Criminal
10-05-2002, 12:26 PM
It was a way for us to have fun on weekends. A small group of us whould drive to the horse races and after a successful (or more often than not unsuccessful) night of betting we would go into the city, hang out at some dumpy pubs, play pool and get hammered. What really added to the excitement was that it was a dumpy place we hung out at. Sometimes it was one of those places on Cicero Av. or Laramie Av. Other times it was one of those places in the Bridgeview area. They were sometimes rough places. People got drunk a lot. Sometimes fights would break out. They tended to close at 5 or 6 AM.
We called it slumming. Really it was fun because it was entering a different world. None of us though any harm would come to us. We were smart. We were cool.
Of course that was back about 15 years ago. I am 40 now and the appeal of going into a sleazy bar is gone. In fact I cant stand bars at all, sleazy or otherwise. Maybe I will go to a upscale lounge and meet a friend for a coctail but I have better things to do with my time than hang out in bars.
What is odd though is that I no longer live in the Suburbs. Back then, the burbs were too dull. It was not cool to hang out there. In fact there was no action there at all.
Now I live in the town of Berwyn, just outside the city. I live in a community very similar to the places I used to go for a good time. The difference is that now I work way out in the burbs. The reason I live here is not because I like to go "slumming" but rather because I cant afford to live anywhere else. I never go to pubs anymore and when go to have a good time somewhere its ether out in the burbs or one of the nicer places downtown.
In short I am now the sort of person that I thought I would never become. I also learned that living in a dumpy place like Berwyn does have some advantages. For one, people do not judge you by what kind of car you drive or what job you have. Rather its how well you keep your house and if you are a good neighbor.
The bungalow belt is a community of neighbors. We life close to eachother so we have to mind our own houses.
We called it slumming. Really it was fun because it was entering a different world. None of us though any harm would come to us. We were smart. We were cool.
Of course that was back about 15 years ago. I am 40 now and the appeal of going into a sleazy bar is gone. In fact I cant stand bars at all, sleazy or otherwise. Maybe I will go to a upscale lounge and meet a friend for a coctail but I have better things to do with my time than hang out in bars.
What is odd though is that I no longer live in the Suburbs. Back then, the burbs were too dull. It was not cool to hang out there. In fact there was no action there at all.
Now I live in the town of Berwyn, just outside the city. I live in a community very similar to the places I used to go for a good time. The difference is that now I work way out in the burbs. The reason I live here is not because I like to go "slumming" but rather because I cant afford to live anywhere else. I never go to pubs anymore and when go to have a good time somewhere its ether out in the burbs or one of the nicer places downtown.
In short I am now the sort of person that I thought I would never become. I also learned that living in a dumpy place like Berwyn does have some advantages. For one, people do not judge you by what kind of car you drive or what job you have. Rather its how well you keep your house and if you are a good neighbor.
The bungalow belt is a community of neighbors. We life close to eachother so we have to mind our own houses.