Molly Sullivan

An underwhelming applause makes its way halfway down the street as the doors to the controversially renamed Macy's on State Street open to a crowd that stretches around the block. Protestors stand on the corner, decked out in green-and-white-striped shirts identical to the Marshall Field's shopping bag, and sing the "Star Spangled Banner."

Shoppers are greeted by employees elegantly dressed all in black who serve assorted foods and drinks all in red. A jazz band starts the entertainment at what seems more like a party than a store opening. Some shoppers linger outside with the protestors a little longer after one woman claims, "I'd be naked without Field's."

However, those marching for Field's have little luck in swaying customers away with signs stating that Macy's is "the way to slop" and "Macy's is just Wal-Mart with pretension," because it is too hard to resist the promise of coffee, cookies and Gilbert Gottfried who, of all things, is doing a children's book reading inside. "They could've remodeled the fricking washroom," complains one shopper as she looks for a stall that has a working lock.

As the protestors continue their march, they grow quieter and less enthusiastic then before--maybe they've caught sight of the party inside that they weren't invited to, or maybe they noticed the displays of forty-seven new designers, also fellow Chicagoans, who they were inadvertently boycotting.

(2006-09-12)

Also by Molly Sullivan

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