the smedley log - suburban scrawl

Monday with Mike

I used to love reading Mike Royko’s column. Thanks for the memory!

I loved his column too. Gave me dreams of becoming a syndicated columnist.

Then I studied journalism.

Howard, LOL. Being a native Chicagoan, I loved Royko. I’m growing old enough now to earn my curmudgeon stripes, too. This one really gave me a smile. BTW, I love your line, “Then I studied journalism.” So true.

I knew you’d understand, Frank

I picked up both of the posthumously-released collections of his best columns a few years back (excellent reading), but I was practically raised on Royko columns that appeared in the local paper. I think I wrote about my affection for Royko’s wordspinning skills in an earlier post somewhere (oh yeah, here).

All indications I get from Chicagoans I’ve known are that he was a civic treasure, and given that he always hooked me, despite my lack of regional context, I believe it. I was genuinely sad when he passed.