After a full day up at campus, Frosty & I decided enough was enough. Stop the madness.

This has been waay too much pressure and activity without the presence of alcohol.

So we decided to take action. Our buddy Scott tends bar down at The Tasting Room, this chi-chi wine bar west of the Loop. So we take Lake Shore Drive downtown, then cut west to our destination.

About 10 minutes later, as we're getting out of the car, Cronkette calls and informs us that downtown Chicago is on FIRE!! The LaSalle Bank Building, to be exact - just a few blocks from our newsroom.

Turns out we drove *right by it* - and it's on national television - and we didn't even notice.

Not a very promising start to our careers in journalism.

So we decided to ponder this over some fine wines. Scott offered us the Executive Treatment - the champagne room of fine wines, so to speak. We got about a hundred bones-worth of glasses of the finest wines in the joint for a thirty-dollar value. Mad props to Scott.

Meanwhile, a guy walks into the Room yelling that the LaSalle building is on fire. Later, my friend JD calls me from SF to tell me the same thing.

So we're not encouraged that we point-blank drove by a national story. It's bothering us. On the way home, Frosty & I decide to check it out.

First of all, let me say there's no better time to illegally park than when there's a downtown skyscraper on fire a few blocks away. We parked behind a police surveillance vehicle, no less. Then we walked a block east to the police barricade.

As Neo would say, "Whoa."

"Look, up in the sky!" Flames shooting out - even a few hours later, the fire was unexpectedly raging...I'd say about an unlucky thirteen stories down from the roof. Smoke pouring out from everywhere. A crowd staring in wonder. Ghetto birds hovering over us. Kent Brockmans on the scene delivering live feeds for the local news at ten.

Frosty & I staring up in awe. All I could thing was, "mmmm...warmth. good."

4 days and counting, people.

Unfortunately, this towering inferno did NOT feature O.J. Simpson starring as the security guard. He was busy looking for the real killer.

Thus far, no fatalities, about 25 injuries, mainly from smoke-inhalation. Several firefighters in serious condition. Watching those guys in action with streams of water coming from god-knows-where thirty floors above the ground...those guys are truly bad-ass. (It goes without saying that the sensitive new-age Dickie in me hopes that nobody ends up seriously hurt.)