It's a Tall World, After All

To the people in Chicago who are intent on catching up with Kuala Lumpur I say, "Please, stop." I'm referring, of course, to the competition among cities to have the tallest building in the world. A few years ago the Malaysians erected twin towers that were 33 ft. higher than Chicago's Sears Tower, which had been the world's tallest building for more than 20 years. I realize that this was a serious provocation. A lot of Chicagoans have always been mildly offended by A.J. Liebling's description of Chicago as the Second City, after all, and even Liebling didn't have in mind...