Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Perceptions

The other day, I met a guy who grew up in a neighboring town to mine. He's lived in Arizona for the past 16 years, so his perception of his former childhood hometown is skewed from what the reality is of it today. That happens with many things in life, like going back to your elementary school, or looking at the trees on your old street; everything always seems much bigger in your mind's eye.

The guy was telling me about driving distance. Specifically, he remembered that driving from one side of town to another, or driving from his town to mine, always took so long. When he went back to the neighborhood earlier this year, he was amazed about how quickly he was able to maneuver from one place to another. He was impressed and shocked at how different his perception was. I thought it might have to do with the fact that most of the streets we had when we were kids (he's only a year younger than me) were only two lane roads. Chicago construction and the growth of neighborhoods has grown throughout the years. You can always rely on major construction projects every summer. Many of the two lane roads are now two lanes each way, which probably accounts for the quicker traffic flow. I guess.

We also talked about ice cream. He told me that he used to go to "this place" all the time after baseball for sundaes. The place was known for being one of the first that offered the treats in plastic professional baseball team hats. He thought it may have been the Dairy Queen on Devon Avenue. I knew exactly what he was referring to, because I also have fond memories of the baseball team hat sundae. The shop wasn't Dairy Queen, however. It was Zippy's, and you could get the sundae made with lots of whipped cream, chopped nuts, chocolate syrup, sprinkles, hot fudge, and a cherry on top. They were a baseball fan's/ice cream fan's dream.

I always got the sundae in a Cubs hat. I didn't ask the guy what team he preferred. And I wonder if he remembers, like I do, that the sundaes were huge, as big as my head, maybe even bigger. But then again, maybe not.

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