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A recent trip to Chicago reminded me why I enjoy living in rural Wisconsin so
much.
Anne and I drove to Chicago a couple weekends ago to visit our oldest son, Josh,
who is 26. Josh doesn't get home to the farm as much as we'd like to see him,
so a couple times a year we head into the big city.
It's an insult to our ruralness, if that's a word.
The reminder that we're heading to Chicago comes long before we get to the city
limits. Just a few miles over the Wisconsin border into Illinois, we are welcomed
to the Land of Lincoln by our first tollbooth. Because we are only occasional
visitors to Illinois, we don't have the I-Pass that would allow us quick passage
through the booths. So we get in line behind the other foreigners and often
wait until we get to the booth to find out how much we have to dish out to the
not-so-friendly booth operator. We parted with about $10 by the time we made
it to the Windy City and back.
And then, of course, there's the traffic. Yes, traffic moves faster in rural
Wisconsin than it used to, but the norm is not 80 mph on four-lane highways.
That's still an uncomfortable speed for this raised-on-a-tractor farm boy.
It was 80 mph until we came to a screeching halt in a traffic jam. Then we traveled
at a snail's pace until another four lanes of traffic merged into the original
four lanes..
For our Saturday afternoon entertainment, we decided to visit the Shedd Aquarium
along Chicago's lakeshore. We've heard a lot of good things about the aquarium,
but the challenge was finding a place to park.
The half-hour parking-spot search resulted in us not arriving at the aquarium
until about 2:45. When we arrived, there was an hour-long line to get in the
door for an attraction that closed at 6 p.m. And the entry fee was $25 per person.
Maybe another time.
We opted to visit the nearby Field Museum, and after viewing the Darwin exhibit
for about an hour, an employee happily informed us that the museum would be
closing at 5 p.m.
Then it was on to dinner. We found a pleasant restaurant where we enjoyed Italian
fare for four for $100. Not exactly Barneveld prices, but I guess we knew for
quite some time we weren't in Barneveld.
After dinner, Anne and I drove about 20 minutes to our suburban hotel, frankly
to save $100 on the downtown hotels that started at $190 a night with no on-site
parking. Parking is another $30 per night.
That 20-minute commute took about an hour on Sunday morning when we drove back
into the city to spend some more time with Josh.
All of this — the highway tolls, bumper-to-bumper traffic, parking problems
and high prices for virtually everything — confirmed my thinking that small-town
Wisconsin is the place for me.
And by the way, a weekend in Chicago also confirmed my lifelong hatred of the
Chicago Bears and Cubs. Packers and Brewers fans aren't real popular in Chicago
these days.
It's a good thing some people enjoy living in big cities, because a good deal
of this nation's commerce takes place in our metropolitan areas. Josh thoroughly
enjoys his life in Chicago. But I'd rather be delayed behind a manure truck
on a country road than drive 5 mph in a Chicago traffic jam.
As John Denver once pined, 'Thank God I'm a country boy.'
Jim Massey is editor of The Country Today and writes news and features for the newspaper in southern Wisconsin. He may be reached at jimmassey@mhtc.net.