Ch 1: Winds of Change

March 15th, 1995, 10:05 AM CT, Chicago Union Station, Chicago IL

George and Jill said goodbye to Uncle Dave. They dragged George's carry-on with them, but Jill had no desire to go to the coach to pick up the few scraps of clothing her Aunt had allowed her to pick up from the Salvation Army bins. They were, at best, a bad memory for her.

She looked a little different, now. George had suggested she unbraid her hair, let it down, and said they would purchase a few things to mildly conceal her appearance in the shops in the station once they were done with what they had to do, since it was so time restrictive.

"Maggie, you're looking as good as ever," George smiled.

"And you, George, look older every day," she said, "Where's your old man?"

"I'm on my own this trip," he said, "Got into college early, on my way to L.A ... I walked into some trouble and an additional party and I want to take a different train. Can we move my Southwest Chief reservations to the Desert Wind?"

"You know it's about 9 hours slower and oft-" she started, "Hell, like I need to tell you this."

They both grinned.

"Let me check availability on the Wind for you..." She tapped on her computer, "There's coach seats, naturally, but only one sleeping compartment, and it's a family room. Also, it'll be ver-"

"Don't care, I'll take it."

"Ok, what's the passengers name?" Maggie asked.

"Mickey- er, Michelle Shipmen, er, adult" he stuttered.

"Alright. Just so you know, it'll cost you $1, -" Maggie tried to tell him

"No problem," George said, flipping his dad's credit card at her. He had no idea how he was going to explain this to his father, but he would have to do so soon. It didn't really matter, anyway. His dad would be able to understand his motives, he was sure, and money was not one of the pressing issues in his family.

Maggie quickly processed the transaction. She noticed that it was a credit card that was registered to John Caldwell, but she knew these people and didn't mind doing this for them. Most other people she would have questioned.

Maggie printed out the tickets and handed them to George.

"The Desert Wind leaves-" Maggie started.

"-at 3:05, same as the Zephyr," George finished for her, "Yes, I know."

With that, George walked toward the Metropolitan lounge, walked in, and handed his carry-on to the redcap, whom he knew. Normally, George would have to check in, but the Red Cap knew he was traveling first class and didn't bother to ask him for the tickets.

Then he went with Jill, and they bought some clothes for her at one of the stores in the station, a "Chicago: Windy City" t-shirt, a hat, and a pair of extremely weak reading glasses. "The glasses, the hat, the different shirt, and the different hair style should make you unrecognizable to people who don't know you," George pointed out.

"I guess so," she admitted, "how come this place is so boring? Why are buildings these days so-"

"Go change," George said, with a strange look on his face. I'll show her, he thought, smiling inwardly.

When she got back, he suggested they go to lunch.

"Do you know a good place for lunch?" Jill asked.

"I know the best pizza place in the world," he told her.

With that, they started walking up a long ramp. As they walked up it, Jill looked up.

She gasped. George smiled.

"Oh my god," she said, staring at the vaulted ceiling of the hallway.

"There's more," George said.

As they walked into the famous great hall of Chicago's beautiful Union Station, Jill was more and more awe-struck by the stunning grandeur of the building. The sky lights, the gilded Corinthian columns, the vaulted ceiling, the marble walls- it was all so beautiful. It looked like a great temple. A great temple dedicated to traveling.

It was a little dirty, but wow was it gorgeous.

She stared breathlessly at the exquisite grandiosity of the room. The whole building, while technically a Union Station, was in reality a monument to the ego of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the main builder of the station.

"Come on, let's go get lunch. It'll take a while and we don't have much time," he said.

They started to ascend the stairs when Jill almost tripped and fell.

"What the hell ... these stairs..." she gasped.

They were worn. They were worn to the point where you could notice it, the great marble slabs grooved. Nothing could ever do as good a job of showing just how many people had climbed the great stairs of Chicago's largest train station. The largest train station in the biggest railroad hub in the nation.

Located just west of the Chicago between Adams and Jackson streets, the Chicago Union Station was built in 1925. Although it has a glorious edifice above ground, most of the station is underground. Including approach and storage tracks, the station is gigantic, taking up nearly nine and a half city blocks. It was originally served by the Pennsylvania Railroad; the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad ("Burlington Route"); the Chicago and Alton Railroad ("The Alton"), and the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway ("The Milwaukee Road"). Its great room is still considered one of the most beautiful rooms in the world, with its statuary, grand balconies, and its 110 ft high vaulted ceiling.