Sunday, June 23, 2013

Mayor Jimmy Walker, Deposed*


Mayor Jimmy Walker, Deposed*


Alley

Spring-through-fall
when Chicago’s weather
is moderate enough,
we sleep with our
window open a crack
or more.
Up on the third floor,
that window opens
to an alley that divides
our block-long residential street
from a block-long commercial street;
a neighborhood that includes
upscale shops, bars and restaurants.
Early Sunday mornings,
now and then,
after the 4am bars close,
our alley’s not so upscale.
We’ve heard violence,
but as yet—in 22 years—
no murder.
Charlie, my friend
since high school,
who lives down the street,
says, It’s city living;
it’s what it is.
That Charlie, he’s
got a way about him.







To Ponder

            1.   Sure enough, dense urban living is a choice. One could
                  live elsewhere.

            2.   Like all considered choices, this one entails tradeoffs;
                  what do you give up in order to have what you want?

            3.   Wide lawns lose out to curbside plots. Screened-in
                  porches ruled out for four-floor walkups and
                  ubiquitous hi-rises.

            4.   Foreign tourists blend their sounds on the streets with 
                  in-town meeting-goers bent on expense account
                  dinners and a hoot to boot.

            5.   Cultural advantages abound and take their place
                  alongside crime and vice, a mosaic light and dark.

            6.   Sirens, Oh the sirens on especially dark early Sunday
                  mornings, one on top of the other. Police mostly doing
                  their duty.

            7.   I get it, Charlie; it’s city living. It’s what it is. And yes,
                  we’ve got trees.


*    Mayor Jimmy Walker in 1932, musing at the rail of the Staten Island Ferry,
      looking back, on his way out of town: “Who’d Wanna be President of the
      United States When You Could Be Mayor of New York City?” 





© 2013 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________________________

If you enjoy reading this story, you may wish to order WHOA! Are They Glad You’re in Their lives? available on Amazon Kindle and in print edition too. 

  • Kindle Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?

  • Print Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?


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