13 Years in Chicago — Still Fireworks

Saturday's Navy Pier Pyrotechnics Brought Back a Fond Memory

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 was the day we arrived to make Chicago our forever home after a nearly 30-year stopover in Washington, D.C.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Barb, who grew up on a farm about 45 miles south of the city and graduated from University of Illinois at Chicago. For me, it was an opportunity to say goodbye to political journalism and figure what was next in a city that I'd already grown to love over many visits.

We drove out with whatever we could stuff into a rented minivan, with our furniture trailing by a few days. That night, we sat in two fold-out lawn chairs gazing for miles and miles out our 30th story windows with a view that includes a clear shot of Navy Pier. What we didn't know at the time was that there were fireworks displays at the Pier every Wednesday and Saturday from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend.

When the sky four miles away suddenly lit up, I turned to Barb and said, "They sure know how to welcome you in Chicago!"

This comes up because June 29 this year — our 13th anniversary here — was on Saturday. So, as we've done so many times before, we watched the fireworks from our apartment window.

We adore this city for many reasons, not the least of which is that it enabled me to combine my lifetime passion for food with my desire to build a second career working with people who strove to affect positive change at the grass-roots level. And in 2021, my work advocating for a better food system morphed into Local Food Forum, of which I'm immensely proud.

So I'll share a few more long-distance fireworks photos, with best wishes to readers who will be celebrating Canada Day on Monday (July 1) and to everyone celebrating July 4th, with my hope that you love where you live as much as I love Chicago.