Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Welcome to the Neighborhood

I love the exploration of a new neighborhood, especially when it’s mine. I’ve always felt invested in the communities in which I’ve lived, but there is something about being a first time home owner that has made me feel even more connected.

Ego-centric, yes. But mapping out your corner of the world, delighting in what you find, and calling it your own is soul satisfying. As I headed out for a recent walk, I stopped to enjoy another great chat with my next-door neighbor Cos, who has lived here in East Rogers Park for 27 years and knows everyone in the vicinity. He’s got hard working broad shoulders and a quick smile that crinkles his eyes. He also has a riotous backyard garden bursting with 46 planters and a gurgling fountain.

Fortified with good neighborliness, I meandered down my street , past stately brick condos that mix elegance with quirky warmth, (think Queen Mum, not Queen), then ended up barely 10 minutes later at my new stretch of sandy beach, staring out at the several sailboats that were lufting along my favorite lake.

This walk wasn’t just about the lake, however, I was also doing a bit of writing spot recon. A fresh location always seems to fuel my sometimes sluggish writing motivation. I know I’m not alone here. The invigoration of new can breathe life into stale stories or tired essays. I’d heard a lot about Ennui, the coffee shop tucked into the corner of Sheridan and Lunt and, always on the lookout for a fun spot to sip something hot and be inspired, I wanted to check it out. As promised, it had just the right mix of inviting nooks, worn novels and broad tables for ample stretching out. The wide, covered outdoor patio wasn’t bad, either. Want to know more? : http://centerstagechicago.com/restaurants/cafeennui.html

Okay, I thought as I walked back toward the water, intent on seeing how far north I could wander until I got my fill, what was it exactly that made this last move feel so big? It wasn’t just that we now have a mortgage, though that’s no small point. It’s really about the joy of commitment. Indecision is laced with restlessness, that tiring but necessary state we all need to inhabit while we’re chewing on choices. Ah, but what a relief it is when we’ve reached a conclusion! That’s when the fun begins.

Recovered Treasure

I recently unpacked a box of my father’s books that has been tucked away for 5 years. Its contents made me want sip a cup of freshly brewed tea, settle by a roaring fire, or at the very least, curl up in a comfy chair. However, it was 96 degrees outside and I was so thrilled by my find that I just devoured them on the spot.

In the first batch, many titles were barely discernable, with spines worn away from bindings, their loopy, calligraphic inscriptions softened by time. My parents got me hooked on signing my name and a note in books given as gifts. I had forgotten that the family tradition started long ago.

Each opened book, each freshly read inscription, revealed a delicious nugget about its owner; protestations of puppy love called out from my great grandfather’s McGuffy’s Reader, whimsical sketches inside a school primer sparkled with a youthful ease that my own grandfather rarely showed in his later years, his wife’s shaky script, penned inside a green velvet volume of Christmas poems, revealed that this was the first gift her husband had given her when they were both freshman in college. As I dug deeper I found a book about WWII veterans with my own earnest note dutifully dated, thanking my dad for his service to our country.

My father used to say that reading let you go on any adventure you wished, and in this case, it was an intriguing trip back in time. The Ladies and Gentlemens’ Complete Etiquette, by Mrs. E.B. Duffey set me down smack in the middle of Philadelphia in 1877 where I read that “ Some people never “go to bed” they “retire.” They never “read” a book or paper, but “peruse” it. They “purchase” instead of “buy”. They never wish, but “desire.” They are never guilty of commonplace “talking,” they always “converse.” The best talkers and writers express their ideas in the plainest and simplest language.” Hmm. A good topic for discussion, don’t you think?

If you enjoy leafing through old books as much as I do, or even if you’re just in the mood for a particularly lush bookstore to while away some hours, check out Bookman’s Alley in Evanston. http://centerstagechicago.com/literature/bookstores/bookmans.html
I’m still trying to figure out where each treasured volume will go. I know there isn’t room for all of them on our shelves at the same time, so I’ll rotate the display. What I do know is that as I read those sentiments penned so long ago, they were given a new life, a fresh appreciation. They brought the past right into my hands and let me linger in familial comfort. I won’t need more bookshelf space to hold onto that