Thursday, April 02, 2009

He's Back! (in historic Oak Park)


"I'm shakin' the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world."



GEORGE BAILEY in It's A Wonderful Life



I was strolling along a side street in Oak Park this morning when I came upon a yard sign with...'the name.' I felt a twinge of contempt for my Banker and sensed a sudden urge to leap from a bridge. Then not. (As everybody already knows, I can't swim.) From the corner of my eye I thought I caught a glimpse of Clarence but when I turned for a closer look, he had vanished... into angel dust. I heard church bells ringing in the distance. My client was due to arrive at any moment. I looked up to the sky and waited for the snow to begin falling. Post-World War II Bedford Falls at Christmas time and early April in Chicago during any era have at least that much in common.

The Frank Capra (uncolorized cut) sidewalk I stood on was circa 1940s Midwest personified. I framed the above posted yard sign, snapped my ironic shot, and decided to hug my wife when I got home this evening. After all, she "could have married Sam Wainright, or anyone else in town..." and she's a lot hotter than Donna Reed ever was.

I guess what I'm trying to indirectly say, without stating the real estate obvious, is that Oak Park, Illinois, is one of the most beautiful towns anywhere in the Midwest. It's a Chicago bedroom burg where Prairie style meets Mission meets Victorian architecture. It's a fusion of the Past and the Now. It's a town where, in the year 2009, a fellow named George Bailey is actually running for office. And there, my friends, is at least one happy ending just waiting to happen--at least the way this Chicago realtor sees it.


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