Rearview mirror

Several years ago I got a tape of Philip Yancey's presentation at a Calvin College Festival of Faith and Writing. He made several statements about the limitations of writing, one of which was that it reduces. We experienced great hospitality on our recent trip to Chicago, and I will not reduce it to a blog post. However, I will share a few things I learned.

Aurelio's has the best pizza in Chicago, and the best Aurelio's is the original one, in the suburb of Homewood. The first few bites of thin crust pepperoni had me thinking, "This is as good as chocolate!"

You can bake bacon evenly in the oven, on a jelly roll pan, at 375 degrees, until it's done.

Stores are closed in observance of the Sabbath, in South Holland, a Chicago suburb.

Sand Ridge Nature Center, a 235-acre nature preserve in South Holland, is part of 21,000+ acres set aside by the Cook County Commissioners in the early part of the 20th century. They foresaw the future growth of the city and the need for natural preservation. Chicago magazine designated Sand Ridge "Best Family Outing" in 2003. Its butterfly garden contained plants which are also native to our area. It fights some of the same non-native aggressors we do: garlic mustard, Japanese honeysuckle, purple loosestrife.

You may eat shrimp on the sidewalk at the Navy Pier Bubba Gump Shrimp Company one hot summer day. Six years later, you may return in autumn; it's cooler. You get the "best table in the house," with windows on two sides, and a couple signs hanging over your son's head.*

Speaking of whom, he made it clear during the trip that he appreciates a king-size bed and McDonald's hot apple pies. Either of which is preferable to pizza, chocolate, or shrimp.

*And the very cool waiter at the next table will stop to tell you he has an 18-year-old brother with Down syndrome, who is ornery, like your son.