"My Kind Of Town Chicago Is" (Was)

Chicago has always been a special place in my early memories. It was my first destination in America when I was 12, in 1958. My memories of that time are somewhat obscure, but certain things stand out. After all, it was 66 years ago.

We drove from Toronto, Canada, in my dad's 1956 Chevy to Chicago to meet my parents' first cousins.

They had sponsored our immigration to Canada in 1952. Though America was my parents' first consideration, it was extremely difficult to immigrate to the U.S. due to the restrictive immigration policies at the time. We did, after all, try it legally. 

I still have memories of crossing the U.S. border at Detroit and then onward along the Ohio Turnpike and Indiana Toll Road, the great American Interstate system that was beautiful to drive on at the time.

I met several cousins, and one quite wealthy, took us out on the town. It was safe then to walk the streets of Chicago, even as a child. The likes of Al Capone were long gone. I always remember the German Berghoff, a restaurant that has been a Chicago mainstay for over 100 years.

A feature of Chicago was the El, the elevated trains that traversed the city, something we didn't see in Toronto. Our cousin took us to the Chicago Planetarium, the first one in America, which was an awe-inspiring experience for a 12-year-old. Of course, there was the famous Lake Michigan frontage.

We saw my cousins again two years later, and they reciprocated a couple of times, visiting us in Toronto. Unfortunately, as the years passed, most were no longer around. Then, about 15 years ago, I got a phone call from my fourth cousin, a futures trader in Chicago. He called me because he had seen the film Rabbit Proof Fence and was fascinated by the Aborigines in the movie. He wanted to know if he could come to Perth for a long weekend and see some Aborigines. I told him it would take him a long weekend to get here. My wife told him she could introduce him to some of her Aborigine patients. He was most impressed.

What a far cry today's Chicago is from those days in the 1950s. 

Chicago earns disturbing title of America's murder capital as DNC kicks off in the Dem-led Windy City

For the 12th straight year, Chicago has earned the title of homicide capital of America. To this ignominious distinction comes the Democrat Convention along with its Hamas, Jew-hating supporters and detractors. There were racists, anti-semites, and anti-American people outside the convention hall, showing their support for Hamas. While such bigotry has been banned against the black community for decades, it is now sanctioned against Jews, whites, and Christians. To make matters worse, President Biden screamed away in his speech saying, that pro-Hamas supporters 'have a point.'

That's your American President, and worse will come if Harris is elected.

I think it's fitting that the convention is being held in Chicago. Both the city and the Democrat Party have descended into the sewer, ideologically and culturally. Make no mistake about it, the Democrat Party represents the most evil aspects of America. They want to 'murder' America. Even legal scholar, Alan Dershowitz, a lifelong Democrat has left the Party.

Meanwhile, I'll remember the days of old and the Mary Hopkins song, "Those were the days."