tower1

(1) An almost unbelievable sign.

tower2

(2) A perilous journey.

tower3

(3) A trick of the eye, a true test of the heart.

tower4

(4) And a real-deal, no-shit, leaning tower in Niles, Il.

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No one ever told me there was a replica leaning tower in Niles, IL. Sure, everone I’ve talked to since finding it says “oh yeah, leaning tower, yeah”, but there’s no way everyone knew about this but Andrew and me. No one ever told me there was even a Niles, IL, so imagine my surprise yesterday when I discovered that there’s a place called Niles and that in that place called Niles there’s a YMCA with an attached five story mid-1970s Soviet-style hotel and in front of that hotel is a replica leaning fucking tower. I think the bold font should have tipped you off, but in case it did not, let me say that the leaning tower ymca (no questions asked) was a most welcome treasure to have stumbled upon while on the really annoying quest of driving my brother’s rent check to his landlord’s house way ass out in the suburbs because he kept forgetting to mail it for a week or so.