by Scott Simon
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with
white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young
man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has
never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse,
and under his ribs the heart of the people,
Laughing!
CARL SANDBURG
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am indebted to many people for their advice and kindness:
Michael Bauer; David Bradley; Peter Breslow; Judge Anne Burke of the Illinois Supreme Court, Alderman Edward Burke, and their son, Travis; Nishant Dahiya (wearing a Bears hat and eating Garrett's Chicago Mix in Daley Plaza on the day of the Super Bowl); Frank De-laney; Amy Dickinson; Karen Bass Ehler and Rusty Ehler; Monica Eng of the Chicago Tribune (who may have the best assignment in American journalism—covering ethnic restaurants in Chicago); Mary Glendinning at NPR News; Will Grozier; State Senator Roy Herron of Tennessee; Wen Huang; Anshul Kaul; Stephanie Leese of the Talbott Hotel; Jordan Matyas; Jim and Laurie Nayder; Robert N. Nicholson; Dr. David Reines at Virginia Commonwealth University; Carolyn Reed at Rush-Presbyterian Hospital; Jim Rogers; Fanchon and Manny Silber-stein; David Spadafora and the staff of Chicago's Newberry Library (there is no better place in which to work on a book, and I do not overlook the isle of Capri); and the peerless Ed Victor.
Kee Malesky reads and improves every line that I write for publication. Well, not this one.
The present alderman of the real 48th Ward is Mary Ann Smith. The alderman and her assistant, Greg Harris, have been helpful, candid, and hospitable. Alderman Smith has convinced our family that if we could relocate to Bali, Monaco, or the 48th Ward, the 48th would be the obvious choice. I hope I do no damage to her career by saying that any citizen in the world would be lucky to be represented by her.
Martin Oberman, the former alderman of the 43rd Ward, was a technical advisor on his former forum, and gave me the benefit of his counsel and friendship. At this writing, he is not a candidate for public office. The only way in which it seems to me that Chicago could be more marvelous would be for Marty Oberman to be returned to public life.
My friends Rick Bayless of Chicago and Gordon Hamersley of Boston shared insights on their life's work of running a restaurant. Shalimar's Restaurant on London's Brick Lane, and Swetal Patel and the staff of Mysore Woodlands on Devon Avenue in Chicago taught me the unique features of an Indian kitchen—and how to make dosas.
I don't know of a more enjoyable way to spend a snowy Sunday than to be uplifted in the morning by services at the First Baptist Congregational Church and nourished in the afternoon at the Kugelis Festival at the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture. We thank the Reverend George W. Davis and his congregation, and our old family friend, Stanley Balzekas III, for making us welcome.
Lynn Cutler honors the profession of politics. No doubt whatever insights I have about political life began when I saw her, many years ago, stand among the carcasses of a meat packing plant in Waterloo and talk about aid to Africa. Over the years, Lynn has become a mover and shaker. But her great gift is for friendship.
The Sergeant at Arms of the Chicago City Council is Tina Butler. I have chanced to make her a character in this book because my imagination is simply too poor to envision anyone else in the job. The city's much-maligned aldermen are lucky to have her as their protector.
All mistakes are mine alone.
I am grateful to Dan Menaker and Jennifer Hershey at Random House for their confidence and to Stephanie Higgs for her surgical skills. I owe thanks to David and Jean Halberstam for David's encouragement and powerful example. And to my late cousin, Paula, for the love of laughter and animals that she has given in trust to those who loved her.
Novelists learn to look for unexpected moments in which lives turn. For me, it came when I arrived at a friend's house in Brooklyn, hit my head on the cab door, and met Caroline Richard. My head wound healed. But I have never stopped swooning over Caroline. My wife is a Frenchwoman who loves Chicago even in—especially in—winter.
I write this just as we welcome a new daughter, Paulina, into our lives. Her arrival only amplifies the joy we have known with our first daughter, Elise. We have spent enough time in Chicago so that Elise (perhaps with her father's connivance) exclaims, “Go Sox!” and “Go Bears!” and seems to treasure those things that Chicago offers in such abundance: warm friends, hearty meals, and sturdy laughs. Elise and Lina have veins of Asia, America, and Europe running through them. But wherever we land in the world, we like to think that they have the hearts and souls of Chicagoans.
SCOTT SIMON
SHANGHAI, CHINA
SCOTT SIMON is the host of NPR's Weekend Edition with Scott Simon. He has reported stories from all fifty states and every continent, covered ten wars, from El Salvador to Iraq, and has won every major award in broadcasting. He is the author of Home and Away, a memoir, Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball and the novel, Pretty Birds. He lives with his wife, Caroline, and their daughters, Elise and Lina.
www.scottsimonbooks.com
2009 Random House Trade Paperback Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Scott Simon
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Random House Trade
Paperbacks, an imprint of The Random House Publishing
Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
RANDOM HOUSE TRADE PAPERBACKS and colophon are
trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Simon, Scott.
Windy city : a novel of politics / Scott Simon.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-1-58836-794-5
1. City council members—Fiction. 2. Mayors—Death—
Fiction. 3. Chicago (Ill.)—Politics and government—
Fiction. 4. Political fiction. I. Title.
PS3619.I5626W56 2008
813′.6—dc22
www.atrandom.com
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