A city the size of Chicago has many points of interest.



It has interesting history like the Great Chicago Fire and the St. Valentine Day’s Massacre.
(The father of my childhood friend Wayne lived in the neighborhood and was there the day the massacre happened.)

It has interesting landmarks like the Water Tower (left over from the fire), the Sears Tower, Wrigley Field, and the Prudential Building.

It has renowned villains like Al Capone, John Wayne Gacy, Richard Speck, and the guys who work at City Hall.

It has Oprah Winfrey and the Magnificent Mile.



Chicago has THOUSANDS of very interesting people!



George was not one of them.



George was my wife’s grandfather. He was born in 1901 and spent his entire life on Chicago’s north side. He raised his two children in a two story row house purchased for $4,000. He worked for Singer Sewing Machine during the week, but his real love was being a musician on weekends. He played a gold plated tuba and the stand up string bass. Once he played with Tommy Dorsey. He knew and loved the city. He also had a habit of becoming talkative after a few drinks.



Frequently, by the time we arrived for family gatherings, George had already shnockered back a couple. Just a few more martinis and the words would flow. One day, while the conversation unfolded, George and I got to talking about The Picasso.



The Picasso is an original sculpture donated to Chicago by the great artist, Pablo Picasso. It can be seen at the end of the movie The Blues Brothers. The sculpture created quite a stir when it was unveiled because no one knew for sure what it was. I don’t think there is any truth to the rumor that some astrophysicists thought it was supposed to be Pluto. When you look at Picasso’s paintings, you see he puts body parts anywhere. His sculpture was just as confusing.



Tuba-playing George put forth a fascinating interpretation of the sculpture...