I'm Still Not From Around Here

Conversation with box office patron, by phone:

Patron: "Are there little busses that go to your theater?"

Me: "Ah, there are several public transit busses that service the area...I'm afraid I'm not sure what you mean by little busses."

P: "Well, I'm not from around here."

M: "Ah.....:

P: "We're going to be at Navy Pier [which she pronounced as if very carefully enunciating a foreign language out of a guidebook]. Are you far away?"

M: "The theater is about five miles north of downtown Chicago."

P: "How far are you from the Magnificent Mile?"

M: "That's downtown, and the theater is about five miles north of downtown."

P: "Oh, so you're by University of Chicago."

M: "Well, the University is south of downtown. The theater is north of downtown."