Bill Griffin, Chicago vendor, 1980. (Courtesy of Lloyd Rutzky)
The world has been changing and Bill Griffin likely wanted no part of it.
“Griff” was the gruffest vendor at Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park in Chicago. He was proud to say that no one had worked the ballparks longer than him. His vendor life began in 1952. Bill spoke in an outlaw drawl that came from his native Oklahoma and he had the face of a postage stamp left out in a western rain. Bill died May 16 of COVID-19 at the Astoria Place senior home in Chicago. He was 88 years old.
Bill died the day after they started playing live organ [...]
“Classic” John Prine stamp by Michael Hernandez de Luna
The idea was to get John Prine on a postage stamp.
He wrote some of the best songs about the American condition while on his late 1960s U.S. mail route. And it’s been assumed the little ranch house I bought in near west suburban Westchester, Ill. was on the postal path of the Maywood native. Since the COVID-19 pandemic kicked in, the volume of mail delivered by the U.S.P.S. has declined. The agency is asking Congress to keep the postal service going. President Trump has refused to sign a new bill that includes postal service [...]
Ilse Dietsche, 2014
People are saying there are lessons to be learned from these hard times. Lines of communication have been refreshed and some things are no longer taken for granted.
On the evening of April 2, I sent a short e -mail to Ilse Dietsche. I had not done this in a long time. I wrote about Ilse for this website in September 2014 when she decided to drive Route 66 alone.
Ilse was 86 years old in 2014.
Her determination and wonder became one of my all-time favorite travel stories.
I called her “The Grandma of the Mother Road.” I had Ilse and her daughter Christine on my [...]
There are bigger worries in this big old crazy world, but why is Lollapalooza still on?
It seems odd that the City of Chicago and Lollapalooza promoters have yet to postpone or cancel the July 30-Aug. 2 festival. Maybe there’s contracts and paperwork being worked out, but even in the best of times, Lollapalooza can be a major public health nuisance: crowds, porta-johns, food in the sun, thunderstorms. Did I mention porta-johns?
In a Thursday press briefing, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said everyone needs to “think seriously” about canceling all big summer events. Even my fearless webmaster Nick Kam who did this meme for me said he wouldn’t even go to one of his [...]
