Hey, Memorial Day is Monday, May 31st. On Thursday, May 27th, let us pre-kickoff the quintessential start-of-summer American holiday weekend with a tour of the "American Modern Art, 1900-1950" section of the Art Institute of Chicago. We will see famous works like Edward Hopper's Nighthawks and Grant Wood's American Gothic, plus discover some less-well-known treasures. This will be the second installment of our Art Museum Weeknights Series, by which we take advantage of certain free weeknights at Chicago's outstanding art museums.

We will again meet at the bench next to the MAIN LOBBY ENTRANCE INTO THE MAIN MUSEUM SHOP; see http://bit.ly/9VWzM9.... The Museum Shop is to your right as you enter The Art Institute from Michigan Avenue. If you get there on time, there is no way you can miss this train, but the train leaves the station at 6 PM. If you miss the train (this is a metaphorical train), you will have to find the group at "American Modern Art, 1900-1950".

Afterwards, we might try out Henri's idea to have a "conversation salon" at a diner, in honor of Nighthawks. Or we might just take the easy way out and go across the street to the Bennigan's. If the mood strikes, some of us might even want to see if Kerry will let us use the karaoke room at Murasaki Chicago. We shall see!