You know you're a Chicagoan if...
- You know what the Hillside strangler is.
- You can name three or four extra taxes nobody else pays.
- You know the difference between Richard J Daley and Richard M Daley. (both of them have been mayor, right?)
- You can use two or three Daleyisms in context.
- You can imitate the Mayor's whine.
- Da is a proper definite article.
- You expect corruption in local politics.
- You go to the Dells (?) in the summer to get away from the other 20 thousand that followed you.
- You guard your shoveled parking space with an old chair and unusable broom. (do people really do that? =] )
- You know dead people who voted.
- You've never ever considered the idea of hiring non-union laborers.
- You know a good gyros joint.
- You know what Giordanos, Lou Malnati's, and Gino's have in common.
- You know when the last time the Cubs won a pennant.
- You know exactly how many cars are "legally" allowed to turn left after the light turns red.
- You don't know which ethnic "fest" to choose on any given Summer weekend.
- Your idea of relaxing and getting away from it all is Ravinia (with 10,000 others who have the same idea).
- You consider paying someone to watch your car at a sporting event as just another "city tax."
- You have two favorite football teams: The Bears, and anyone who beats the Packers! (WHY???)
- You buy "The Trib"
- You think 35 degrees is great weather to wash your car!
- You know what goes on a Chicago Style Hot Dog
- You know what Chicago Style Pizza REALLY is
- You understand what "lake-effect" means
- You know the difference between Amtrak and Metra, and know which station they end up at. You have ridden the "L"
- You can distinguish between the following area codes: 847,630,773,708, 312, & 815
- You know what the phone number is to Empire Carpet!
- Your favorite melody to hum is "Bang,Bang,Bang-Skeet,Skeet,Skeet!"
- You faithfully attended Lil Louis parties at The Bismarck.
- You are STILL a Bulls fan........
- You think kicking it outside of White Castles parking lot, (79th and Stony Island) is the "Freak Nik"
- You have a picture of Harold Washington in your kitchen, living room, family room or basement.
- You have ever waited in line at Home of the Hoagy on 111th for 30-45 minutes for a steak samich wit cheese
- You have ever been to the Tiki Room lounge in Hyde Park
- You have Y made a special trip downtown because you had a craving for Garrett's caramel and cheese popcorn.
- What!!! We don`t get a Fifty? Oh yeah.... ( i really don't get it - I tried.)
- It's January and you see someone's kitchen chair in the street, and you know that if you're a responsible citizen and bring it back to the sidewalk you will be shot on sight
- You don't flinch when you pay the fifth toll of your 45-minute car ride on the highway
- You know Lincoln Towing is Satan incarnate.
- You've paid $105 for towing, $30 for more than one "street cleaning" ticket, $58 for a city vehicle sticker, and $70 for a license plate sticker -- and chalk it all up to "neighborhood taxes."
- You've taken the Red Line past the point where all white people get off and all black people get on -- or vice versa.
- You've cursed at a cyclist, pedestrian, or in-line skater on the lakefront path.
- You know the significance of State and Madison.
- You wonder if the fries will taste the same at Sammy Sosa's Restaurant.
- You're not ashamed of wearing a big fur Russian hat, or a headsock with one hole in it, in public from November through March.
- When you refer to "LSD" you don't necessarily mean the drug
- You still claim that the Sears Tower is the tallest skyscraper in the world
- Peter. Francis. Geraci.
