This Is Grand!

If you're seeking to capture the true flavor of Chicago life, look no further than a ride on Chicago's public transit system - the sights and sounds inside and outside your bus or train are a continuously changing adventure. Fascinating people, languages, conversations and situations will often surprise you from where you sit of stand: "did he just do what I thought he did?"

Now there's a very cool website that lets you experience tales from Chicago transit: This Is Grand debuted June 1st with a selection of short stories and anecdotes from our town's rolling stock - and you're invited to submit*!

You know something? You're the best. Thanks for thinking about submitting to
This is Grand. Now if you want to be Simply the Best, like in the Tina Turner usage of the term, all you need to do is follow through and pony up your story.

To repeat, we publish all kinds of non-fiction narratives, told as creatively as you like, so do not feel bound by anything you've seen on the site before. We'll also take all kinds of visual media, like cartoons, portraits, photographs, etchings, renderings of rail lines using wax beans. We dare you. We live and die by our submissions and want to hear everything everyone has to say.

Believe it: Your story is better than Good Enough.

Everyone should submit*: submissions@thisisgrand.org.

*What are you afraid of? We're nobody.

Some find the forced intimacy of public transit too invasive, but I find that if you can create your own "virtual mindspace cocoon" you can take advantage of a rare opportunity to eavesdrop on conversations and situations that would possibly earn you dagger-eyed indignation (or a slap upside the head) in less-contained surroundings. You can rub shoulders (and feet, backpacks, or knees) with people from every walk of life on the CTA. Sure, you'll get the occasional off-key gospel tune sung by a wino, or unpleasant whiffs of bodily odors, but overall it's a small price to pay for a $1.75 sociological experiment. Just remember to wear your shades and wash your hands afterwards.

Won't you help them grow? Tell your Chicago Transit tale, sweet or sordid...This Is Grand readers want to know.