You Can Say He Was Born Again: 12 Years in Chicago
A happy anniversary and some cool odds and ends
He Left Yesterday Behind Him
Oh, how I love this view! Nice to see it again after a week in which a thick fog of smoke from Canadian wildfires, which made it dangerous to linger outside, segued into a epic rainstorm that flooded streets and basements and came this close to wiping out all of our city’s vaunted NASCAR weekend.
When you’re busy almost all the time, dates can sneak up. Last Thursday, I glanced at the calendar and suddenly realized it was June 29 — the 12th anniversary of the day when Barb and I arrived to start our new lives in Chicago.
I had become very familiar with Chicago; Barb grew up on a farm about 45 miles south of the city, and we’d visited often. As my 30-year career as a political journalist in Washington, D.C. was grinding to an unfortunate end, we decided to make a brand new start of it here. It was good fortune that we were able, without much trying, to find this perch with its 60-mile-wide panoramic view.
This apartment became available much earlier than we expected and our move-out was the kind of shitshow you might see in a movie comedy. But when we walked in on June 29, 2011 to a vista very much like the one in this photo, we knew how lucky we were.
I’ve said many times since — and with no offense to New York City, where I grew up, and D.C., where I spent most of my professional life to date — that it took me 55 years to figure out where home was. And that sentiment has only deepened as my second career as a Good Food advocate and writer has taken root.
The local food community, and by local I mean the breadth of the Chicago region, is amazing, and the way in which I have felt embraced by people in so many facets of this community is one of the most rewarding things I’ve experienced.
I could never have imagined knowing so many people, many of whom I regard as friends, whose life work is not only putting food on people’s tables, but the best food. Farmers, farmers market staff, farm to table chefs, urban growers, food justice advocates and others, all dedicated to growing or serving food produced as locally as possible using sustainable, humane and fair practices. It is the privilege of a lifetime to be able to contribute to this common cause.
I’ve spent a lot of time looking out these windows. I mostly freelanced, blogged or worked as a contractor from this corner of our living room for our first 4-1/2 years here. And I’ve worked again from this corner since March 13, 2020, the day when COVID dispersed us from the offices of the non-profit where I had worked for the next four years.
I have a lot of fond memories of this view, but I think my favorite is the first. The day we moved in was a Wednesday. That evening, Barb and I sat in folding chairs (our furniture was days away) gazing out the window, unaware that there was a fireworks display over Navy Pier every Wednesday and Saturday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. And as the sky over the lake lit up, I turned to Barb, deadpan, and said, “Wow, Chicago sure knows how to welcome you!
It’s Independence Day tomorrow, and most people will be waving the Stars and Stripes. For this proud adopted Chicagoan, our city standard, with its blue-and-white stripes and four red stars, is a pretty grand old flag too!
Have a fun and safe holiday.
[BTW, if you don’t already recognize the headlines, they’re lyrics from John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High.” We’re more Lake MIchigan Low here, but somehow the words suit me.]
Community Roundup
Crate Free USA, a leading farm animal welfare non-profit, invites you to join on a tour of All Grass Farms in Dundee Township, Illinois, one of our region’s leading pastured livestock producers. The tour will take place on Saturday, July 22, starting at 12 p.m. The farm is 45 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. Participation is limited to the first 15 people who contact Jessica Chipkin, founder/CEO of Crate Free USA, at jess@cratefreeusa.org.
If you are an early-stage urban farmer or are planning to start growing food, you should take the opportunity to participate in the Food Safety Bootcamp for Small Growers that takes place Friday (July 7) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Eden Place Farms, 4911 S. Shields in Chicago. Join food safety experts from University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana to learn and get the latest information on farm food safety practices, food safety plans, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), and Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs). Lunch will be provided. Click here to register or call 773-801-7264 for more info
[True fact: During my early days at FamilyFarmed, I co-produced Direct Market Success, a farmer training manual that contained reams of information about this topic. So I am actually quite well informed about on-farm food safety for a writer who has never worked a day of his life on a farm.]
My friends at Kakadoodle Farm in Frankfort, Illinois are looking to hire a Customer Acquisition Specialist, ideally somebody with experience growing direct-to-consumer (D2C) marketplaces. Their pitch: “Seeking a visionary individual to join us at Kakadoodle. Pay is poor, but the potential for greatness is immense, including the opportunity for equity. As a pioneer in the online farmers market industry, we need someone with a proven track record in scaling D2C marketplaces, as we aim to revolutionize the way people connect with local, regenerative food. If you are passionate about sustainable agriculture, determined to challenge the status quo, and ready to be part of something remarkable, then join us in reshaping the future of food.” Click here to visit their LinkedIn page and apply.