i may be a bird in a cage but at least it's your cage

Oh, this is absolutely fucking fantastic. You give Ray such a rich background, multi-dimensional and real, which is something you don't see often, especially something as detailed as this is.

And, okay, my favoritest of favorite parts is the bit about the Red Line because I have a soft spot for trains [grin], and the scene is just so vivid, what with Ray making up histories for the people and everything.

And there are so many great bits, like this:

Ray's never been much on rah-rah-American-freedom crap, because he doesn't need to be -- if 40,000 people skipping work every day for five straight months, just to watch the Cubs, ain't a sign of the free world, Ray doesn't know what is.

and this:

Plus, everybody who's out catching speeders that late, they all know him and they all know his car -- so he honks when he flies past the squad cars hanging out on the shoulder, and they never pull him over, 'cept sometimes when a rookie's not got the memo: leave the nice detective with the need for speed alone.

And I am just going heartheartheart.

I visited and fell in love with Chicago a year ago, and this is bringing back the nostalgia with a vengeance. [grin]