Today I traveled six hours to spend three hours with a woman who was my academic adviser in the last century when I was working on my Master’s degree. We are kindred spirits. Were back then and still are.
So when I finished my degree, after great counsel from her, and graduated in 1997, we continued to keep in touch. Not consistently, but irregularly. Which meant we got together every couple years or so to reminisce. Today was our most recent reunion; it was three years in the making.
Logistics were an essential ingredient. C lives in Lake Forest, a northern suburb of Chicago, which I live two states east. Each of us had to take a train to Chicago’s Loop, and coordinating the schedules of the two lines was a challenge so that neither of us was waiting for the other an inordinate amount of time.
Then there was the question of where to lunch. In the past, we’ve met at Pegasus, a charming restaurant in Greektown. But unfortunately Pegasus closed in December 2017. Neither of us knew this until a couple days ago, which goes to show that we need to keep in closer contact not only with each other but also the Chicago restaurant scene.
In the end, we ate at Ovie. I suspect the name is some sort of derivative for the Olgivie Transportation Center where C’s train comes in. The station – er . . . Center – has gone upscale with white tablecloth restaurants alongside the smoothie vendors and McDonald’s. The idea was that we wouldn’t spend precious time walking to another destination. Ovie was adequate but definitely not Greek inspired.
We chatted nonstop from 11 AM to 2 PM and then reversed our trips back to our respective homes. As the train wheels clattered along toward Michigan, I was positive that six hours of travel for a three hour lunch was a spectacular return on investment.
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