Joe and Marilyn Leave their Marks on History

 

by Pa Rock

Traveling Fool

This day started off very nice and just continued to get better.

I entered the lobby of the Drake Hotel this morning thinking that I would head out onto the street and find something for breakfast (possibly even at a restaurant!), but on the way to the main door I encountered a well dressed hotel employee who looked like his job was to answer dumb questions from hick tourists, so I asked one:   "Where is the oak bar that Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe carved their initials into?"

"Ah, yes sir.  Go down these steps to the Ground Floor, then take two rights, a left, and another right and it will be at the end of the hall on your right."  That sounded about "right" to me, so off I went in search of some celebrity history.

Wikipedia had already told me that the public defacement of hotel property had occurred when Joe and Marilyn spent part of their honeymoon at the Drake Hotel (January of 1954) and it had happened on the long oak bar in the Cape Cod Room, which I assumed was a lounge or a tavern or some form of watering hole. Yesterday I had stepped into the only bar that I could find in the hotel, but the interior was very dark and I could not see a long, wooden bar.

After following the directions of the hotel employee this morning, I ended up at the "Cafe on Oak" which is in the Drake.  I stepped in and the hostess tried to direct me to a table.  "I'm just a nosy tourist," I told her, and she turned to lead me to what I wanted to see even before I could ask the question.  The oak bar, which is now covered with a heavy coat of varnish, was also basically covered with hand-carved initials from many other people over the years.   Joe and Marilyn had sat near the left end of the bar where they had made their marks on history.  "MM" was was nearest the far edge of the bar in small to moderate-sized lettering, and "JD" was below hers in letters that were about twice the size of his bride's.  God only knows what they got up to after they left the bar on that cold January night!

With that item carefully checked off of my bucket list, I requested a table and a menu - and had a very good breakfast.

Niece Heidi and I spent the rest of the morning visiting a few very interesting book shops in the suburb of Andersonville near where Heidi and Jason and their daughters live, and we stopped in a very unique store called the "Wooly Mammoth" which sold some of the oddest things imaginable - such as human teeth, animal bones, used dentures, and all manner of "art."  This evening she and Jason and I joined Tim for a really good Italian meal in an outdoor setting just across the street from where his play was presented last night.  

(Everyone needs relatives like Heidi and Jason and their family.  They have shown me a wonderful time during my visit to the Windy City. Tomorrow Heidi is coming over to drive me to the train station, and said she will also pack a sandwich for me to eat while I bounce along on Amtrak.

(I am really not disparaging Amtrak.  It got me to Chicago and I have every confidence that it will get me back to Kansas City tomorrow - and as of right now, I am seriously considering taking Amtrak to New York City to see "The Brass Teapot" musical when it is showcased there in October.)

Kansas City to the Big Apple by train - it sounds like a rockin' good time!  "Come on baby, do the loco-motion!"