Thanks to Facebook, I reconnected with two childhood friends over Christmas break while in California. And what better place than Portillo’s – a popular chain I discovered in Chicago that now has a location in Buena Park, California. (Just down the street from Knott’s Berry Farm.) Dennis I’ve known since we were in a 4th and 5th combination class at Gompers Elementary. I don’t remember now which grade it was, but Dennis transfered in mid-year and soon we were best buds. We met Richard a few years later and by junior high (Bancroft Junior High) and during my freshman year at Lakewood High School, we walked to and from school together every day down Coldbrook Avenue. I moved away to Chicagoland that summer and as often happens, I lost track of them. Over the years I often tried to look them up and a few years ago we found each other online. I believe Richard actually found me and then connected me with Dennis, as they had kept in touch. In fact, until just recently, Richard lived in the same house having inherited from his parents. He lived there for like 40 years! I could have just gone and rang… Continue reading