Before texting, social media and even cell phones – “meet us at the Art Institute" made perfect sense

Look who all showed up at the Art Institute and then headed to the Dead Show at Soldier Field…. might be 6.22.91.

My kids will never understand what life was like before cell phones, let alone smartphones

I spent this past weekend with some college girlfriends at our alma mater. We began chatting earlier in the week and had logged more than 100 texts before we even met up. We sent each other old photos, talked about our kids and joked about whether the Hawkeyes would show up for the game (they did, thank goodness). The bottom line…we were already catching up and we weren’t even together yet.

Back to this photo, which was taken at the Art Institute of Chicago, circa 1991. This motley crew met up to hike down to Soldier Field for the Grateful Dead Show (with Jerry, YES!). It’s become a bit of a tall tale over the years for those of us lucky enough to be in the photo (try to ignore my big hair). It’s been posted and reposted online a few times and the comments are always worth a read (and how I decided it must have been 1991).

So, the tall tale goes something like this…

Long, long ago before we could text and facetime….good ol’ fashioned plans were made. We were post-college a couple of years and enjoying another late night out in Wrigleyville (to think that now my kids go to Slugger’s…). Some of us lived here and others had traveled from far far away. The energy for the next day’s Dead Show was building and we could all feel it. There were rumblings about how we were going to get 25-30 folks to meet up before. Someone had the brilliant idea to meet on the steps of the Art Institute and make the trek together to Soldier Field.

Well, look who showed up the next day

It’s unclear how long we actually waited for one another, but this crew is one for the ages for sure. I remember as folks arrived, cheers went up! Who could believe that we actually found each other and were going to the ‘show’ together? As far as I know…this was the only photo from that day. Dead Shows are pretty special.

‘Free Pass’ to the museum

I even brought my very official paper Art Institute membership card, a Christmas gift from my parents (to enrich my experience living in Chicago). I had used it once or twice but on this day it definitely got its money’s worth. I’m not saying that my parents helped make this photo happen…but it was a real perk for us ‘deadheads’ to have a nice bathroom while we waited. Many of us were at each other’s weddings and still see each other today. And, yes we also keep in touch via social media…oh well.

A photo really does have the ability to take us back in time

Phones were on the horizon for sure but this experience and ‘photo’ happened because of pure desire, patience and a little bit of luck. (oh, and an actual camera - lmk if you were the photographer). This photo is really the only thing we have to take us back to that amazing experience. I do however have the 300 photos on my phone from two days in Iowa City this past weekend. The trick will be to get them off my phone and cherish them the same way we all do this one.

Beautiful downtown Chicago (even before the Bean)…and of course the music

Seeing live music with the Chicago skyline in the backdrop never gets old. The Set List is below if indeed this was the show we went to after this photo. It was a big deal to talk about the particular order and choices the band made and reminisce the next day. Fans would jot the set list down on a scrap of paper or whatever was handy. Now we just “dial” it up on our phones. No reason to stress (or really relish the moment) ….

P.S. If you are in this photo, you need to share it…and, if you have a better version - please send it to me.

P.P.S. Keep scrolling to see the Set List from June 22, 1991

The University of Iowa vs. Northwestern University | October 29, 2022 | Final score 33-13 Hawkeyes Win!

The Grateful Dead at Soldier Field _ 6.22.1991

Set 1

Set 2

ENCORE

The Weight

"I’m in God’s country ... well not quite, it’s L.A. but close enough"

Dorothy (Dee) Grace Arnold _ Budapest, 1965

So this was the reply I got from my mother earlier this month

I was texting her to see if she had arrived at her latest getaway. The jab at L.A. made me laugh remembering how she always has been a bit of a Bay Area snob (and I’m okay with that). Dee’s heart is always in San Franciso and we all know it.

She’ll always be a California girl

This time she went to visit some college friends, see family and meet up with Alice who she’s known since kindergarten. I can’t even remember anyone’s name from my kindergarten days let alone imagine meeting up with any of them. And to be fair, she only started her trip in Los Angeles. She worked her way “home” to the Bay area along the infamous Highway 1, my favorite drive in the world. She’s always managed to get to “home” over the years. In the 1970s, summer at our house meant packing up the car for the almost 2,000-mile drive from Iowa to Cali with our mom. My sister and I would take on the ‘navigator’ and ‘stewardess’ jobs since we didn’t have driver’s licenses yet (or cell phones, yikes). We used maps, played the license plate game, and listened to the radio. Each night we'd find a not-too-shady motel and my mom would have her martini poolside while my sister and I swam. Two days later, we’d be pulling into my aunt and uncle’s house in San Mateo. My dad would fly out a couple of weeks later for his vacation and then help make the drive back.

Happiness is always having a trip planned

COVID has made it hard for everyone to travel and stay connected. This has been especially true for my mom, a lifelong traveler who is always planning her next trip. It’s hard to slow down a woman whose been to more than 49 countries on 5 continents. Long ago my dad figured out the key to keeping his wife happy – always have a trip on the horizon, something to look forward to. From cross-country road trips in the 1940s and 50s with her mom and dad to accepting a teaching position in Mannheim, Germany in 1963, Dee has created a travel diary of memories for a lifetime.

Is it Doris Day? Nope, it’s my amazing mom Dee

This stunning image of my mom was taken in Budapest in 1965 before I was born. She was 26 years old and living her best life I’m pretty sure. In those days she was often mistaken for Doris Day which she took as a huge compliment. I’m pretty sure my kids don’t even know who Doris Day is, shame on me. It does not go unnoticed to me that my mom has been a trailblazer in her time. She took off for Europe all on her own in the 1960s when most women were encouraged to look for a husband and put their home economics class to good use. Instead, she spent her weekends traveling to Paris and Berlin or skiing in the Alps.

Sharing the love

These days when my mom and dad take a trip we get the ‘official itinerary’ emailed ahead so we know where they will be and for how long, etc. My dad spends an absurd amount of time putting these together but he seems to enjoy the process as much as my mom does the planning. He could probably publish a book with all the details he has and we could literally walk in their footsteps around the globe. It’s so easy these days to go online and book flights, find a place to stay, make reservations for dinner, etc. But it truly takes a devoted seasoned travel veteran to research, send for information, write letters and make long-distance phone calls to find an affordable pension (look that up if you don’t know this definition...I only do because of Dee). She’s the original Expedia and way more personable. I wonder what she's dreaming up now.

Did I mention my mom is 84

P.S. I talked with my mom about that 1965 trip to Budapest. She recalled she was on a tour with friends and had visited Russia and Poland as well, keeping in mind this was just 20 years after the end of WWII. While in Warsaw her bus of tourists asked the tour guide to see where the ghetto was. Under Russia’s rule at the time, they were told there was no ghetto. It’s something that’s stuck with her all this time.

And as Dee’s travels go, her friend Louise whom she was with on that Budapest trip was one of the girlfriends she just visited in Los Angeles 57 years later. Now, that’s a forever friendship.

Dee and Jerry Sullivan _ Big Sur, California 2022

55.5 Half-way to 60

Closer to 60 than 50, wait what?

And just like that, I’m officially closer to 60 years old than I am to 50

So today I turned 55.5 years old. It’s been on my mind a bit just as it was when I was turning 45.5 years old. I’ve never had too much angst about turning 30, 40, or 50 years old. There seems to be such a fuss about all of these decades and what it means. Am I where I wanted to be? Accomplished what I’m supposed to have by now? By the time I get right up to these milestones I only want to celebrate. Entering a new decade is an accomplishment worth marking.

55.5 is a big bday too, here’s to the midway point (cuz, I’m certainly past middle age, lol)!

I mean I’m totally used to being in my 50s by now. Why did I ever even think 50 sounded old? But, if I’m honest, 60 is sounding kinda old (sorry to my many friends and relatives who are there already or almost). Many of my heroes are in their 60s, but can I be 60? As a younger person, it seemed like an age I didn’t really have any reason to even imagine. It’s not like I was walking around in my 20s and 30s wondering what it would be like to be 50 or 60. My parents seemed “pretty cool” when they were that age. Now that I am here, I love that it feels so much younger than I thought 55.5-year-old folks would feel.*

60 is the new 50? What if I still think I’m 35?

So as I reach this inconsequential milestone of 55.5, I know that it’s okay to actually contemplate what it will be like to be 60, it’s kind of my process. Perhaps it’s just easier for me to slowly start preparing myself for it so I can act all casual when it occurs and focus on the blessings of another trip around the sun.

I chose the “marathon” graphic because I just lived vicariously through all the amazing runners at the 2022 Chicago marathon just a few weeks back. It was a gorgeous day and the energy was so intoxicating, I reveled in the successes I witnessed and friends and families cheering them on. This was the first time I went near the finish line downtown where all the runners meet their loved ones and celebrate their accomplishments. I heard languages from all over the world and was proud to call this amazing city home.

What about those annoying full-of-rage drivers and one more spam call? Who cares.

Like all of us, I’ve had friends and relatives and some of their children leave this planet way too soon. Living with their memories is always with me and encourages me to be better and try harder. I’m not sure if a marathon is in my future but reaching goals and hitting big milestones is something I intend to keep doing and trying to model for my children. Staying “loose”, looking for the heroes all around me and continuing to root for all of us is my simple plan.

*Minus arthritis which is apparently the cause of all my aches and pains + monthly salon highlighting bill and a son who is a college graduate.

P.S. And if you’ve read this far….knowing that my actual 4/20 birthday brings a smile to so many faces is a bonus. It used to be known for something else, so this reference works for me.

P.P.S. This is just for my direct marketing pals, please send revisions. I did my own proofreading.

Thursday 10.20.22

Chicago Marathon 2022