Today we left for a visit to the University of Chicago campus on a football recruiting trip. Thankfully the drive up was uneventful with clear, dry roads. Brian got us safely to Chicago in under six hours with only one stop for dinner and gas.

Kirk's first glimpse of the Chicago skyline was priceless. He was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and has flown in and out of San Francisco, but he's never lived near a really large city. Brian and I grew up going "into the city" on weekends and school field trips. The biggest city Kirk has ever really known was Cincinnati. He didn't understand our laughter as we suggested to him that he really didn't understand what "big city" meant. We pulled up along I90 well after dark and the skyline was stark against the sky. Kirk was wide-eyed as he looked out his window. His first comment was, "It looks like the Machine City from Matrix 3." He was absolutely correct. I thought that was a great description. I don't think he's a real city boy, but we'll see. He gets a tour tomorrow as part of his campus visit.

After we checked into our room at the Marriott, Kirk took pictures out our 12th floor window. He just kept looking up. I can only imagine what his thoughts were. I know whenever I'm in the city, any large city, my mind starts doing the math. I think about all the people represented by the lighted windows in just one of those buildings. I wonder how many are newly or happily married. How many are late for a child's concert or sporting event? How many are hoping for a promotion and how many don't know it, but they're going to be "let go" tomorrow? Is there anyone who's going to leave work early to buy shoes on sale? How many have lived their whole lives in this city? What holds them here instead of somewhere warmer? Do they really like the Cubs or do they feel pressured into it? Then I moved from that one building to the people on the street. Driving buses, driving snow plows, hailing taxis, driving taxis, working the register at the 7-11 across the street. Who's going into the club below me that has "live jazz." Am I missing some great jazz or is it only "ok" jazz on a Thursday night?

I'm thankful the bed is really comfortable. Hopefully my mind will be quiet and let me go to sleep because tomorrow I have a lot of questions for the coach and I will finally get to meet an on-line book club buddy.