Funny small world!

So today’s photo in the Rearview Photo Blog on Gapersblock is from Rob DeRose. Hmmm. We went on a very nice date about three years ago (back when Matt was in his FIRST Cornservatory show.)

He sat next to me at the counter in Leo’s Lunchroom on Division and emptied the creamer we were sharing. We started chatting and then I asked him or he asked me for a business card and eventually we went on a date. We went to a show at the Cornservatory and then out for korean food–a first for both of us. It was the first date on record where I was able to eat normally. A milestone.

Although he lived on the opposite side of town, he rode with me in my cab all the back to Ukrainian village. While I had been enjoying the date, I started to freak out. “Oh my god, he wants to come inside. What the hell am I going to do?” But then he walked me to the door, kissed me goodnight and got back in the cab to go home. Wait? A gentleman?

When we met, I’d just come from a protest on Devon and in the end, he told me (in an email) that I deserved someone more activisty and that the spark wasn’t there. I of course protested his decision over voicemail, but he was right. I just wouldn’t admit it.

The next time I saw him, he came into my shop for an ice cream cone on a date. It was a bit of a time warp, but fun in a “Damn, chicago is a small town.” This reminds me, again, that it is a small town of five million.