Alexsandar Hemon and Chicago’s Monk Parakeets

By Maureen Leong-Kee [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Chicago Magazine published an excerpt from Aleksandar Hemon’s new book, The Book of My Lives. The excerpt is titled “20 Reasons Aleksandar Hemon Will Never Leave Chicago,” and it’s an interesting read. Much of what he cites has to do with nature — the weather, the wind, what color Lake Michigan is in certain weather, and the city’s monk parakeets. I wrote about the parakeets a while back, and they are a fascinating part of Chicago’s natural history.

Mr. Hemon states as reason #9 he’ll never leave Chicago: “The Hyde Park parakeets, miraculously surviving brutal winters, a colorful example of life that adamantly refuses to perish, of the kind of instinct that has made Chicago harsh and great. I actually have never seen one: the possibility that they are made up makes the whole thing even better.”

I kind of love this!

Hat Tip to Chicagoist for posting a link to a Chicago Magazine post about this. Both are great reads, complete with interesting pictures and video. Check them out!