Subject to Change

Kelly and I were in downtown Wisconsin Dells, loading the car to go out for dinner, when we were approached by one of the seasonal employees. She needed a ride to Chula Vista because she’d missed her bus. We agreed to take her because we weren’t in any rush, and we’d planned to check out Chula Vista anyway. It was quite convenient that this girl had found us, actually. We might not have bothered making the trip otherwise.

In case you haven’t been to The Dells lately, there’s a strange phenomenon you may notice. A large percentage of the summer staff has a similar accent, and it definitely isn’t from around here. It carries a touch of communist oppression and Balkan strife with it. Enough of the young people are from Eastern Europe that it really stands out.

On the way to Chula Vista this poor girl got the third degree. She told us that she was from Romania, and so were many of the others. Apparently, there’s a staffing agency that recruits college age kids to come and work in the states. From the sound of it, they didn’t really clue her in as to what she’d be doing. She also commented on how she wasn’t really able to save as much because she hadn’t expected to pay so much for rent and food.

Of course, it makes sense for businesses in The Dells to operate this way. They need way more help than the local community can provide, and it’s very seasonal work. Do the kids a favor and tip handsomely while you’re there!

There’s a funny story I may have told once, about how I called Kelly once and told her I was bringing some people I’d just met back to the house for a beer. I’d also added that I gave one of them $20 for beer money, so he’d better show. I didn’t think I had any knack for striking up a conversation until she told me the story from her side.

Anyway, I managed to have two blogworthy conversations on the way home from El Paso. Read these over and tell me what you think.

The first was with a woman, about my age. We’d lined up together at a New York Deli style restaurant in the Denver airport. The food smelled great, and we were both having trouble picking something to order. We made a few comments back and forth about the menu, and said a few words to each other while we were sitting down. Before she got up to leave, she said something that caught my attention. She used the familiar “have we met somewhere before?” line. I found this interesting because women almost NEVER say that! I’m pretty sure that they know it opens the door to a totally different conversation. Unless they’re trying to pick up someone, and they almost never are (at least not around me), women tend to be much more guarded than that. Don’t they?

In case you’re wondering how I answered, I asked her where she was from. When that didn’t put us on common ground, I offered her, “well, I am plastered all over the internet.” On second thought, that may not have been a smart thing to say.

The second conversation was with a family headed to Chicago. I overheard that they were going to try and see all the major sights in one day, with children. My first piece of advice to them was to get a city pass. It’s a cheaper way to see all the museums at once. Then, I tried to help them lay out an agenda that would actually let them see enough without rushing them too much. Here’s what I suggested:

Start at the Museum of Science and Industry. Take the kids on the coal mine tour, and then hit a few of the exhibits until you’re ready to move on. See the submarine if you want, but it’ll cost you extra.

Take in the Shedd Aquarium next. See the coral reef and take in a dolphin show (are those legal outside Mexico?). At this point, your kids should be all tuckered out.

Head over to the Field Museum. Once you’ve seen the dinousaurs, there’s probably nothing left for the kids to see. King Tut might still be there if you want to see that exhibit.

Continuing north along Lakeshore Drive: take your pick from Navy peer (shopping) and the Hancock building (observation deck). Note: Poultergeist III was filmed in the Hancock building.

Dinner is at Gino’s (deep dish pizza), where the kids can scribble on the walls.

What do you think? How could you see Chicago in a day? Most of the places I’d go could be a day trip all by themselves.