An Unacknowledged Anniversary

The dreaded mid-February gas bill arrived Friday the 13th. The meter is read on the 10th to gauge the previous 30 days' usage, and mostly it's been a cold 30 days. So I was expecting a monstrous bill, but it turns out that the international natural gas glut has held down the price of my therms. In the end, keeping my suburban house between 68° F (by day) and 60° F (during the wee hours) cost a little more than $6 a day in recent weeks. Worth it, I say.

Saturday the 14th was the 80th anniversary of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. As far as I know, the City of Chicago officially ignored this important anniversary in its municipal history, just as the offing of Dillinger was ignored during the redevelopment of the Biograph Theater a few years ago.

The site of massacre, 2122 Clark Street, was torn down over 40 years ago, just another example of thoughtlessness when it comes to our urban heritage. So too with other buildings associated with Chicago gangsters in their heyday.