Dad said Cub fan was too young for '45 Series

Jerry Pritikin, a retired publicist and photographer, still loves his city, even though it wasn't a very nurturing place for him as a young man.

At 71, Pritikin calls himself "one of those crazy Chicago characters." He knows a thing or two about how our city of neighborhoods has changed over the years.

Here are a few things he's learned:

- When we were kids, the worst we would do to each other if we got in a fight -- and that didn't happen too often -- was to have a roll of nickels in your hand when you punched someone. No one got stabbed or hit with a baseball bat or certainly not shot. I don't really understand how kids at such young ages get killed these days. I …