Rain-Out Rain-Delay Meanderings

Well, Destiny, I'm not sure what you have in mind, so as WGN airs "The best of the seventh inning stretch," while Len & Bob discuss more ways to kill time, I've decided that I should write Rain-out Meanderings just in case. (WGN: what, like you don't have dozens of Fresh Prince or Cosby Show episodes waiting to air, just in case?) Today we're going to wander from the NYPD to the status of American cities before finally getting to some differences between Austin and Chicago.

This is one of those times when I'm especially happy to be willingly unemployed. If the game starts late, I sleep in. If they play a doubleheader, I'm booked solid for tomorrow, as long as WGN airs them both like they're supposed to.Footnote 1



Anyway, I was reading William Finnegan's piece titled "The Terrorism Beat" in the July 25 New Yorker today, and I wish it was available on-line because it's really a brilliant article. He reports on the NYPD, and their intelligence and anti-terrorism divisions in particular. You might not realize it, but the NYPD has officers based all over the world, and often send people to terrorist attack sites to learn about what happened, in order for New York to prepare itself as best it can. Their intelligence agents seem to be doing spectacular as well. It's really remarkable what the force is doing. If you can track down the article, you'll probably come away feeling better about the NYPD than you do about the CIA or FBI.



It got me thinking about some of Robert Kaplan's writing, about the nature of our great cities. Kaplan briefly touches in his book Warrior Politics how we don't think about the ascendancy of our cities in the same way that other societies might. In many ways, cities like New York -- and Chicago -- are city-states. We expect things from them, more so than we expect from state or federal institutions in many cases. Our cities are self sufficient, and their residents often have more loyalty to their city than to their state, or even their country. Other cultures might resent these great metropolises, or at least they won't take them for granted the way we might. What's more is that the trend seems to be towards more of this city-state mentality and development, rather than less. Reading this article, it's strange to think that, for example, often the CIA asks the NYPD for help with issues like translation because the NYPD has resources the CIA lacks. It's almost like they are peers in an alliance, rather than part of a hierarchy.



Texas might be the first state I've come across where state loyalty is supreme, though. In fact, Lone Star beer labels itself the National beer of Texas. Texans have Texas pride.



At first I thought that Austinites would have an ego about Austin being different from the rest of Texas, but so far I haven't seen it. Austin is nothing like the Texas stereotype. It's liberal, tolerant, and not at all like what Chicagoans think of Texas. Yet, Austinites -- especially those who moved here from elsewhere in the state -- seem to be as proud of being Texans as anyone else, even though they're so much different. Austin is much more about rock and roll than cowboys and ranches, but it doesn't translate into ego the way that Chicagoans sort of disown southern Illinois.



I've been surprised that most everyone around here groups the northern cities together. I often have occasion to tell people that I'm from Chicago, and I've had people say to me, "Oh, I've been to New York, so I know what it's like up there," or "Oh yeah? Paul is from Boston. You should meet him." Just like Chicagoans have no idea that Austin is so different from Dallas or Houston, Austinites don't quite grasp that Chicago is nothing like an east coast city.



It's strange to think how local so many people's perspective is. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It always surprises me, that's all.



I've already started gaining some new perspective about Chicago, though.



Chicago is a baseball town. Austin is not. It's a football town, especially UT football, but really any football is acceptable, I gather. In Chicago, I could get away with saying I'm a casual football fan because I don't start watching until after the baseball season ends. Down here, though, hardly anyone cares about baseball. The fact that I watch the Cubs every day is foreign, especially since baseball is the only sport played every day. Houston is two hours away, and Arlington is more like three and a half. For what it's worth, even basketball doesn't get much attention in this city. San Antonio is just over an hour away, but there wasn't nearly the Spurs rejoicing as I expected.



It's hot down here, like you would think, but not that hot. To be honest, I expected worse. The oppressive humidity in Chicago really is that bad. The Texas thunderstorms though -- now they are impressive.



Austin is also a city of frontage roads. Chicagoans don't even know what these are, sometimes. All of the highway exits take you to one-way frontage roads that run parallel to the highway, and from there you can access streets and stores. Minneapolis has these as well, the only other area I've lived that has them. I've gone back and forth on whether I think this could work in Chicago, and I've decided that it probably couldn't. There just isn't the space to develop the roads that way. I can't wait for my Chicago friends to drive down here, though, and try to figure out frontage roads and U-turns.



Girls down here do wear cowboy boots. And cowboy hats. I asked my date the other night -- a girl I met while she was wearing cowboy boots -- how many cowboy hats she has. She has three -- two straw hats for the summer, and one felt cowboy hat for when it's cooler. The accents are nice, too. I also haven't noticed the girls blending together like the girls at the Chicago bars did. Maybe it takes time, but after a few years on the Chicago bar and dating scene, the girls all started to look familiar. I think I wrote this before, but it used to happen to me all the time when I was drunk in a dark bar, where I would see a girl and think I knew her, because she closely resembled another girl that I did know. That hasn't happened to me here, yet.



And the beer. I've already mentioned Lone Star, which is the ultra-cheap default beer that everyone buys. It's similar enough to Old Style, I suppose. But then there's also Shiner Bock, which is just a brilliant beer. The Germans and Czechs who designed this beer knew what they were doing, because it's perfect for drinking in the heat. It's good, it finishes easily, and it's not really any more expensive than the regular domestics. I think that my days drinking MGD are gone, at least while I live down here.



Austin is known for its local music scene, which it deserves. Chicago doesn't have much of a local music scene, or at least it doesn't have one worthy of its size. I guess there are the Redwalls, who are gaining a lot of steam, but I saw them open up for Keane and I was less than impressed. I've seen Austin favorite Bob Schneider twice since I've been down here, though, and he's great. Just about any place he plays in Austin is guaranteed to be full, and it's not hard to see why. Past that, there are just so many more places that always have live music, and the people support it. I've been to great shows in Chicago where there were hardly more than a few dozen people in attendance. I don't think that happens down here.



I miss 97.1, a.k.a. the best radio station ever, but that's the only Chicago radio station I miss. I turn 25 in September, but I still think 97.1 plays better music than anyone else in Chicago. I haven't found a comparable radio station here, or anywhere for that matter.



I still listen to Mac, Jurko & Harry about once or twice a week online. I can listen to them while I write, which is better than watching TV, but sometimes it feels like those guys are like a sit-com anyways. I'll tail off once baseball season is over, but for now I like having that link.



Lastly, there's the burritos. There's a chain down here called Freebird Burritos that destroys Chipotle or the Taco Burrito Palace #2 or Jamaito's or any of them. It's great.



The best thing, though, is that even as hot as the summer days are every day, the nights are still alive. In Chicago, in the winter, it's three months of cultural shutdown. I won't miss that.



Anyway, they're singing the anthem, so it's time to watch the game. I just got a phone call from a girl I know who's on her way into Wrigley. I do miss that.













Footnote 1: I’ve been writing meanderings since 1999, usually 3 or 4 a year. They’re kind of like essays, where I try to avoid structure and just move from point to point with more of a conversational flow. A lot of times points come from way out in left field. I know some people don’t like the style very much, so if you’re one of them, I hope it doesn’t turn you off to the site. But I’m doing it anyway. Hell – it’s a rain out delay, after all, and well what can I say? Return