Better Than Playstation!

Colin and I took the train into the city on Wednesday to hear Michael Ondaatje speak at The Art Institute. When I asked Colin if he wanted to come, he gave me a simple "yeah, sure," not because he wanted to listen to an author he has never even heard of (although he was intrigued when I mentioned that Ondaatje is "famous") but because he loves going to Chicago no matter the reason.

We went a bit early in order to eat and go to Borders. I was looking for Ondaatje's new book and Colin was looking for a NASCAR magazine. We couldn't find either, unbelievably, and traded our quest for reading to one of eating. My preference was Rick Bayless's Frontera Fresco at Macy's, but it closed at 3 (even though the information desk at Macy's told us 4 and the Frontera Fresco website states 4--and a member of the Frontera staff was not the least bit polite in letting us know that "We're closed!"). After wandering around the loop in search of something halfway healthy (beyond fast food and Colin's preference of Mrs. Field's Cookies), we ended up at Bennigan's right across the street from The Art Institute. I would have preferred even eating in the restaurant at The Art Institute, but I had a ten-year-old's palate to please here. Because Colin got a bigger bowl of macaroni and cheese than he ever received elsewhere, he declared Bennigan's the best restaurant he ever ate at. They at least let me substitute green beans for french fries, so I was happy enough as well.

We ended up in the very front row in Fullerton Hall to hear Michael Ondaatje. We were, at the most, ten feet from him. Colin struggled to stay awake; he yawned repeatedly and his head bobbed up and down in that fight against drowsiness. But he never complained. And when we were walking back to the train, he declared, "This was way better than sitting in front of the Playstation all day!" Yes, another small battle against Sony won!

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