RhetoricVille

I returned yesterday from the 4Cs (Conference on College Composition and Communication) in Chicago. It’s the fourth 4Cs I’ve attended in Chicago — all at the Palmer House. I’ve been to two or three other conferences in Chicago as well, always in the past traveling by car. This time we went by train. You can get from Flint to Chicago and back for $46 via Amtrak. Given that it costs $25 a day to park at the Palmer House ($35 if you use valet parking), and that gas prices in Michigan are running around $2.60 a gallon, the train fare is a deal. There’s less hassle, too, of course. It’s a little slower than driving, maybe, and you have to take the train schedule with a grain of salt since passenger trains have to give way to freight trains. We were an hour late getting to Chicago, and about 20 minutes late getting back to Flint. Not a big deal. Cars get stuck in traffic, too. The last time we drove to Chicago, it took every bit as long as the train, and felt a lot longer. At least you can get up and move around in a train — eat, drink, and be merry. (They sell beer and wine, even. The frugal can pack their own lunch and snacks.) Flying would be faster, but is also subject to delays, is more expensive, and is not nearly as romantic. And you don’t end up at a station in the heart of the city, either.

Even an hour late getting to Chicago, we still arrived at the Palmer House a good two-and-a-half hours before our room was ready. We were hoping they’d comp us a room for the night at some other nearby hotel. That happened a few years ago (1998). We got a free night at the Printer’s Row Hyatt, cab fare, and then when we checked into the Palmer House the second day, they put us in an enormous hospitality suite for the same price as a regular room. Gave us a fruit basket, too.