On Obama’s trail in Chicago

NIt doesn’t yet exist, the Barack Obama path in the south of Chicago. However, the first pieces of the puzzle can be easily put together during a walk. The 44th President of the United States had lived as an ordinary citizen in Hyde Park, a neighborhood near the University of Chicago, for the 16 years before he moved into the White House. He ate in the restaurants there, had his hair cut at the hairdresser around the corner, had his house in the neighborhood and his first date with the later First Lady Michelle Obama: Where cars are parked today, the Baskin ice cream parlor was located on 53rd Street -Robbins. A sign on a stone commemorates the spot and reads what Obama said two years before he moved into the White House: “On our first date, I invited her to the best ice cream Baskin-Robbins had to offer (…) I kissed her and it tasted like chocolate.”

Michelle Robinson grew up on the south side of Chicago. Like Barack Obama, she studied law at Harvard University. But their paths only crossed when both were working in Chicago. They married in October 1992. That same year, Barack Obama began teaching constitutional law at the university, which he did until he was elected president. He represented the south of Chicago in the Illinois State Senate until 2004, and was one of the two senators from Illinois in the US Senate until 2008. His popularity increased and he remained loyal to his favorite addresses. Lorraine has worked as a waitress at the Valois fast food restaurant for more than thirty years. It opens every morning two blocks from the site of the first kiss on 53rd Street. She can’t remember when she first noticed the always cheerful man who was a regular customer. On the other hand, he does think of his favorite dish. Anyone can order this today for $9.75. Obama usually ordered two pancakes, two scrambled eggs and a sausage and picked them up at the counter. Then he sat down at a table in the middle of the simply furnished room. A large photo signed by Obama covers the small table. “The President’s Table,” it says. “We are so proud of him,” enthuses Lorraine.