I’m talking about Chicago, folks. Probably one of the most fun cities to visit, in my opinion.

And the evil regime in the White House has directed their troops to invade it. It’s shocking, isn’t it? And as it happens more and more (and it will, though eventually I do believe their luck is going to run out based on “we, the people” pushing back with all we’ve got). But let’s not let the shock wear off. That’s what this administration wants. Let’s not let this ever become normal. Because it’s not, and it should never be.

Now that I have that off my chest, let me share a few anecdotes about my relationship with this great American city.

I have close family there. People I love. I’ve visited them there both when I was younger and when I was older. With my family of origin and with the family I made with Mr. NOA. I’ve visited there with a girlfriend of mine, taking the Amtrak to get there, and staying with her childhood friends who live there. The friend we stayed with was living her best single life, in her own condo right in the heart of the city. The view from her floor-to-ceiling windows was spectacular. The four of us ladies had a night on the town like no other. It culminated in us, drunk and happy, traipsing through an “adults only” store (you know the kind), giggling like a bunch of 13-year-olds.

Another time I visited this great city was with Mr. NOA. At Christmas, his gift to me (a humongous surprise), was a weekend in Chicago to celebrate the New Year (it was probably 2008). We went out on the town, getting all gussied up, me in a fancy black dress and heels, Mr. NOA in a handsome gray suit with a lavender button-down underneath. We had a very fancy schmancy seafood dinner and later many, many alcoholic beverages to ring in 2000-whatever it was.

I drank far too much that night. More than I possibly have ever in my life. The next morning was rough as hell, a sobering reminder of the nightmare of being hungover, which I hadn’t been in years. We had tickets to see “Addams Family, the Musical” at a theater downtown for that afternoon. I rallied, but not after sipping cold water while sitting as still as possible on our hotel room bed, watching “Shameless” on cable. Ironic, I thought at the time, that I’m watching this show for the first time, a show which, it could be argued, features the city of Chicago as one of the main characters.

I was hooked on that show from that point on. Upon our return home, I proceeded to watch each and every season that was to be found, and when new seasons started, I devoured them like a fiend.

I can’t help but wonder what the Gallagher clan would think, or more interestingly, how they would respond to the ICE insurrection happening in their beloved city right now. They’d surely be raising holy hell.

My wish for the people of Chicago is that they don’t back down from this fight. Not that they should try to cosplay what Kevin, V, Carl, Ian or myriad other characters of “Shameless” would likely do (because I suspect it would not be pleasant for the insurrectionists; not that there should be a goal of keeping these ICE insurrectionists comfortable with what they are doing). I like the subversive sort of trouble that I’ve seen in the news recently in Portland, where ICE has also set up shop, where folks don their blow-up costumes and dance in the streets alongside these ICE goons. To me, that’s the secret sauce to changing the tide in this country, in particular when it comes to our lively, diverse American cities which are being undeservedly harassed at the direction of the occupants of our White House.

Fortunately, the citizens of Illinois have a tough, common-sense, benevolent Governor, JB Pritzker. He is a leader. He is a helper.

It just so happens that the very first concert Mr. NOA attended together, back in about 1988, was “Chicago”. This was a band that I have enjoyed ever since I can remember. We booked a bus trip to the Twin Cities for this concert. We were by far the youngest people on this bus, which we found hilarious.

No doubt you know which musical artist is going to be featured at the end of this random blog post today, but this is one of my top favorites from this band. I think the line “listen children, all is not lost all is not lost” feels especially apropos for this particular timeline.