Brace yourself, it’s that time of year again!

On request from Rarity, I am tasked with picking up Fluttershy in addition to another friend Sunset Shimmer, who lives in Phoenix.

“Hello Miss Shimmer, I have been tasked by Rarity to transport you as well as some other friends of ours for this year’s holiday in Chicago. I will need to know when and where I can pick you up. Thank you very much. I look forward to meeting you.”

No sooner am I prepping N318AS when a text comes up on my phone.

“Hello darling! I land at 20:55 on Thursday.”

“Perfect! Thanks for letting me know. Waiting on a reply from Sunset.”

“Thank you darling! Toodles!”

“Cya!”

After loading 3 Mercedes G63 AMG onboard, I text everyone asking if they’re bringing anyone else besides themselves. I have no doubt that at least one of them will bring some friends. I just need to know so I don’t under-pack cars-wise.

“Hi Captain. This is Fluttershy. Please let me know when you land in Seattle.”

“Hello Fluttershy. I’ll pick you up. Are you bringing anyone else besides yourself?”

“Okay. Thank you. I’m not.”

Before I can send a reply, suddenly call from Phoenix.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Captain Max?” A woman’s voice responds.

“Speaking.”

“Great! Sunset Shimmer here. How are you today?”

“Not so bad. Yourself?”

“Pretty good. So, Rarity says you can take me to Chicago.”

“I can and I will. When should I be in Phoenix to pick you up?”

“I’ll do you one better: I’m in Palm Springs. Where can I meet you?”

“I live in Victorville. Anywhere works.”

“I can meet you at your place.”

“I’ll text you the address!”

“Sweet.”

“Pleasure to talk to you. I look forward to meeting.”

“As do I.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

A quick text of address follows with a read receipt. As I wait for her to get here, I wonder what she’ll be driving.

My answer comes minutes later as a car comes racing down my street. When it stops, I slowly approach a red Nissan 370Z.

“Sunset Shimmer?” I ask after the drivers window lowers.

“That’s me!” She responds with a smile.

“Split Scimitar, but I prefer Max. Pleasure to meet you.” I say offering my hand.

“Nice to meet you,” she says eagerly shaking it.

“Come on in, my Fairlady,” I quip holding back a laugh. “That’s just a little car pun.”

“I noticed,” she smirks back.

After I load her suitcase onboard, I show Sunset to the terminal just in case she needs to use the bathroom. Not needing to go, Sunset boards immediately, so I give her a passenger brief. She laughs at some of my gimmicks and gets comfortable after I finish.

Once pushed back, I fire up the engines after a quick cabin check. Seeing Sunset comfortable and asleep, I turn off all the cabin lights and taxi to runway 35.

Rosalina has the clearance by the time we’re lined up. With Sunset asleep and the night our only guide, our current departure time of 18:26 places us into Seattle at 20:48. Add an hour plus or minus a half, and by the time we leave Seattle, we could be racing the overnight hauls.

Once on the ground in Seattle, I check on Sunset. Having seemed to enjoy her evening nap, I ask if she wants to join us to pick up Fluttershy, and she accepts. I then request the courtesy car and order a couple hundred gallons of fuel. With 2 hours to return, I receive the keys to a Subaru Outback.

I-90 gives us some trouble up to the WA-18 exit. No surprises there, I ask Fluttershy if she’s ready via text. Fortunately for us, she has been, so after she texts me her address, I make up for lost time, eager to see her about as much as Sunset.

When we arrive at Fluttershy’s house, Sunset and Rosalina give her a hug while I load her bags. Before we pile back in, Fluttershy hugs me and says,

“Um, I don’t know if you like Din Tai Fung, but I didn’t want to see you hungry.” She says as she hands me a bag of what appears to be some dumplings and fried rice.

“Oh, thank you so much. You’re so kind. I love Din Tai Fung.”

“Oh. I’m glad.”

“Our of curiosity, what do you usually order?”

“I usually stick to dumplings, but I also like their potstickers.”

“Okay! I am under obligation to ask: are you vegetarian?”

“Yes. Um, I mean, no. Well, actually, kind of. I prefer not to eat meat.”

“Have you tried their meat entrées?”

“Yes, and I enjoy them. What I can’t eat are slimy seafoods like octopus or squid.”

“Mmhm, my wife’s the exact same way. She can’t eat cephalopods. Makes her sick.”

Once I climb in, I say “Alright, we are good to go. You two are our only passengers. Everyone else is meeting us in Chicago.”

“Sweet!” Sunset exclaims.

“Yay,” Fluttershy concurs.

On the way back, a field of visual static scrambles my vision. I shudder for a brief second, swerving wildly to avoid a perceived obstacle in the road. Everyone in the car squeals as I shake my head to regain my vision.

“Are you falling asleep?” Fluttershy asks.

“No. Thought I was gonna hit something. Sorry.” I respond as my breath starts to waver.

Just as we get off the freeway, a massive chill runs down my spine, causing me to shudder again.

“Ok, that’s it.” Sunset interjects. “Stop the car.”

“Sunset!” Fluttershy exclaims.

“The terminal is right there. I’m fine.”

“Are you gonna be able to make it to Chicago tonight?” Sunset asks nervously.

“I’m fine. All I need is some food and water, the former courtesy of Fluttershy.”

“Uh huh,” she replies with a little more than a grain of salt.

After I take care of the other fees, I naturally head for the bathroom. Suddenly, my heart rate climbs and a hot flash rips through me. The urge to go intensifies in a rather comical fashion as each step becomes quicker and quicker (batch 16. 16, people! Get out of the way!) With millimeters to spare, I reach the toilet just as, you guessed it: I engage in an involuntary personal protein spill. A tossing of the cookies, if you will. (Vomit. I vomited, okay?)

A symphony of queasiness, unstable gas, “fire” burps, and eventually blood participate in the contraflow. A few rounds of that along with more heart palpitations and ringing in my ears force me to hard reboot.

When I restart, I sport a seismographic heartbeat and another overwhelming purge of my stomach’s contents. Eventually, I clean up the mess, wash my face, and rinse my mouth out.

I return to the lobby and find the other three talking.

“Ready?” I ask with a Step of Pep.

“Are you?” Sunset answers back.

“I’m fine. I appreciate your concern, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Uh huh,” she replies much the same as the last time.

“Flight plan filed?” I ask Rosalina.

“Yeah. Let’s go!”

Because of noise restrictions during quiet hours, I request ground power to start the engines. Soon, we’re alight and get our clearance via CPDLC. Completely as filed, as direct a routing as we can get. Rosalina heads to sleep after we pass 18,000 feet, so I’m a single pilot operation from here. No changes in route, and fuel looks good all the way to Chicago with about 2 1/2 hours reserve.

Cruising at 33,000 feet, I dig into Fluttershy’s gift while admiring a nice weather system making its way south. As we hit some turbulence consistent with a wind shift, Rosalina wakes up. She then grabs my hand and heads for the cabin.

“Night, babe.” She says to me.

“Love you.” I say asking for a goodnight kiss. “Door open’s fine.”

“Good morning,” I greet the cabin after parking the airplane. “Local time is just shy of 5 AM. Feel free to pick any gate here except for A1, which is the gate we’re parked at now. Each Gate is an enclosed “suite.” You can fit a family of four in each of them. I think it’s two beds apiece. Take your pick. The layout is all the same. The only thing that will change is the view of the airplane parked at each gate. Unfortunately, because this was formerly an airport, the bathrooms and showers are across the hall. Hope your dormitory experience wasn’t a bad one.”

“Sounds good. Thanks for the ride,” Sunset says as she sleepily heads to gate A2, suitcase in tow.

“Fluttershy,” I ask handing her her suitcase in the jetway. “Have you heard from anyone else about this trip by chance?”

“Um, no. Sorry.”

“That’s okay. I was wondering if anyone has talked to you, since you two and Rarity are the only ones who’ve talked to me.”

“Oh. No. Sorry. Um, where would you like me to sleep?”

“There’s another bed at the next gate over.” I say gesturing two gates down.

“Okay,” she responds tiredly grabbing her things and heading for A3.

“Sleep well tonight.”

“Good night.” She whispers as she retreats to her room.

After a groggy rise and forced removal from bed, I time check and trudge to the shower. A good move on my wife’s part for knowing me, I’m soon ready for the day.

About 40 minutes later, Fluttershy joins us at the former security checkpoints, now acting as the combined main room/foyer.

“Is Sunset up yet?” I ask.

“I think she’s still asleep. Should I wake her up?”

“That’s up to you. I don’t need to show you the city. That’s just hometown pride.”

Fluttershy only smiles in response before I send a text to Rarity.

“Hey, do you have any information on anyone else coming? I have Fluttershy and Sunset with me, but when does everyone else get in?”

“How about I check on Sunset then.” Fluttershy responds as she heads back to our gates.

“Sure.” I respond. “No rush.”

Rosalina and I then share a kiss after she leaves.

“So sorry darling,” Rarity texts back a few moments later, “let me send your contact information to my other friends. They’ll text you. 21:00 at O’Hare for me?”

“Yes. Please text when you get off the plane, not when you land. Could take a while taxiing and all.”

“Okay darling! I can’t wait to see you!”

“Same here!”

A few minutes later, another text comes in.

“Howdy! I’m Applejack. Rarity told me to text you about our gathering.”

“Yes! Split Scimitar, but just call me Max. A pleasure to speak to you. How many are with you, and when you plan on arriving?”

“We’re approaching St. Louis now, so we still have another 6 to 8 hours.” “And we have four with us.”

“Thank you for letting me know. Do you have my address?”

“No.”

“34ChampionsRoad Peotone, IL.”

“Thanks!”

“I shall see you this evening!”

“I look forward to it!”

Just then, Fluttershy returns.

“I’m sorry. Sunset is a heavy sleeper. Even my efforts weren’t enough to wake her up.”

“That’s alright. Applejack just told me that they’re still a few hours away.”

“Yay.”

“Should we be tourists?” I ask Rosalina.

“I’d wait until everyone arrives.”

“Should’ve made a list, huh?” I say but quickly bite my tongue, starting to sound like my mother.

“I suppose. Do you have any ideas?”

“Not that I can think of off the top of my head.”

*Text!*

“Hey, this is Rainbow Dash. Rarity told me to text you.”

“Split Scimitar, but just call me Max. Good to hear from you! When will you be arriving in the Chicago area, and how many are in your party?”

“Arriving this evening, and I have a +1.”

“Awesome. Did you drive or fly?”

“Flying in.”

“What airport?”

“ORD”

“Time?”

“19:50.”

“Cool. I look forward to meeting you.”

“Awesome!”

“Ms. Rainbow Dash confirmed!” I then say to the others.

“Yay,” Fluttershy responds. “Is she bringing Scootaloo?”

“If she’s her plus one, then yes.” I say putting my phone down. “What should we do today?”

“I think you should sleep. You had a really late night.” Fluttershy says.

“I’m all ready for the day, though!” I say looking at the two of them. “But, knowing me, I either crash in the middle of the day; or, get a second wind and then have two sleepless nights in a row!”

“I don’t want to take that risk,” Fluttershy says nervously.

“Neither do I,” Rosalina affirms.

“It’s settled then. We go until I crash!”

“No!” Fluttershy asserts, firmly staring me down. “I don’t care if Sunset walks in right now all ready to go! You’re going to sleep. Now!”

“I won’t argue.” I say only after Rosalina backs her up.

Just as I turn around, Sunset walks in, all ready to go.

“Hello Sunset.” I say just as she walks in, clad in long jeans, knee-high boots, and a thick leather jacket. “I’ve been grounded by the others on account of last night’s red eye.”

“Your wife is grounding you because you had a late night last night?”

I respond only with a large yawn.

Holding back a giggle, Sunset looks towards the other two standing firm and says, “good call.”

With that, they head out as I head for bed.

When I wake up, I brush my teeth again having sported SERIOUS morning breath. A ramp check shows the missing car is LANGKA, so after I grab my phone, my notifications reveal a 5-minutes-old message from who I presume is our final party.

“Good afternoon. I’m Twilight Sparkle. Rarity told me to reach out to you regarding our gathering?”

“Yes. You’re in the right place. Thank you for your message Miss Sparkle. 3 questions: By land or by air? Approximately when will you arrive? How many are in your party?”

No sooner do I reach out to text Rosalina asking where they went when the reply comes almost instantly.

“By car. This evening after dinner time, and there are two of us. My brother and I.”

“Splendid! Please let me know when you arrive. Do you have my address?”

“34 Champion’s Road in Peotone?”

“That’s the one.”

“Hooray! I will see you this evening!”

“I look forward to meeting you.”

Rosalina’s reply of “Lincoln Park Zoo” is met with a read receipt before I compose yet another text to Rarity.

“Hello, will it just be you or will you have company?”

“Sweetie Belle will join us, and my parents will be spending just a day with us.”

“They won’t be with us then?”

“No. They’re going on vacation.”

“Where, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“They have a timeshare in Vegas.”

“Oh nice. See you tonight!”

“See you later!”

“Hey Captain!” Sweetie Belle texts. “Can you pick up my parents and I from the airport in like an hour?”

“Yeah. I only wish you had let me known sooner. I‘ll be late. Where from?”

“Midway.”

“On the way!”

In no time, I grab DJABBIC and make for MDW. Expecting pretty heavy traffic, I try and make good time on I-57 and Stevenson, despite heavy, and I mean HEAVY rush.

Thanks to CarPlay, I can still hold text at the wheel. Just as I get off Stevenson, Sweetie Belle announces baggage claim. So many cars are crawling between the lights, by the time I reach Terminal Loop, the family has already asked where I am 9 times.

When I do finally reach them, the airport traffic is so bad, Cicero is backed up to Stevenson.

“I apologize for my haste, but this airport traffic is horrendous.” I say pointing to the sat nav display.

“Eh, no problem. Pleasure to meet ya! Hondo Flanks! I go by Magnum!”

“I know!” Their mother concurs. “I’m Cookie Crumbles, but I just go by Betty.”

“Split Scimitar, I go by Max. Pleasure to meet you both. I don’t mean to pry, but why come here instead of just going direct to Vegas?”

“So we could spend another day with Sweetie Belle here.” Magnum responds. “And there’s only one Spirit flight to Vegas from Minneapolis, and it leaves at 6 am. Through Chicago, we have so many more options.”

“When are you leaving tomorrow then?”

“9:30.”

“Cool. I’ll pick you up at 7:00 in case of traffic.”

“Not a problem!”

Since they’re just spending the night, I decide to loan them my condo at Hancock. When we reach the building, I show them to the unit and grab the spare key from my safe box. By now, Rarity should already be airborne, so I decide to wait until she lands to text again. Once everyone gets settled, I text Rosalina and ask where they are, and almost immediately she responds with,

“Returning from Water Tower.”

”Perfect!” I reply. ”I just got Sweetie Belle and their parents. We’re in my condo at Hancock. You want me to meet you on the ground?”

“Yeah.”

“Wilco.” I respond before I ask, “Sweetie Belle, want to meet Rosalina, Sunset, and Fluttershy with me?”

“Yeah!”

A few minutes after we get to street level, in come the three. Empty handed.

“Shopping in the car?”

“What?” Sunset responds.

“Is your shopping in the car?”

“Oh. Yeah, it is.”

“What’d you guys get?”

“Shoes, handbags, the usual.” Sunset responds with a valley twang.

“Well, excuse me princess.” I clap back before continuing. “Ok, sit-rep. Rainbow Dash arrives in an hour, Rarity half an hour after that, Twilight and her brother around the same time, and Applejack and her family an hour after them. The former two are arriving at O’Hare, and the latter two are driving. Rarity’s parents are upstairs, all four of them are spending the night here, then their parents are catching a 9:30 flight to Vegas out of O’Hare. Then the whole gang should be back together again.”

“Shouldn’t you be on your way to the airport then?” Rosalina asks.

“I’ll leave in about 10 minutes.”

“Alright then.”

“What are you gonna do now then?“ I ask the others. “I know it’s getting chilly out.”

“I don’t want to bring anybody down,” Sunset says, “but I am getting kind of tired.”

“That’s alright,” Rosalina responds. “I can take you back if you want.”

“Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy? You have choices. Come with me to pick up Rainbow, go with Rosalina back to Peotone, or in the case of you Sweetie Belle, you can head back upstairs.”

“That’s fine; I’ll just go back up.”

“Sounds good. Night Sweetie Belle. See you in the morning.”

With that, Fluttershy and Sunset choose Rosalina, so I head for ORD alone.

“Just landed.” Rainbow Dash texts as I fire up the 6.3L Mercedes Big.

“Okay. Have you parked at the gate yet?”

“No, they said we’ll be taxiing for a while.”

“Cool. Do you have checked bags?”

“Yeah.”

“No problem. Just let me know when you have everything you need.”

“Aight”

I follow Rosalina out and take my time getting back to Kennedy. By this point most of evening rush has died down, but I still drive like I’m fighting to preserve every last drop of petrol, even though I’ve barely dented the gauge.

At the Edens split, I decide to have some fun, letting the engine roar as I head for I-190. When I reach the airport, I head for the cell phone waiting lot and ask,

“Airline?”

“American.” “I’m also at baggage claim now.”

“Cool.” I respond as I divert from the cell phone lot and head for the long line of arrivals at terminal loop.

While I wait for her, I drop the windows and decide to let the outside air temp of 37º chill the cabin.

My search for her ends as soon as it begins, as I spot who I can only assume would be her by the rainbow colored locks of hair amongst a crowd at baggage claim. Since they’re still congregating and it doesn’t look like the carousel’s even started, I head for another loop.

“Ready.” Rainbow texts no more than 30 seconds later.

I then CarPlay back, “cool. That was fast. I know it’s dark, but look for an orange Mercedes G-Wagon.”

When I return to baggage claim, the same rainbow haired girl I saw flags me down, so after finding a clearing a few feet ahead of her, I park.

“Rainbow Dash?” I ask after I get out.

“You’re the Captain?”

“Split Scimitar, but you can just call me Max.” I say as I grab her bag.

“Awesome!”

“Pleasure to meet you.” I say shaking her hand after loading her suitcase into the boot. “Where’s your plus one?”

“She‘s actually with my other friend Pinkie Pie, who is also coming. Has she contacted you?”

“No,” I respond as I jump back in. “I guess that’s one more to add to the list.”

“Ugh!” She groans as she pulls her phone out.

I give a hard power application that echoes through the terminal loop before I say, “thanks for joining us! Fluttershy and Sunset Shimmer are already here, Rarity lands here in an hour, and both Applejack and Twilight are driving in, both of whom we should expect in an hour or two.”

“Glad to be here. Pinkie and Scootaloo were supposed to contact you, but I guess I have to call her, since I assume they didn't.” “Hey Pinkie, I just got in to Chicago, where are you?” “That’s… not going to help me.” “Okay. Hang on.” “She doesn’t know where to go?”

“Where is she?”

“Uh, just past I-88.”

“What interstate?”

“290.”

“Well, that’s 294 now. Can she meet us somewhere?”

“Pinkie, where should we meet you?” “Uh, somewhere in Hinsdale.” “Where?” “Ok, bye.” “There’s a Whole Foods right off 34.”

“Cool. To Tri-State!” I say as I head for I-294.

Making good time and plenty of exhaust noise, I reach the Whole Foods, where a Nissan Frontier is waiting for us. After I pull up next to it, Rainbow scans the truck and says, “yep. That’s her!”

I then park the car and head out to meet Pinkie Pie. I don’t usually have a sense for people, but this one is giving me a bit of a “disturbance in the force” vibe. No idea why.

“Hi!” She exclaims excitedly.

“Hello.” I respond rather stoically.

“I’m Pinkie Pie, and I plan parties!” She exclaims extending her hand, startling me just a little.

“Split Scimitar, but you can just call me Max.” I respond shaking it. “I fly airplanes.”

“Interesting name. But you’re cool.”

“She can be a real handful, but she‘s an OG.” Rainbow says.

“Really? I didn’t notice.” I respond monotonously.

“I’m pretty sure she’ll drive you insane.” She snickers having seen the look on my face.

“What?!” Pinkie exclaims. “Why would you ever think that, Dashie? I mean, I know we just met and all, but I always get super excited when I meet new people because I just LOVE making new friends so I can spread happiness!” *Squee!*

“Sorry. Once she gets going, there’s no stopping.” Rainbow whispers in my ear.

“I understand. I’ll admit though, people that chipper make me nervous.”

As she catches her breath, Rainbow introduces her companion.

“Max, this is Scootaloo, my soul sister.”

“Hi there! I hear you have airplanes.”

“I do,” I smile back offering my hand.

“Cool!” She responds shaking my hand in enamor.

“Anyone want to join me to pick up Rarity from O’Hare?” I then ask the lot of them.

No takers. “Anyone? No? Okay. Pinkie, I think you need my address. Let’s exchange contact information.“

“Ooh! I love getting numbers!”

“Oh alright then.”

“Hey! That’s Old Peotone!” Pinkie exclaims when she maps it.

“Yep.”

Before I can give Pinkie the gate code, Rosalina texts,

“Sunset and Fluttershy are asleep. I can get Rarity.”

“She hasn’t texted me yet, so if you still want to, you can.”

“That’s fine. I’m already on my way out.”

“Ok. I’ll let her know. Thanks for covering.” I finish to Rosalina before composing a new text.

“Hey Rarity, Rosalina will be picking you up.” I then say to those around me, “Okay, never mind. I guess I can just take you to my place.”

“Hooray!” Pinkie Pie exclaims.

“So, your car?” I ask obligatorily.

“Nope. Older sister’s.”

“Good stuff.” I say as Dash and Scootaloo join me.

Giving a good rev after startup, I withhold a ‘teenage boy in a fast car’ smirk as Dash puts her belt on. I check the security of Scootaloo’s belt and put her in gear after Pinkie starts up hers.

As we make good time on I-57, I spot a G-Class going the other direction. I’m pretty sure it was Rosalina, but my eyes could’ve fooled me.

My reply from Rarity comes just as we reach my airport.

“Okay darling. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“I’ll be taking your parents to the airport, so yes. Tomorrow.”

“Fabulous, darling! Toodles!”

After all three of them pick their own gate, I get two texts within a few seconds of each other.

“Hello,” Twilight’s message begins. “I’m running just a little behind. I’ll let you know when we get closer.”

“Howdy Captain,” Applejack’s text says, “we’re about 5 minutes away. Sorry for coming so late.”

I send the same message to the two of them, “It’s no trouble. Hope all is well. We’re still waiting for [Applejack/Twilight] too, so it’s all good.”

As the clock passes 21:00, I head to the front to wait for our inbound traffic. A few minutes later, two cars roll up to my position.

The first car under the light is a Subaru Legacy. I head up to the window and greet the driver.

“Good evening.” She says. “I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

“Miss Sparkle. Pleasure to meet you.” I greet her offering my hand. “Split Scimitar. But you can just call me Max.”

“Nice to meet you.” She says shaking my hand. “I know I said I was bringing one more, but he had a last minute emergency.”

“Aw, that’s unfortunate. Nevertheless, welcome. Just follow me in.” I say heading to the F-150 behind her.

“Hello.” I respond as the driver lowers the window. “Split Scimitar. I just go by Max.”

“Well, Howdy do, Captain Max!” She says excitedly offering her hand. “I’m Applejack, and as promised, I’ve brought my family.”

“A p-p-p-p-pleasure.” I say as she gives me a proper country shake. “This here’s my brother Big Macintosh.” She points to the passenger seat. “My lil’ sis Apple Bloom,” pointing behind him, “and the legend herself, Granny Smith!” She concludes, both backseat passengers asleep.

“Fantastic! If you’ll follow Miss Sparkle and I, I’ll show you around!”

“Yeehaw!”

After closing the gate behind us, I direct them to the garage, parking on level 1 of 14. After everyone steps out, I point out each gate for lodging.

Now that all parties are in Illinois, I head to sleep just shy of 23:00, excited for another holiday season.

Author's Note

During this past holiday season (Christmas 2018-New Years 2019), I had a bunch of panic attacks, with no specific triggers, nor an identifiable source. I don’t want to do anyone who suffers from anxiety a disservice, but what is portrayed is as much as I can remember and put into words.

CPDLC stands for Controller–Pilot Data Link Communications. Essentially, it works like a pager. Communication with Air Traffic Control this way keeps the radio waves clear, especially when a route of flight has to be amended.

Langka is Tagalog for jackfruit, popularly used as a substitute in pulled pork. I personally enjoy it most as a snacking fruit.

DJABBIC stands for “Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover.” The car is affectionately named Terence.

Stevenson is I-55, short for the Adlai Stevenson Expressway.

Edens is I-94, which runs concurrent with I-90 up to the split. I-94 then heads north to suburbs where I’m from while I-90 heads towards O’Hare.

Kennedy is the Kennedy Expressway, which runs from O’Hare on I-190 east to I-90, then meets I-94 where they run concurrent, ending at I-290 near Grant Park.

(I love freeways.)