This past weekend my wife and I took a little trip to Cook County Illinois for some rest and relaxation as well as a little geeky fan fun. Yes, we visited several suburbs North of Chicago out by the infamous O’Hare Airport without setting foot into the city of Chicago itself. Everything we needed was in the O’Hare district, Rosemont, Des Plaines, Norridge, Niles, etc… Lots of large villages with no discernible boundary, and two hotels with a large guest population that were from outside of the United States or Illinois. All of them were cold as the temperature was near zero degrees Fahrenheit. The weekend gave us plenty of time to people watch and observe micro cultures from the U.S. and cultural practices of folks from outside the of the country. It was a rich experience.

First my dissent of the day. I was shocked and appalled by $47 social media posts about Robert Reiner and his wife. The tragedy had me deeply depressed knowing the cause. Mental health issues related to addiction are pervasive in our society. These tragedies do not discriminate. We need to treat mental health like physical health including drug and alcohol abuse. I dissent with the president’s comments. They were inappropriate, disrespectful, and self serving as always. There is no bigger piece of excrement than our billionaire president. He is trash. Reiner’s light will live on with the art he created. $47 will be remembered too, but for far less…

People watching is something I do a lot of. I love to observe and listen. I swear I could disappear in any room and not be noticed. I wrote a blog about being invisible earlier this year. This underlying skill enables me to learn about behaviors, choices, and cultures. It is fascinating to watch how others interact with the world. There is so much to learn… and so little time…

I will start with the main reason we went to the Cook County. We attended Wentworthcon. This was a fan convention for the Australian prison drama Wentworth. The drama was 100 episodes ending about four years ago. The whole piece takes place in a women’s prison named Wentworth. My wife started watching it one day a couple of summers ago and I passively watched the first season. Once a Canadian-Australian actor named Pamela Rabe joined the show her skills sucked me in. This convention brought four of the actors including Rabe to Chicago from Australia and about 300-400 devotees of the show from all over the world descended on the Hilton Hotel in Rosemont, IL.

I knew I would be in the minority gender wise, but I was pleasantly surprised by the number of men like me who enjoyed the show. Two men from Kentucky and North Carolina who sat next to my wife and I shared a few short conversations about why we liked it. Acting and writing, followed by character development were our top three shared experiences. I got a kick out of watching my fellow males enjoy the experience as much as I did. The women though took it to a new level. The women cosplayed wearing the jumpsuits the actors (prisoners) wore on set. Some had T-shirts with their favorite characters. Fan Q & A’s were a little awkward with the hero worship, but it was fascinating to see how deeply the women invested into the show.

The other beautiful thing about this convention was the acceptance. Here was an incredibly diverse group of people and everyone in that group had this show in common. That commonality eliminated gender, sexuality, race, and socioeconomic status. We were all equal in this place. It was friendlier than an annual music convention I used to attend in the fair city of Chicago. People who attended the convention by themselves did not have to be alone for long. Other people accepted them into their groups. It was not what I expected from a television show convention. That was nice.

The hotel observing was a blast. We stayed not far from the international terminal of O’Hare airport. There were many guests from all over the planet in our hotel. It made our continental breakfast experience interesting. Our first morning breakfast had an inter-racial couple (Asian-North American) trying to get their children fed and packing food for the long flight to Japan or South Korea. The mom’s ingenuity in collecting waffles, fruit, and other goodies into napkins and paper plates for the long flight was interesting to see. The father focused all of his attention on the children as they ate. He wiped chins, fixed clothes, and organized the luggage. This family of six had the perfect blend of Asian and North American cultural efficiency. My wife and I were impressed with their teamwork. They made international travel with four kids under ten look effortless.

Our second and third day breakfast included interactions with Dutch and German tourists. I can only imagine what was being said as they spoke to one another excitedly. I took in that their eating habits were much more refined than my American farmer’s appetite. I like a big breakfast of eggs, bacon or sausage, and breakfast potatoes with some toast or a muffin. They all were fine with oatmeal or toast and a piece of fruit with coffee or tea. It is interesting how our cultures food and dining behaviors are based in need or want categories. I’m a glutton compared to them. I’m the typical boorish American to their refined European tradition. It makes me reflect… about my own habits and behaviors… There are so many different ways to be human…

The rest of our weekend took on some touristy geocaching and shopping. It was fun to visit some shops and see the locals trying not to interact with one another. This is kind of a metropolitan thing I’m used to having grown up in the shadow of the city as a kid. We went to Chicago all the time it seemed. When you live a tad bit over 100 miles from the third largest city in the U.S. it tends to influence you. Before you ask. It is a sin to put ketchup on a hot dog. I prefer mine with mustard and fresh relish. In Iowa it is not uncommon to see people blocking aisles having spirited conversations. “Excuse me, please” always gets a dirty look when you want to get to the items they are standing in front of…

Here are some sights we took in. Niles, Illinois has their own half size leaning tower. Niles also has bee hives and gardens just about everywhere. Gene Siskel the late film critic of the Chicago Tribune is buried in Norridge, IL. I loved Gene’s work with Roger Ebert. The two men inspired my love of film growing up. Gene has a humble little memorial stone. It is the same size as most of my family. I did not have a stone to lay on his memorial in the Jewish tradition, but I did pay my respects. I can’t believe he has been gone 26 years already. A geocacher has created an Adventure Lab that takes you to Gene’s grave as well as four other famous Chicagoans. We enjoy these type of caches as it reflects on history and lives of those who shaped that history.

Our final stop of the trip was to Mt. Carmel Catholic Cemetery in Hillside, IL. Alphonse Capone is buried in the family plot there. I had passed this spot many times over the years, but had no idea he was interred there. We visited out of curiosity, because a geocacher placed a virtual multi-cache there. It was worth it to see the humble stone marking his burial in front of the large family stone about ten feet behind it. No matter how infamous one is, death is still the natural conclusion to one’s life.

Visiting these two cemeteries says a lot about the culture of the communities that cares for them. I was impressed with the grounds keeping. Even though there was six inches of snow on the ground every road path was clean. Very little snow was piled anywhere. It appears they move it away from the gravesites. You can learn a lot about a culture from how they care for their ancestors burials. Iowa could learn a lot from these villages of Hillsdale and Norridge, IL. It is a shame to see how some parts of Iowa neglect their Pioneer cemeteries.

Thanks for reading. I have been away far too long, doing other things. I’m still dissenting… I just wanted to write about something more interesting than our lack of political leadership… Stay safe and warm for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere… …so it goes…