The Smoking Kitchen

Chicago Con: Please, sir, may I have some corn?

For the past year or so, I’ve contemplated moving from Chicago. Winter in Chicago is never a treat, but this one happened to be the worst in almost thirty years. Also, there was recently a week and a half span that included the following events:

• A Blue Line train got stuck underground for two hours. I was on a train five minutes behind the doomed one. Mercifully, my train got stopped in a station, allowing me to easily get up to street level. The people on the stalled train were not so lucky and eventually embarked on a Goonies-like adventure on foot through the tunnels. Point is, but for the grace of my lack of punctuality, it would’ve been me.
• There was an earthquake downstate. I didn’t feel it, but still - quakes and hurricanes were the only natural disasters I felt safe from in Chicago.
• A 150-pound cougar found its way into the Roscoe Village neighborhood. If this weren’t bad enough, the Chicago Police on the scene emptied their guns on the cat, I guess because, within city limits, a cougar technically is a minority.

Therefore, I’ve decided to document the various reasons I might want to remain in or leave Chicago.

This one actually involves food: Just because winter’s over doesn’t mean it’s done making Chicago suck. Now there’s a potential corn shortage.

According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report, through April 27 Illinois farmers have only planted 6% of their corn crop, as opposed to 29% at the same point last year and the 2003-2007 average of 55%.

I guess I should’ve known this was happening given the strong cravings for corn on the cob I’ve been having lately. I’m not sure how much of this corn is feed for livestock and how much is for us humans, but it certainly seems like I’m going to have to wait even longer than usual to enjoy one of the few good things about living in the Midwest.