn looked very familiar, but the thing I was pleasantly surprised to see was one of my favorite childhood toys,"Mr. Machine," which can be seen beneath the front tire of the Schwinn. Mr Machine didn't do much--except play music, dance, scoot around, and spread joy and happiness to millions of people around the world. That's all.





Here I am trying to figure out when this stupid el train will get moving again! When will the CTA ever figure it out?! Don't give that "It's from the 1890's and doesn't operate anymore and you're scaring the children" excuse that I must have heard a hundred times!









Photo of Josh Ritter on Feb. 11 and he and his band on Letterman, Jan. 12




And just in case you were wondering if I had any plans up my sleeve for a Valentine's surprise, I think this sign pretty much sums it up (Don't tell Mira!):