When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. ~Hunter S. Thompson
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| State and Grand Subway Station |
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| Written by Administrator | |||
| Thursday, 30 April 2009 01:27 | |||
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This was my first time to ride the trains of Chicago. I think I am probably too old to come to a big city like this all by myself again. That realization is one of those sad moments in life. But, you never know. Back a few years ago I said the same thing about main floors at rock shows. Since then, Saliva, Nickelback and Nine Inch Nails, thanks to my brother Brian and The Stash. But, big cities somehow seem scarier than they used to. It is too easy to make mistakes. My radar for "is anyone paying too much attention to me?" was once finely honed. Now I have to worry if I am missing things. Does it all come down to the old joke; I don't have to run faster than the bad guys, I only have to run faster than you. Still though, even with all my worries, people have been amazingly friendly here. Much more so than I have experienced in past trips to Chicago. Having never ridden a train before, I popped into the nearest repository of local information, for a quick pint. It was, by coincidence a Minnesota brew, The excellent Surly I.P.A. My bartender scrambled for his backpack, pulled out his laptop and within moments we had a full screen transit map. A two block walk south, at the transit station, I met a great guy, the transit worker at the station. I asked some of my same questions --because I am a traveller, and I know to never ask directions just once. Ask at least twice. Then, search out a tie breaker if you need one. On the train, I met Matt, who some would describe as a "real jew". His brother was an orthodox jew living in Israel. It doesn't get any more real than that. Matt lived with his brother for a few years. His only lament, he missed the whole shift of rock and roll music that was Kurt Cobane and Nirvana. Matt also fine tuned my guess as to what station I needed to get off at, quoted some Winston Churchill, and expressed his views on karma. At one point, comparing lives we discovered we had lived within two blocks of one another in 1984. Downtown Chicago was fun. A pizza and beer at Pizzeria Due. A place where I have eaten a pizza every couple of years for the past 30 years. Then, back into the subway for the trip north. I gave half of my pizza to these three guys. They entertained my ears with calypso sounds, Bob Marley, Boardwalk, New York - New York. They were great. I wish I would have had more for them than half a pizza split three ways. They sang with joy, though their lives must be filled with hardship.
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 March 2010 15:06 |
