Running Errands With Dad: A Reminiscence

 My dad, Michael Hinko Sr, ran a solo law practice. There wasn’t a junior partner to do any of the legwork. When things needed to be done in the Loop, in downtown Chicago, it was up to him. As a young boy, Dad took me on one of these trips from his south side law office to the Loop to run a tightly packed series of legal errands. Approaching downtown, we took the ramp to Lower Wacker. I don't think you're truly a Chicagoan till you make this descent. As we weaved between the concrete pillars, he pulled the car into a dark forbidding place that was actually a parking space. Where did he learn such things. Then a walk up steps back to the world of the living. That's when the mad dash around the Loop started. He knew exactly where to head and the best twists and turns to get from one place to the next. Hard to keep up with him. His bad knee gave out once or twice, causing him to grunt as he regained his balance. We ate a very quick lunch at a very dark hole-in-the-wall sort of place. More errands. I remember seeing a sign in the County Building reading "Certificate of Lunacy," with an arrow. I told Dad I wanted one. Then back down to the car and out to the Dan Ryan expressway. His time objective was to accomplish all this, start-to-finish, between rush hours; after morning rush, before afternoon rush. It was quite the experience. So many things to see. Marveling at Dad's expertise in accomplishing so many things in so short a time.