[Chuck Moreland]

Yes, do go up the Hancock. Check the observatory.

Reminds me of a story of my misspent youth.

21ish, my buddy Dan was working maintenance at the standard oil building. It's one of the tallest buildings in Chicago, 100ish stories, straight up and down.

We had been to the bars on Division, maybe 2:00 am and he suggests we go to the roof of the building. He has keys to the back hallways and hidden support network for the building.

We are working our way to the roof, and we get stopped in one of the back service hallways by a security guy. My buddy tells him he works there and came back for his forgotten wallet, throws out a few names, and the guy let's us on our way.

I remember it took a couple elevators and stair or two to get out onto the first level of the open roof. Then a final climb straight up what I would call a wire ladder to reach the top part of the roof.

Understand, this is not a public observatory. It is the open roof, with a border about 12 inches tall seperating us from 100 stories down.

I decide I needed to stick my head over the edge. I remember approaching the edge very slowly, and getting down on my knees as I got close. Then I put my hands on the 12 inch perimeter wall and stuck my head over the edge, looking straight down 100ish stories.

The wind is blowing. My buddy Dan is behind me as I lean over the edge, and the only thing I can think of is "Did Dan bring me up here to kill me, he's not the most stable person".

Seriously. My attention was divided between keeping an eye on Dan , and taking in a spectacular sight.