Chicago, Chicago...

I'm headed off to my home town this weekend. I told my friend Pete Tomaino, who live there, that I was looking forward to the trip. He said" You must not be watching the weather." While it's been in th 80's lately and low humidity with clear skies and beach bunnies everywhere since it's spring break here in Florida, I don't mind the cold much. Unless it's -80 with the wind chill.

In fact, the first trip Frank Trejo made to Chicago for a seminar at my school, the temps were about 30 below zero, and Frank had never even seen snow before. That was quite a sight. He was bundled up so much all you could see was his eyes, and we were in tank tops and cut-offs, setting up a backyard BBQ for him.

I've got a solid core of guys up there who come out of the woodwork for every seminar. Funny thing is, these guys never pre-register. The day before a seminar it looks like five people might be there, then the place fills up the day of. I've been working with some of these guys since the mid-Seventies. Some were kids when I taught them and now have families of their own, with their kids starting to train. There are some clubs they run in the suburbs such as LaGrange Park, Palos Hills, Lyons, and Burbank. You can find two classes at the Japanese Cultural Center on Cicero Ave in the Burbank/Oak Lawn area. Contact info is in my website directory.

They're a great bunch of guys and we always have a good time. Since the pizza in SW FL sucks they take me to Giordano's for a deep dish pie after the seminar. A man's heart is reached through his stomach, I guess. The Discover Channel did a show a while back about the rivalry between Chicago and New York pizza. They picked two better known pizza joints, one in each city, to provide the pizza. Discovery said they were the best, but as you know, that's opinion. So they need an impartial crew to taste test the pies. So they give them to Los Angeles firefighters to eat and pass judgment. The verdict? They said NY pizza is better. What do they know?

Hey guys - sorry about the picture of the North side.