David and Jackie on train moving day March 2002 (Courtesy of Jackie Gevercer)
My memories of David Gevercer are not singular.
I see him behind the bar at the Matchbox, shoulder to shoulder with some of the most engaging bartenders I have known. I see him greeting the regular Thursday afternoon floral delivery at the Matchbox, 770 N. Milwaukee in Chicago.
And most of all I see him with his wife Jackie, his forever Valentine. Their crowning cultural achievement was in March 2002 when they relocated a 1947 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Silver Palm dining car on a 125-foot-long tractor- trailer from the Metra yards [...]
Two views of the Matchbox, with David & Jackie (upper black and white). Photo by Anthony Mata.
A good bar is a rich collection of loose change.
The patrons are a deep pocket of old and young, nickels and dimers, half dollars and occasional slugs.
The Matchbox, 770 N. Milwaukee, is my lucky penny.
I’ve been going to the Matchbox since 2000. I was breaking up with a girlfriend in Palmer Square and the Matchbox was my shrink couch on the way home to my place in the West Loop. Things change. I fell in love again at the Matchbox. Life moves on.
And the Matchbox was sold last week.
Owners [...]
The Matchbox: Room with a view
These are the darkest days of the year in Chicago.
And every winter I think of the abundant outdoor flower stands in rainy Seattle, San Francisco and New York City that illuminate the day and your thoughts.
The older I get, the more I appreciate flowers. For the last couple years of her life I would bring my Mom a small bouquet of fresh flowers for my weekly Sunday visit.
That made my Dad happy. As a middle-aged man he planted dozens of roses in our backyard.
Since my parents passed away this spring [...]
