2008-09-10 - 10:10 a.m.
Our neighborhood of Uptown has long been a marginal space. Nya & I can afford a home here because prices are less expensive as Uptown has a reputation as where �those people� live. (Apparently, the equal number of Vietnamese and the populations of gays/lesbians in our sub-neighborhood, the West African immigrants north of us, the Indian and Ethiopian immigrants further north, etc. are overlooked but whatever�)
In the 1960s and 1970s, Uptown was known as �where the Hillbillies live�. Appalachians were white, but not quite acceptable socially. Didn�t they keep goats in the house or something? On a side note, I should say how amusing it was to read one Appalachian�s reaction to questions asked by journalist Studs Terkel. He didn�t want to answer them and his avoidance was amusingly recorded:
Studs � Ever think about race?
Appalachian: Nope.
Studs: Ever think about the Bomb?
Appalachian: Nope.
Before that Uptown was �where the WOPs live�. Al Capone in fact owned several businesses in the area. He owned the building Nya used to live in when it was a hotel, before the rooms got converted to apartments. He also owned the Green Mill jazz club. He also owned a Popeye�s Chicken franchise (okay the chain didn�t exist yet, but there are several near us and he probably would have owned one if he could have�).
Before that I don�t really know. Poles? Was the area even incorporated into Chicago? Whatever. What the neighborhood really needs is a top school and its influx of kids and parents. I�m writing up a business plan for this.
� Geoff Gladstone
If you�ve ever enjoyed my writing style or substance, if you�ve ever learned anything from reading this, please donate to the Accelerated Cure Project for Multiple Sclerosis and/or the Montel Williams MS Foundation. Just $5 is suggested, but give whatever you think it�s worth/can afford. �Charity� is really buying something meaningful to you (and it ain�t just for the wealthy�).
Sign My Guestbook!
powered by SignMyGuestbook.com
�
