Flat Zach

I got an email from my grandnephew, Zach's third grade teacher. 

"Hello Zachary's Family,

Thank you so much for wanting to participate in our "flat" project. We have been reading Flat Stanley in class. It is about a flat boy who can travel in the mail because he is so flat!

Each year the kids usually send flat versions of themselves to family members of friends around the country or world and those people send back pictures, list of facts, or cool things from their area. Due to the current climate of the world, we cannot do that this year. Instead we are sending our flat versions via email (see attached picture). If you can, please email back pictures, videos, and/or facts about where you live! You can be as creative as you like!

Thank You"

Flat Zach's avatar. He made it himself

 So this is what I sent back to his teacher.
 ________________________________

Welcome to Chicago, Flat Zach

First let's visit with your great grandmother and a bunch of your grand aunts and grand uncles, at your grand uncle Alan's house in Chicago.

Behind your grand uncle Alan's house is an alley. There are 1,900 miles of alleys in Chicago that run behind most homes and businesses. The alleys are used by the garbage trucks and allow residents to park in garages behind their homes.

Now let's take the 'el' train downtown to the "Loop". The Loop is so called because the elevated train runs above the streets in a loop around the main business area. Then they branch out to all areas of the city. There are 103 miles of track that take trains above the street and under the street. And even when the train goes underground, in Chicago they still call it the 'el'.

This is Willis Tower, once called Sears Tower. At one time it was the tallest building in the world. On the 103rd floor of the building is a glass balcony that you can walk out onto.

Now Look down. You're 1,353 feet above the street.

Now let's go for a boat ride out on Lake Michigan. Chicago sits at the southern end of Lake Michigan, one of the five Great Lakes. It is over 300 miles long and over 110 miles wide at the widest point. It is also where Chicago gets its drinking water. To protect that water from pollution the City of Chicago built a lock on the filthy Chicago River so it would run backwards. That was so all of Chicago's pollution would flow towards the Mississippi River instead of into the lake. Since then they have cleaned the pollution from the river, but it still flows backwards.

One last place I'd like to show you. Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Maybe your mom and dad will take you there some day. I'm going to email you back to Florida now because I don't think you'd like to hang around here in the winter. It's not like Florida at all in the winter.