Kankakee, my once upon a time hometown

I lived for many of my growing up years in Kankakee, Illinois, a town stuck in the cornfields about an hour south of Chicago. When my parents got together with friends, they played a dice game they called Little Chicago. The origin story of this game is practically mythical, and you won´t find it on the internet. As a kid, all I knew was that it involved five dice and seemed to take hours. Children were never invited to play, nor were we ever interested in such a boring pasttime, which was clearly just an excuse to talk.

I am in visiting my parents´ friends, who are now also my friends, for a few days as part of a Midwest road trip. Last night I got to play Little Chicago with the grownups for the first time, and I won. Now I feel I must retire from the game, because my 100% winning rate can only go down. I can, however, now see the point of a relatively straightforward game that gives you lots of time to chat.

Its always fun to visit a town that you last knew as a child. Kankakee is very, very midwestern and American, full of wide streets, strip malls, and lovely neighborhoods full of old trees. Of course the buildings are smaller than I remember, but the downtown is also emptier. Is that my faulty memory, or the passage of time (and big box stores) chasing out the smaller stores? I´m not sure. In any case, Kankakee has always been able to boast about its mention on Arlo Guthrie´s song, The City of New Orleans, and I am pleased to report that they can also boast about their soda. I went to a locally owned root beer stand and had an excellent float for an absurdly low price (unlike my experience in Philadelphia). 

Tomorrow I leave for camping in near Grand Rapids and then it´s on to Chicago. Stay tuned for even more pictures of flat places.