Matthew Roling

3 weeks ago | chicagoreader.com | Matthew Roling |Salem Collo-Julin

Growing up in rural Wisconsin, my first real taste of independence came in the form of my parents’ wood-paneled Ford station wagon, complete with the obligatory rear-facing third-row seat. Just as vividly as I remember getting burned by that car’s seat belt buckles in the dog days of summer, I remember our first family trip to Chicago—taking the Amtrak from Milwaukee, stepping into Union Station, hearing the rumble of the el, and riding the articulated buses as they snaked around the Loop.