#printer's row

"My" fountain has been switched on! And yours too -- a few years ago a bunch of readers donated to its restoration, and I also bought one of the name bricks in the base. So if you're ever in downtown Chicago, you can come south to Printer's Row Park and see "Sam, Deebs, and Dot" carved on the fountain. I'm pretty sure the engravers thought Deebs and Dot were my wife and child.

I wanted it to say "For the love of God, Montresor!" but they told me it was policy to only do names. (This is absolutely true. It was a whole conversation we had to have.)

Signed Saturday

I met Samantha Irby half-by-accident at Printer’s Row literary festival in Chicago in 2017. I was on my way to a panel and discovered it was cancelled, and found myself at the end of a signing line for a number of incredible women essayists. I jumped in line, and ended up commiserating with Irby about how grossly hot outside it was. She has an essay in We Are Never Meeting in Real Life that I’d scanned about how awful being sweaty was and not understanding people who like the heat, and I told her how much I liked and agreed with it, which is how my book was signed with the semi-menacing, “Leah! Never go outside ever.” 

I texted this to like half the people I know in brickspace simply captioned "I think we're gentrifying."

They are planning to offer a class where you do trivia while waiting for your freshly-poured candles to set. They're calling it "Flames and Games" which is a great title for like, a gay D&D guide.

Between this, the indy coffee shop next door to it, and the craft cocktail bar going in across the street, summer 2024 should be a downright festival of amazing peoplewatching.

Well, I'm in superhell and Roma lost the cup match in penalty shots, but I walked past the Printer's Row fountain and the fence was down. My cryptid daughters are now preserved in stone!

I've always liked this fountain but after the fundraiser and repair it really just delights me every time I go past it.

Now every time I walk through Printer's Row Park, I have to walk a certain way around the fountain so that I see "my" brick. I derive a surprising amount of pleasure from seeing it, every single time.

btw, for those who gave to the Fountain fundraiser in spring of 2021, the fountain has been restored and reinstalled! It's not up and running yet but it's looking fine. There's a rededication ceremony in late June when it'll be activated.

(I'm not sure when they're putting in the "sponsorship" bricks but as soon as my brick gets installed I'll definitely share that!)