Kevin Baum

Upon entering McCormick Place's Lakeside Center Ballroom on the 2007 Chicago Auto Show's opening day, it's only natural to wonder where Chrysler has stashed the 2,000 or so people they counted on participating in their attempt to break the Guinness World Record for most people involved in a "Simon Says" game (1,169 participants set the last record in April, 2006, in Glasgow, Scotland), because the only things in plain view are some ushers, a barren registration line and a monumentally vacuous room.

To the satisfaction of those in pursuit of winning a 2007 Sebring for being the last one standing, however, around the corner in the next room is where the action is--and their chances of winning are looking good. Roughly 100 people of those who'd pre-registered for the event show up, a hair shy of the 1,170 needed to break the record.

Production crews have their tapes rolling and Steve Max, a professional (and incommodious) "Simon Says" commander, in his black and purple tuxedo vest with the words "Steve Max" embedded on the back in glitter, emcees the festivities like an auction caller and embarks on tapering the group down.

Not but thirty seconds into "live play," Bob Dennis gets 86'd when he puts his hand up without Simon saying so. "My wife told me about this opportunity," Dennis says. "She's still up there, so we still have a chance."

Following suit, more than half of the participants follow in Dennis' footsteps when they touch their noses, spin and/or dance without permission. "My strategy is to outlast everyone," Sam Lin says, a finalist. "I think my chances are pretty good."

Things must come to an end, and Helen Stanislawski of Chicago, takes the prize. Simon says "Enjoy your new car, Helen." Hey, you deserve it.

(2007-02-13)

Also by Kevin Baum

Bronzeville Gold
Once on State Street and now in Bronzeville sixteen years later, the Afrocentric Bookstore has earned its rank as one of the city's independent staples via product, persistence and dedication. "We're seasoned," professes owner Desiree Sanders. "There aren't many bookstores on the South Side like this one"
(2007-01-23)

Lost Boy Tales
To most, willfully leaving a colorful, dry, clement establishment and entering an achromatic, chilling, "my-socks-are-wet-through-my-shoes" evening would seem utterly unappealing. But on Sunday it's easy to see on the elated faces of those at 826 Chicago, author Dave Eggers' non-profit writing and tutoring center on Milwaukee Avenue, that this event is drowning out the insipid weather
(2007-01-16)

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