We went and saw her at the Field Museum on Friday, the last day of summer before school started. It was also the first day of the Chicago Air & Water Show and waiting for the bus back to the train station we saw some really cool flying by the Blue Angels over the Museum Campus.

Sue the T-Rex

click to embiggen.

It’s the first day of school. From 8:20 a.m. until 9:55 a.m. – tomorrow starts normal days, until 2:55 p.m.

When I was a kid, we started the day after Labor Day and ended in the middle of June, now they start in the middle of August (it seems earlier in August every year…) and end in May.

Late last Wednesday, early Thursday, I was commenting at a post at Althouse’s about the Los Angeles ban on new fast food places in poor neighborhoods. I started listing the fast (and not so fast) food choices in walking distance and further. There are a lot of food choices in my area.

Walking distance: Popeye’s, Wendy’s, Panera Bread, Jimano’s Pizza, Chili’s, Panda Express, Dunkin Donuts, Applebee’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, McDonald’s, Arby’s, and Subway inside WalMart.

Coming in across the tracks and just a bit farther than WalMart: Jimmy John’s sandwiches, Starbucks, and Little Cesars {pizza pizza}.

Not in my walking distance and the other way down the main drag: A small local chain that sells hot dogs, hamburgers and gyros, Burger King, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s/A&W Root Beer, a Chinese place, KFC, Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, and numerous taquerias. There’s a Domino’s Pizza in there somewhere too.

That’s a lot in a space of about a mile and a half.