Dad said Cub fan was too young for '45 Series

'NEXT TIME' | Now he's older but wiser about Wrigley, courage, being gay in Chicago

April 25, 2008

Jerry Pritikin, a retired publicist and photographer, still loves his city, even though it wasn't a very nurturing place for him as a young man.

At 71, Pritikin calls himself "one of those crazy Chicago characters." He knows a thing or two about how our city of neighborhoods has changed over the years.

Here are a few things he's learned:

• • When we were kids, the worst we would do to each other if we got in a fight -- and that didn't happen too often -- was to have a roll of nickels in your hand when you punched someone. No one got stabbed or hit with a baseball bat or certainly not shot. I don't really understand how kids at such young ages get killed these days. I guess nobody does, or it wouldn't be happening.

• • Don't judge a person by their looks. I've been very fortunate. I happen to be gay and don't look the stereotype. I also happen to be Jewish and don't look that stereotype either.

• • When you were gay in Chicago in the '50s, you had to worry about running into family or friends coming out of a gay bar. I moved to San Francisco. But I still considered myself a Chicagoan -- in exile.

• • I'm not used to seeing myself grow old. Now, I look more like my father than my father did.

• • In 1945, the Cubs went to the World Series, and my father said I was too young to go, and he would take me next time. So I've been living on a promise my dad made me since 1945.

• • In 1946, I cleaned the stands at Wrigley Field after games, and they'd give you a ticket to the next game. That's where I first heard the expression, "Wait till next year." I didn't realize how profound that was.

• • Let's face it, 40 or 50 years ago, time traveled slower. When I was a kid, we'd go to the movie theater to watch news that happened a week ago. Now, news travels at the speed of light.

• • Now, finding a face-value ticket on game day at Wrigley is harder than finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

• • I'm disappointed they might change the name of Wrigley. Even though it's not an end-of-the-world type thing, I really believe once in a while you have to take a stand. The name should be sacred.

• • I remember President Eisenhower once said taking a political stance in the middle of the road will open you up to the extremes of both sides. That's true. If I ever write a book about myself, I would call it Out, in the middle of the road.