Are you ready for a meandering post with lots of links that will eventually take you all the way to Chicago for a nice surprise? Well, read on then.
When I got in my car yesterday, I was pleased to see sand on the passenger seat. That may not make sense to most folks, but I live for being in and around water. People look at me funny when I tell them that I feel more comfortable being in water than on land. Of course, they normally look at me funny even when I don’t say anything. Science teaches us that our evolutionary ancestors crawled from the oceans. Well, I would like to crawl back.
Anyway, that sand came from a Boxing Day (Dec 26th) kayak excursion. I carry my kayak in my vehicle, so the sand must have come off the bottom of the craft. It was a grey, chilly, wet day, and I loved every moment on the water. Seeing the sand made me smile as I recalled my first kayak of the winter season. Maybe another one later today?
After swimming outdoors in my illegal swimming hole all the way into early October, my plan was to start legally swimming indoors in November. Well, COVID had other plans for me, but I finally made it back to the pool in December. It felt odd after 2+ months off, and I looked a bit ungainly in the water. How do I know I looked ungainly? Well, the lifeguards that were training at the other side of the pool kept coming over to “rescue” me every time I swam a lap. Despite that, I surprised myself and made 0.40 miles. Not bad for my first indoor winter swim.
Now Chicago offers me a unique way to enjoy the water outdoors all winter long.
I love the comment about a “few extra bubbles.” The Chicago River has rebounded from a miserably polluted waterway to be brimming with wildlife including Chonkosaurus the giant snapping turtle (video narrated by the most Chicago guy ever) and recreation like those electric hot tub boats, kayaks, and maybe even swimming someday. Did you know that the Chicago River runs backwards? If you watch that video, you’ll know why the people in the South hated Chicago in the days before the sewage was treated prior to discharge.
Well, I guess the South still hates Chicago aided by the Fox News narrative that Chicago is a filthy, crime-ridden cesspool. I disagree.
My family roots run deep in Chicago. My maternal grandfather worked in the steel mills on the southeast side of Chicago making the steel that literally helped build Chicago. He died young. My father was a plumber who installed the plumbing in the Chicago Stockyards to help feed Chicago and the rest of the country. He also died young. You can see a disturbing trend there, but there’s no chance of me dying young. I’m already old.
I love Chicago, but we settled 40 miles west to raise a family where there was open space, woods, a river running through town, a creek next to our house, and a neighborhood lake. My 2 oldest children moved to Chicago to make it their home, at least for a while. I think a third child may end up there once she finishes her Master’s program. Chicago’s gravitational pull is strong.
There’s a great intro to Episode 7, Season 1 of the FX Series The Bear, available streaming on Hulu. It displays the beautiful raw grittiness of Chicago. Introduced by beloved radio personality Lin Brehmer (RIP) from 93.1 WXRT, the world’s greatest radio station, it had me in tears from start to finish as I pondered my good fortune to live in the shadow of such a great city.
As a side note, one of my oldest daughter’s brushes with greatness was renting a house in Holland, Michigan once lived in by Sujfan Stevens. As a side note to a side note, Holland, Michigan is just a 3 hour drive from Chicago and has some incredible Lake Michigan beaches with beautiful sand superior to the river sand found in my car yesterday. And so this post has come full circle which is a good place to end.
Jim Flanigan Looks at the World 