November Snow Prompts Early Visit From Father Christmas

As Santa gets up in years it helps to dust the cobwebs off ye old sleigh and take the pulse of what the children want for Christmas. The colder than usual temperatures and record snowfall over the weekend was all it took to push him out the door for a test run above the streets of Chicago.

Elves handed out candy canes and booklets of other times the CTA Holiday Train will be out. Hard to not catch the X-mas spirit. The CTA will be updating their online schedule with exact times and stops as that info becomes available. This year there will be four (double the usual two) different times to line up and get your picture taken with Kris Kringle.

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Tired Of Violence In Rogers Park?

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"Smack Dab Is Back!"

the cafe bound girl exclaimed with visions of cheesy biscuits in her eyes. For those now unstuck from a snow drift, waking up from a coma, incommunicado due to school or work projects, the unconscious now newly conscious, visitors from another time or planet, you may have missed that the littlest coffee shop in Rogers Park found a new home at the Red Line Tap. Day three at their new digs & its feels like they've been there for years.

Red Line Tap while being a dive bar is not an old man's bar. It is not open at 7 or 11 am for eye openers or those looking to get an early start on Friday or Saturday night. The bar space sits empty and sad waiting for first call. Well no more!

After the counters are moved into place, the coffee is brewed, the bakery is baked,  the bar serves caffeine all week long (M-F 7 am - 11 am, weekends 7:30 am - 1 pm). No wi-fi available, which may give you a chance to sit down and read a book, talk to a person, or think thoughts. Its a new back to basics trend according to one cafe in Durango, Colorado.

Chalkboard - New butter biscuit and jam, fluffy tender biscuit with butter and our homemade sweet jam! (rotates so ask) plus vegan donuts on the weekend! Follow us on f - smackdab Chicago and t - smackdabchi and smackdabchicago.tumbler.com.

Last edited 11-21-15 1:29 pm

An Invitation To Disaster

Through this open chain link gate you may travel to the local teenage hangout under one of the CTA's ATC signal machinery or just walk up to the Red Line's tracks. Fine if your a CTA employee and a really bad idea for an adventuresome youth.

Mr CTA Employee and company please lock the gate behind you when your up on the tracks at Rogers and Marshfield. And please have someone clean up the yard. No one else can do it legally. A shame to see it look so trashy when it was looking magnificent in April.

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Build To Suit At Estes And Clark

The former Adelphi Theatre went from promising clock tower condo building to unofficial swimming pool skate board park, to the present feartureless gravel pit. In Evanston it wouldve been flattened to a grassy plain. A barren wasteland save for the Honey Bucket. So if you really got to go jump the fence and take care of business.

Up to 40,000 square feet of retail, office or medical can be built to your specifications. Just call Jason Vondrachek of Quest Realty Group. 312-850-2620.

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The Bars Closed But Towbar Is Still Open

Sometime last week the Coffee Speed Shop version of Towbar silently closed taking with them the draft beer, cider, wine and all manner of alcohol. The taps are still there but only coffee, caffeine, scones, doughnuts are available.

It appears that the purveyors of Peckish Pig have decided to take the helm. The more things change the more they stay the same. Maybe someday the alcohol will return. For now Jarvis Square still has Taste wine shop, Pointin Stil, and R Public House.

Was the type of day for driving off with a canoe on the roof rack to points unknown.

Halloween's Pure Cider event was the last call.

Jargowood Meeting November 3rd

Jnauts & Friends

Jargowood meets Tues Nov 3 - at the usual time and place - (Chalet Living and Rehab Center - 7350 N Sheridan at 7:30 pm)

SAVE THE DATE - Jargowood Holiday Party Sunday Dec 13, 2015

Autumn Reminder - Falling Leaves and Streets & San - Although Streets and San do come down our streets and curbsides picking up fallen leaves and what not, often this is not enough.  Storm Drains Clog!  You!  You there!  Clear the dead leaves and plastic bags and smashed paper stuff out of your storm drains!

When it snows, if you have not made any personal effort to remove the dead leaves from curbside and storm drains, you will shovel wet leaves as well as snow when you dig out your parking space at the curbside.  A perfect winter activity, shoveling dead leaves......and the very big puddles where the storm drains are clogged, also a fun thing in all seasons.

Lorraine Dostal

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