Chicago pt. III

Well when we last left our friend Justin, he was walking into dusk along Lake Michigan, pondering the very state of his own existence. (Flips switch from 3rd to 1st person) Really the most unexpected experience of the trip was wandering down towards the grassy hill atop the Adler Observatory and just taking stock of everything, not only of the adventures of the day, but of every thought and emotion that had been spinning around inside unattended to. I could slowly feel it pushing through, like the bottleneck of an hourglass, and dissolving in the sunset.

Things started taking on new meanings. Seeing couples in warm embrace & how it would always leave a half-smile but also slightly more and more gloom and hopelessness as I went. Now it was the most wonderful thing ever, to think of love born, love rekindled, love invigorated.... I couldn't help but to laugh and to swing along the lampposts.

And I wrote and it was just so clear. I lied in the grass and just let it come through instead of trying to schedule it all. Just let it all wash over. It was just the breeze and the water against the shore and the harp music from the outdoor dinner party just melting together into the most peaceful feeling. All these airplanes silently gliding above, lights flashing and the lighthouse off the shore spinning its beam... I really believed then as I do now that this could be a single night to bring the pieces back together. To have a jumping point, to bring everyone good in my life together and to say "this day is the first day of the rest of my life".

So after an unnecessary-but-did-it-do-say-that-I-did-it L-train trip, walking through the city at night took on this glorious meaning. All the chic fashion stores lined up made me smile, and the fountain in the center basically summed it together. Going to the music show almost seemed like a great anti-climax.

But of course I did. My leg muscles were strained to physical exhaustion and I walked through what probably might have looked like the textbook definition of a seemy downtown area, but it totally wasn't (Chicago is way good like that with their police force, you could literally walk anywhere at any time of day/night and feel under a blanket of comfort, I speak from experience) and even if it had been that way, like I could tell at that point. I wasn't there, I was on cloud 9. Basically crawled to the show, and true to the spirit of the day, the pain was washed away once the notes came into my ears and freak dancing and singing aloud and then walking into the police siren lullabies back to my automobile.

I can't think of any more words to bring this all into the right light. So here are some photographs that maybe help. If they said 1000 words they'd not be enough:

(click to enlarge)

Sears tower voyeurism; the train yard


My first dino, the museum


better than my t-rex pic; dinosaurs are cool


My permanent phone background; almost bought
for the kid that I don't even have

Almost as big as a dino; dolphin excitement


Just floating about; chillin with penguins


Adler Observatory; my hilltop perch at daylight















A moment in time/timeless moment