Making Memories

Yesterday, I was walking home from work, totally exhausted from the work week.

Grrr. . . Grrrr. . . .

I was standing across the street from my apartment building, waiting for the light to change. Then, I overhead a dad enthusiastically explaining to his two kids about MY apartment building. He was pointing up to my apartment building and I overheard him explaining that it was designed in 1959, that two movies were filmed here in which a car was shot out of the parking garage and into the river, etc.

I heard the two boys say, "Wwwooowww!!""
They were about ten and twelve years old.

I piped up and said that I lived on the 49 th floor and that I witnessed the filming the Allstate Insurance commercial that Sunday morning last October.

It turned out that the dad was a science teacher from a small town in Ohio and he and his wife and kids were in town for the weekend. The dad was an architecture buff and he knew more about my building than I did.

Seeing that he was with his wife and kids, I said, "Say. I live here in this building. We've got a great observation deck on the sixty-first floor that most tourists don't get to see. Would you guys like to come up and see it?"

The dad readily took me up on my offer. The boys seemed enthusiastic about it too.

We got into the express elevator; I told the younger guy to hit the RF button in the elevator and warned them that the elevator was really fast and that their ears might pop. (they did).

We all tumbled out onto the roof deck and, of course, the kids went, "WWWoooowww!" as they circled around being surrounded by the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Tower and Navy Pier.

It was a very clear day and I was so glad to give this family a sight of Chicago that so few people see.

They didn't have a camera, but of course, the older kid knew how to work the camera on his dad's cell phone. Lots of photos were taken.

I left them on the observation deck, telling them that they could spend as much time as they wanted.

What was really nice, is that both boys gave repeated "Thank You's" for letting them up there. It's so good to hear kids actually being polite these days.

As I was leaving, the dad told me that he really appreciated my gesture and that whenever they see Chicago on TV, they'll always remember getting to go up on the roof at Marina Towers and having this special trip.

I gave him and his wife a warm handshake and showed them where the toilet was on the 61st floor. (As a tourist, I know it's awfully hard to find clean public toilets! - - especially for the women)

The boys gave me another "Thank you!" as I left. . . .

Now, isn't that a nice story?

My glum day turned out to be one of my best days in Chicago.

I've always been proud of this city and especially the goofy building in which I live. I finally got to show it off and help a small-town family have a great time.

I know that whenever this family sees Chicago on TV, (and inevitably they'll see Marina Towers), they'll holler out, "Hey! We went up there!"

I may not have a family, but it's really good to know I helped a family make some memories.