Catching Up with Juliet

My friend Juliet was in town, stopping in to Chicago as part of a small road trip to visit friends. She was here to participate in a surprise early birthday party for our friend Mark (all three of us were in the MFA program at OSU together, many years ago). Juliet was with Mark during the day, as the Gay Pride Parade route runs nearby his place… and I made plans to meet up with Juliet in the mid-afternoon.

While we had some rough plans for me picking her up… those plans got upended a bit, as Liz ended up taking the car yesterday. While I debated trying to make my way up north via Metra and the CTA, I opted for getting a Lyft instead.

Unfortunately, the driver’s map didn’t account for the parade route. So we got stuck for a pretty long time, between the route and the Lake (our meetup spot was on other side of the route). After a lot of backtracking, I eventually got dropped off at the right spot.

From there, we had to catch another car… and made our way to a less crowded area, and went for some drinks and an early dinner at Longman & Eagle, in Logan Square.

We talked a lot about modern (contemporary) art, as she had visited the MCA a bit earlier. We talked about the different museums we’ve visited, and it was interesting to hear someone else’s take on contemporary art pieces. I mentioned seeing a piece at the National Portrait Gallery in DC, some years back… and how moving it was. I’m not someone who takes in a lot of art, but I do have certain experiences that stand out… and it was fun to talk with Juliet, about our shared experiences.

I can’t recall the last time we hung out in person – definitely a long, long while ago. We talked at length about our families, about old friends and colleagues from our MFA program at OSU. We also talked about being homeowners, and the work we’re both doing on our respective houses. Fun bit of trivia: we both have frequent bunny visitors at our respective backyards.

Juliet lived in Chicago a long while back. And it seemed fitting that we had dinner and caught up, in a neighborhood I used to live in a long while back. The two of us, talking of old times and old friends, and where we find ourselves now in our lives.

Related:
“Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)
Portland Anniversary, Day 2: Comics, Portland Art Museum, Dinner at Le Pigeon
A Vacation Day in Chicago: Visiting the MCA, Art Institute, and Wandering Downtown
Searching Old Boxes for Old Poems
Visiting the Walker Art Center