September 20, 2001
By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
Dispelling stereotypes that
twentysomethings like nothing better than sniffing out cheap deals at a
thrift store, the cast of "The Real World" enjoyed a shopping spree along
the Magnificent Mile.
"They all had many different
shopping bags, but they all had bags from the Banana Republic," says Jennifer
Mott, 25, of Wrigleyville. "I noticed the cameramen were not allowed to
follow them in the stores. Each time [the cast] went into a store, they
had to take their mikes off. But when they came out of a store, they gladly
got hooked back up."
Well, not all the time.
When they wanted to have private conversations away from the soundman's
ears, the kids were savvy enough to unhook their mikes and scamper off
to the benches at Water Tower Place. They also ran to public pay phones
at Michigan and Chicago avenues to make private calls.
Mott, a self-proclaimed
fan of the MTV series, was pretty impressed with the cast. But she says
no one else seemed to notice them.
"There are so many tourists
on Michigan Avenue as well as films that have shot here that I think that
most people just assumed that they were shooting a commercial or something,"
she says. "It was fun spotting them, and I'm definitely going to watch
them when the show airs. But I would've watched it anyhow."
Oh, yeah. She's not sure
whether it was Kyle or Chris whom she spotted shopping with Kelly and company,
but she says he was h-o-t.
Sounds like Chris, to us.
Not that the female cast
members don't hold their own with the men in town. Security guard Renard
M. Mayfield met several of the ''Real World'' crew when they visited the
Harold Washington Library Center.
"I must say I mostly noticed
Tanya," Renard says. "She is an attractive woman. She struck up a conversation
with me when she saw my name tag. She was trying to guess what my first
name was, considering it only reads 'R. Mayfield.' I eventually told her
that the 'R' stood for Renard and she said it was unique. Whether that
was good or bad, I don't know.
"My short encounter with
them was primarily on the elevator and walking through the library for
a few moments. But I would love the opportunity to sit and talk to them.
If I was lucky enough, I would love to visit the Wicker Park house and
also take them out to some of Chicago's clubs and restaurants."
Got a scoop about "The Real World" in Wicker Park? E-mail me at realworld@suntimes.com
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