I scanned the fifteen people in line and wandered into the Starbucks. It was just before 9 AM and fingered the long green card in my bag. I sighed and sat down in the couch in the lobby. “You look like you don’t want wait?” an old man next to me said.<\/p>\n
He held a Starbucks coffee cup and sipped from it slowly. “No,” I smiled. “It doesn’t seem worth it and I have to meet my colleague here in a few minutes.”<\/p>\n
“You know that there’s another Starbucks around the corner,” he said. “This one is nicer.”<\/p>\n
“I have a coupon for a free drink valid only at this Starbucks. It came with my hotel stay.”<\/p>\n
I winced a little at my reveal, hoping that I didn’t come off as a snobby traveler. “How is the hotel?” he said with interest. “Are you staying in the old section or the new section? I live next door for more than 19 years.”<\/p>\n
“It’s nice,” I said and paused, wanting to get the subject off of me. “So you’re a long-term Chicago resident.”<\/p>\n
“it’s easier to live here. So much around here. Restaurants and everything.”<\/p>\n
“What restaurants do you like?”<\/p>\n
He hesitated. “Oh I don’t know!” he said.<\/p>\n
I filled in the silence and said, “Everything seems to be good. People from Chicago seem to love their food.”<\/p>\n
“They do,” he said.<\/p>\n
My colleague tumbled out of the elevator and rushed toward the door. I nodded to my sitting companion and said, “Have a good day.”<\/p>\n
“Have a good day,” he repeated and I strolled into the Chicago early spring air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I scanned the fifteen people in line and wandered into the Starbucks. It was just before 9 AM and fingered the long green card in my bag. I sighed and sat down in the couch in the lobby. “You look … Continue reading