Strip malls were closed-- many had drifts up to doorknobs, with parking lots bare. If you needed your morning java on Stony Island, Starbucks was closed, and forget bringing home the bacon -- Moo and Oink, silent!
Food places were generally dark-- except at least one White Castle that actually had some drive-thru business.
"I served about five or six people," said Antavia O'Banner, White Castle employee.
Making one's way around involved using the road as a sidewalk. Hailing a cab presented a problem since many taxis were sidelined. Do you think a cabbie calls another cab when he's stuck?
Speaking of autos, the Chicago Auto Show chose this day to begin loading in at McCormick Place for next week's opening.
If you needed a car wash, we found one open, but it's always open.
From hardware stores to the Harold's Chicken Shack chain: Thank you, but see you tomorrow.
For many this blizzard was a terrible experience, but not for Jacquelyn Robinson, who has this memory.:
"In '67, I was in high school, so I remember. When I came out of school, I fell right in the snow, that's how much snow was out, so this is nothing ," said Robinson.
It's all just a matter of perspective.
By the way, the Museum of Science and Industry was closed Wednesday and they want to remind everybody that they will honor a refund or ticket exchange when they open, most likely, Thursday.
Abbott labs of North Chicago shut down for the day as did the Kraft corporate headquarters in suburban Glenview , and Motorola Solutions closed its campuses in Schaumburg and Arlington Heights.
Several Chicago area shopping malls were also closed. They included: Water Tower Place, Northbrook Court, Spring Hill Mall and Oak Brook Shopping Center.
