Life in the Big City - Chicago

As part of the day job, I frequently make trips into The Big City of Chicago. Some people love the city, and I'll admit, there are days I look forward to the adventure, but it's a long commute, and most days, its "the Big City." I'm not a city sort of person. Give me the wide open spaces. With that being said, there are lots of things you see in the city that you don't see in the suburbs or those wide open spaces.

YUM!

Frequently, man-on-the-street marketers hang around the train stations at rush hour handing out free
samples. Most recently, they handed me two milk chocolate Lindor balls. How can you go wrong with chocolate? And Lindt? My Favorite! Those fine people started my day off with a smile.

As I continued my trek over the bridge that crosses the Chicago River, I encountered a busker playing bagpipes. I didn't stop to take a picture because, contrary to the picture I'm showing you here, he was NOT wearing a kilt or any sort of traditional garb (or blowing flames from his pipes), but he was very good, and he was playing Scotland The Brave. With chocolates in hand, he made me smile and want to cry out "Wha-Hae!" (but again, I didn't.)



via GIPHY

There are often buskers, from the Bucket Boys who pay plastic buckets like drums, to violinists, to saxophones to trumpets and beyond. I have yet to hear one that isn't impressive. There are festivals and open-air markets, and you never know who you might see walking the streets. These are the things that make going to the city an experience, things that make you smile rather than clutching your belongings tightly and putting your head down.

At the end of my day, I frequently encounter a woman sitting on the bridge reading a book. There are also veterans outside the train stations, down on their luck, many of them missing limbs. They are a stark reminder that we have much to do to help those in need.

The city. An adventure any day of the week. I may not be a "city person," but I am proud to call Chicago and the surrounding area my home.

Symmetry

The post in which I confirm for many of you that I am, indeed, a weirdo.

I was walking in the Big City the other day, on my way back to the office after lunch with Janet, when I happened to look up (it's always a good idea to look up while you're walking, especially in the Big City). And in Chicago, you look ^UP. Maybe it's because my latest book has architecture in it, but I was struck by the symmetry of these four buildings - Presidential Towers (and yes, that's the Willis Tower in the background, pronounced here in Chicago as SEARS Tower). Chicago is full of fine examples of architecture, unusual looking buildings, unique designs, skyscrapers, but for some reason, I'd never noticed these four towers, identical, built in perfect symmetry. Sure, I've heard of the twin towers in New York, and we have Marina Towers right here in Chicago, identical or mirror image buildings standing side by side, but maybe I wasn't paying attention to know what or where these buildings were. Staggered the way they are, at an angle across two blocks, they made an impression on me and my sense of symmetry.

Inspiration is everywhere, and I think I've mentioned that many times in interviews and blog posts and whatnot. I can't say the Presidential Towers inspired me, but they did make the world stop for a moment, not an easy feat in a busy city like Chicago. This might be one of the first instances where I wasn't inspired to write, but what I was writing inspired me to see something I hadn't noticed before.

Often, when I'm writing, I surprise myself by drawing parallels, plot points that conveniently (or maybe subconsciously were created to) come together. There's a beauty in symmetry, something that reaches deep down inside and says "this is the way it was meant to be."