Studs Terkel

Studs Terkel died today at the age of 96.

Studs first came to my attention when, as a teenager, my father recommended Division Street to me. I can't say it changed my life, because I was already well on the road to whatever I am, but it confirmed some things for me. It confirmed that the lives of day laborers, waitresses, and cab drivers are interesting and as worthy of respect as anyone's.

Suellen and I used to live in the same neighborhood Terkel did. Well, not the same neighborhood, exactly, but three blocks away. They call Chicago the "city of neighborhoods," but it's really the city of blocks. One block can be one thing, and the next block can be another thing altogether.

I was giving a walking tour of our Uptown neighborhood to a friend, to illustrate this point, about 20 years ago. Uptown then, and now, is kind of a rough place. But I was showing Georgiana how, even in this rough Chicago neighborhood, you could turn the corner and suddenly you're in another world. Upon which, we turned the corner onto Castlewood Terrace, which is a street where people are not wondering where their next rent check is coming from.

"Studs Terkel lives on this street," I told her.

I don't remember her exact words, but they were something like, "You're full of ****!" Only Georgiana doesn't talk like that, so it was the most polite way possible of saying that.

And as soon as she said it, as on cue, the door of a parked car opened, and out stepped Studs Terkel.

More than once today I've heard Studs called "a Chicago hero." He was certainly that. He was also a crusader for justice that never betrayed weariness or became cynical.

That's no mean trick.