The Pump Room

Quite an interesting night...

This week at work I've been in training. An Account Manager from our Long Beach office has been here showing me the logistics of my day-to-day work and over the course of the week we have become great friends. Tonight, we planned to have drinks after work and she suggested maybe going to the bar at her hotel. You see, she happens to be staying at the Ambassador hotel... which to my generation is no "W" but was quite the swanky place to see and be seen in it's day (the late 30's early 40's.) As we arrived, and made our way through the dark loungey corridors lined with black and white photos of every celebrity under the sun... I knew I was in for a treat. We made ourselves comfortable sinking down into the leather bar stools, and I was instantly in awe of the crowd and the history that lie within the walls. At one time, Bette Davis could be found curled up on the piano bench; Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall celebrated their wedding in "Booth One," as did Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood. And of course, Frank Sinatra was a Pump regular; seated in the corner booth behind the glass window countless occasions. Now, I'm not claiming to be this much of a history buff. The information I just spouted was kindly shared with me by one of the Pump room's regular guests, Mr. Peter Decadeur. Peter as he preferred to be called was perched in his normal spot at the end of the bar, dressed in a evening coat with a pocket square and was as frisky and fun as you could expect an 87 year old man to be. He actually happened to be of average age of the patrons that surrounded me.

I got an ear full, a few dirty martini's and one steak dinner more than I bargained for, (Peter thinks women should eat more beef.) I heard stories and gossip about celebrities of his time that I could only dream of reading about in US weekly. In his hay-day he claims to have rubbed elbows with Judy Garland and to have had countless drinks with Louis Armstrong when he would make it to town. Had I been willing to stay and drink Scotch with him into the wee hours of the night, I may have known his whole life story, but I was kindly released only after promising that I would attend his 88th Birthday party on the first of May. You see, he has been a patron of the Pump house for so long, that they are actually throwing him a Birthday party. He told me he'd be wearing a tux that night, and that I should probably get a dress... (as he glanced down at my jeans and Uggs) the sad thing is I think he would actually notice if I didn't show up! ;) And this my friends is just another example of why Chicago makes me smile: You never know who you'll meet or where you end up. Sometimes I wish I had a tape recorder so that I could write down all the things I hear at the end of the night! The people in Chicago have great stories indeed, and radiate kindness and friendship. They want to show you around and help you find love in their city as if you are family instead of an "out of towner." It makes being away from home, so much easier. I'm not sure if I will actually go to Peter's birthday, but I will without a doubt join him for a drink another time or two. He has helped make me feel at home, and that means a lot!

By the way, I do intend to post something about last weekend... the date, Joey's brick house, the Jewish attorney, and my new favorite streets.