I have just confirmed reservations for a Memorial Day Weekend in the Chicago area.
Why Chicago?
I am planning on meeting a few activists; I am trying to include Ellen Beth Gill, whose blog I read often, and Marianne Wood, to discuss the ins and outs of living in an affluent, Republican congressional district - just like my own. At least Gill and Wood had a strong Democratic challenger last year to vote for - I didn't have one, not even a weak one.
I also want to spend a few days in a city that becomes temporary home for my novel protagonist Sarah, as she trains to become a flight attendant for United Airlines. Of course, my flights are on United (despite its racial profiling as of late).
Chicago is also a city rich in civic life and culture, contrary to what former Chicagoan Donald Rumsfeld says (leading another former Chicagoan, my writing mentor Gayle Brandeis, to protest loudly on her blog). I want a slice of that culture; my only previous visit to Chicago, ten years ago, took all of six hours, and that doesn't do the place justice.
I hope this trip will rejuvenate me like my trips to Seattle and Vancouver (and multiple San Francisco visits) last year.
