We moved from New York to the Chicago suburbs in the mid-70s, just in time for me to start first grade. My mom would take us downtown to check out the museums and skyscrapers and the big department stores all the time. Once I got older I would go down with my friends to skateboard and explore the neighborhoods. Sometimes we would just sit at the base of the Hancock Building and soak up the atmosphere, watching the people go by. It was cheap and easy to hop on an ‘L’ near our house, and I could be right in the heart of downtown, the corner of State and Lake, in like 20 minutes.

Back then the city was a little grubbier than it is now. I liked it like that. Not saying I want to go back to it, and I am grateful for the effort Chicago has put into cleaning everything up and making it look nice. It’s beautiful. But back then I thought it was beautiful too in its own rough-around-the-edges way. I guess like so many memories, the way things were added to the experiences, even if they weren’t always pretty or safe. Besides, some stuff just wouldn’t have been the same, or maybe even have happened at all, if it hadn’t been how it was.

Even when I wasn’t downtown I liked the more urban parts of suburban life. Lying in bed at night was never totally quiet, you could always hear the ‘L’ going by or trucks on Harlem Avenue or sirens in the distance. I was so used to it I would have thought it was weird if it wasn’t there. Total silence still feels a little creepy to me.

I’m sure these experiences growing up are part of why I’m drawn to urban environments, and the characters and situations that occupy them. For whatever reason, cities feel like home, and I’ll never get tired of them and the stories they hold. They have an element of opportunity and potential; it feels like anything can happen, and it lots of times it does.

I think that’s what I like most about writing, that same feeling of “anything can happen,” the only limit being imagination. Just like many of the downtown adventures I’ve had, I don’t always know where I’m going, but I never feel lost.

— PJ

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