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This writing was accepted for publication in the 84 page perfect-bound issue of cc&d (v228) (the January 2012 Issue You can also order this 5.5" x 8.5" issue as an ISSN# paperback book:

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enjoy this writing from Janet Kuypers in the cc&d free 2016 PDF file chapbook: New Beginnings Firsts and the Future of new poetry, edited poetry & classic poems live 11/5/16 in an Austin Texas show W/ accompanying acoustic guitar Click the title or the cover to download the free PDF file chapbook.

This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN#/ISBN# issue/book “Respect Our Existence or Expect Our Resistance” cc&d, v272 (the June 2017 issue - the 24 year anniversary issue) You can also order this 6"x9" issue as a paperback book:

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My First Time

Janet Kuypers, 06/07/11

there are some towns known for their food...

New Orleans has it’s Po-Boy
Philadelphia has it’s Philly Cheese Steak

and if you’re in New York
and want to carry food out on a street
you better get a pizza slice
fold it in half
and eat it with one hand

And if you’re in Chicago
(and you can’t eat a deep-dish pizza
with one hand in the street)
you better get a Chicago-style Hot Dog
with yellow mustard, relish (the bright green kind),
hot peppers, tomatoes, onions, celery salt
and a pickle on top

I lived in Chicago all my life
frequented the tops of sky scrapers
visited legendary blues bars

but even when I was a meat eater
I never had a Chicago Hot Dog

just ketchup, please
I’ll take the pickle on the side
and I don’t even like hot peppers

but as we left the Planetarium today
I passed a Chicago-style hot dog vendor cart
and they listed Vegetarian Hot Dogs
as a choice for the Chicago Hot Dog

I passed it,
then I stopped.

walked back
and asked for a Vegetarian Hot Dog
with everything except the hot peppers

(and no,
ketchup is not included
when you say “everything”)

and when I got my paper-wrapped
Vegetarian Chicago Hot Dog
I was tempted to pull the pickle away
and they had to remind me
no,
that’s a part of the Chicago Hot Dog

so I put it all together
took a bite
then I took another
and another

and I thought,
I’ve been missing out
on this fantastic Chicago tradition
all my life

I heard the Chicago Hot Dogs
started during the Depression
because it was something cheap
you could sell it on the streets
and it was a full meal:
meat, bread, vegetables
all at a reasonable price

and I thought,
we Chicagoans had it all figured out
with a gooey, deep dish pizza
when you had the time to sit down
as well as a way
to make any hot dog taste awesome
when you wanted a treat on the street

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