Bryan W. Alaspa 1Chicago’s orbit
June 26th 2009 13:55
Chicago is interesting when it comes to the smaller communities and cities around it. There is the Chicago proper and then there is the Chicago Metropolitan area. Of course, you would think that the Metro area would be the 10, 20, maybe 50 miles surrounding the area. However, urban sprawl has made it so that communities more than hour away often get classified as “local” and anything noteworthy or famous that comes out of those places gets snatched up by the city.
Chicago has a wide orbit. Of course, there are times when those famous things seek out Chicago’s orbit. Rockford is a city all its own and despite the fact that having some kind of association with Chicago would probably help that struggling community, the city refuses to acknowledge Chicago. If it associates with a larger city at all, it’s generally Milwaukee. I used to work at a radio station in Rockford and it was interesting to hear about the Rockford perspective.
Rockford is actually the home town of the famous group from the 70s known as Cheap Trick. However, there was a time when the group seemed to deny that they were from Rockford and when asked where they were from claimed they were from Chicago. There was likely a time when Chicago was happy to claim them and if anything horrible were to happen to them, Chicago would likely claim them again.
Champaign-Urbana is a good two hours away from Chicago. However, they were the birthplace of the former 70s rock super-group called REO Speedwagon. I bet if you run into any Speedwagon fans still in existence today they would probably claim that the group was from Chicago. So, you see how it goes. If you are anywhere even remotely accessible to Chicago, then the city is likely to claim you as a “local.”
So, it was not surprising to me to see the city jump on the Michael Jackson thing. Even though the man was a boy when he left the area, at the age of 11, the city wants to somehow bask in the celebrity and the attention now that the man has died. Of course, he grew up in Gary, which is Indiana and its own separate city, but it’s close enough and that’s what counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and Chicago celebrity.
Gary is an interesting town. By “interesting” I mean “likely to kill you.” They have a baseball team right in downtown Gary and rumor has it that while you are there you are safe. However, you step a toe outside the stadium and you take your life into your own hands.
The community was once thriving. More than likely that was the side of Gary that Michael Jackson saw. Still, he left at age 11 for the sunny hillsides of Los Angeles. Given all that came after he left the city his memories of Gary are probably, at best, fuzzy.
Still, they kept his house standing. Now it’s likely to be turned into a museum. For the next few days, you’d think Michael regularly wandered Michigan Avenue as the local media tries to make him see like a local boy who made it big. That’s Chicago’s orbit for you. More powerful than the gravity of Jupiter.
Chicago has a wide orbit. Of course, there are times when those famous things seek out Chicago’s orbit. Rockford is a city all its own and despite the fact that having some kind of association with Chicago would probably help that struggling community, the city refuses to acknowledge Chicago. If it associates with a larger city at all, it’s generally Milwaukee. I used to work at a radio station in Rockford and it was interesting to hear about the Rockford perspective.
Rockford is actually the home town of the famous group from the 70s known as Cheap Trick. However, there was a time when the group seemed to deny that they were from Rockford and when asked where they were from claimed they were from Chicago. There was likely a time when Chicago was happy to claim them and if anything horrible were to happen to them, Chicago would likely claim them again.
Champaign-Urbana is a good two hours away from Chicago. However, they were the birthplace of the former 70s rock super-group called REO Speedwagon. I bet if you run into any Speedwagon fans still in existence today they would probably claim that the group was from Chicago. So, you see how it goes. If you are anywhere even remotely accessible to Chicago, then the city is likely to claim you as a “local.”
So, it was not surprising to me to see the city jump on the Michael Jackson thing. Even though the man was a boy when he left the area, at the age of 11, the city wants to somehow bask in the celebrity and the attention now that the man has died. Of course, he grew up in Gary, which is Indiana and its own separate city, but it’s close enough and that’s what counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and Chicago celebrity.
Gary is an interesting town. By “interesting” I mean “likely to kill you.” They have a baseball team right in downtown Gary and rumor has it that while you are there you are safe. However, you step a toe outside the stadium and you take your life into your own hands.
The community was once thriving. More than likely that was the side of Gary that Michael Jackson saw. Still, he left at age 11 for the sunny hillsides of Los Angeles. Given all that came after he left the city his memories of Gary are probably, at best, fuzzy.
Still, they kept his house standing. Now it’s likely to be turned into a museum. For the next few days, you’d think Michael regularly wandered Michigan Avenue as the local media tries to make him see like a local boy who made it big. That’s Chicago’s orbit for you. More powerful than the gravity of Jupiter.
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