... and the City, Part 2

The next leg of our trip included Dunkin’ Donuts, Luby’s in downtown Tinley Park (fabulous lunch with my adorable father and entertaining Auntie’s…)

It’s a damn good thing there are no Dunkin’ Donuts out in these parts or I would be bigger than some of the colossal mansions that frequent almost every square inch of the better parts of L.A. It’s not so much the donuts – I mean, donuts are just plain, greasy goodness. But it’s the coffee.

Now there is argument on this topic: personally, in its virgin form, I think it pretty much sucks. But if you get it the way it’s SUPPOSED to be enjoyed, you would know that extra cream and extra sugar is a requirement. True, everything tastes good with an extra vat of both, but trust me when I tell you that a good cup of DD coffee with the works is like drinking the best slice of cake, only warm and fuzzy going down.

And then there was lunch -- Luby’s was our second choice. The truth is, the food was forgettable, but the entertainment, AWESOME. My aunts, both in their 70’s, are the hippest, coolest, most up-to-date-with-everything-of-interest people you could ever meet. They occasionally drop ‘f’ bombs (well, one of them) and they tell the BEST stories and love to listen to yours. So, lo and behold, nothing good to say about the restaurant except the bar in back looked fun and upon being there around one in the afternoon, I noted that almost everyone (young and old) had martinis. Oh, and like everything Chicago, there was a nice BIG “Bears” emblem on the door.

Da’ Bears. Wearing Bears clothes anywhere in Illinois is trendy. That morning I was getting a mani/pedi in possibly the slowest nail salon I have ever been in. I believe I was there for 1 ½ hours and had had my Big Gulp size DD coffee and was ready to writhe on the floor from boredom. Anyhow…after my pedi, I was getting my dreadfully long mani and started to people watch when I realized the woman next to me was practically in costume: Bears blue shorts with bright orange polo with Bears blue tank underneath. Then I noticed her jewelry: football “teeth” leather band around one wrist, Bears charm bracelet AND a whopping BIG C Bears ring. If that weren’t enough, I noted Bears flip flops…who knew??

Not quite the flips flops, but sheesh!!