The ostensible purpose of our outing (which my wife dubbed the “boys’ trip”) was to witness the titanic showdown between the 76ers and the Bucks, two of the best teams in the NBA. As if I don’t already spend far too much time following the Bulls.
But the greater purpose, as far as I was concerned, was to see if we could smash the world’s record for nonstop talking. Not sure there is such a record. But if there was, the boys in that car have what it takes to break it.
Don’t mean to brag or anything, and I’m not sure this is worth bragging about, but pound for pound, Alden, Dan, Mick, and I are four of the greatest gabbers I’ve ever known. And I’ve known a lot of gabbers.
At 3:30 PM, I picked up Mick to take him to Dan’s, where we’d meet Alden. From the moment Mick entered my car, we took the deep dive on (what else) “What’s wrong with the Bulls?”
That was a conversation for which there’s not enough time to experience, as there’s so much wrong with the Bulls.
That got us to Dan’s, where Dan’s wife was nice enough to throw some chicken nuggets in the oven for me. (Thank you, Connie!)
Once in Dan’s car, the conversation turned to politics where we discussed (in no particular order): Paul Vallas, Brandon Johnson, Walter Burnett, Jesse White, George Dunne, various Daleys, and
.)
Once in Milwaukee, the conversation turned to more practical things, like where Dan should park, and how he should parallel park that Corolla in a space better suited for a Vespa.
Then we watched a sensational basketball game (the Sixers won), and it was back in the car for the return trip.
By now it was after 10 PM, and lesser talkers would have been too tired to do anything but stare out the window.
Not this bunch—we were just warming up! On we gabbed, covering everything from Mick’s recent trip to India to a trip Dan took to Athens many years ago.
We talked so much we got hungry. So we stopped at a diner in Niles. Somehow Dan and I started testing our memories by reciting the names of the Chicago Public School CEOs:
Paul Vallas, Arne Duncan, Ron Huberman, Terry Mazany . . .
This got Mick and Alden running down the list of—of all things—Chicago Housing Authority CEOs over the last 20 or so years:
Terry Peterson, Sharon Gist-Gilliam, Lewis Jordan . . .
It was one in the morning, yet they plunged on with their list.
Charles Woodyard, Michael Merchant, Eugene Jones . . .
I think even the waiter was impressed.
For the final leg of my journey—back to Mick’s—Mick and I talked about psycho bosses we have had. Always one of our favorite topics.
When Mick left my car, it was nearly 3 AM, and I realized I’d been talking for almost 12 consecutive hours. If that’s not a world record, it ought to be.
Here’s to doing it again next year, fellas.
