Summer Vacation - Chicagoland

The next afternoon I was rolling my way through the Hudson Valley, to start the next leg of my voyage.  Chicago-bound.  Blissful and sore, I happily rested on my way to my family.  A particularly popular route, this train was noticeably more full than the New Orleans-New York train. I sat next to a teenage boy traveling with his parents. An American teenager through and through, annoyed to be still dependent on his parents yet asserting his independence through blaring headphones, I welcomed his disinterest in my story so that I could focus on recharging myself after such an eventful weekend.

Reaching Chicago a mere 45 minutes behind schedule, astounded, I gratefully climbed into Jenelle’s car.  We got breakfast and continued to gush about the wedding.  Everyone was out of the house when I arrived at midday to my family’s house.  The adults at work and the kids at camp, I made myself comfortable preparing for the force of the combined enthusiasm of an 11 and 7 year old.

I hung out with my niece and nephew for a week, reconnecting with them everyday after camp.  My mother found a walking tour book of Chicago. We amended that by driving the suggested routes. Wicker Park, Bucktown, Old Town and the Gold Coast neighborhoods all had beautiful architecture and all proved to be uniquely important to the overall development of the city.  I saw my sister and brother-in-law rarely through my visit because of their work schedules.  However, I did manage to bike throughout the city.  One of my bike trips was to the pier where the Aquarium, Planetarium and Field Museum are to see Jenelle’s favorite view of the city sky-line.  Another of my bike trips was to Wrigleyville where Jenelle, her college friend – Eric, our rez roommate – Heather, and I met for dinner.  I probably biked over 20 miles of the city’s pristine bike lanes.

My mother and I also took a drive to Evanston on one of her afternoon’s off from work.  We headed along the lake, admiring the gorgeous Americana classic mansions of Chicago suburbia, and further along into the town of Willette in which a Ba’hai Temple stood.  At first look, I thought it was a Jewish Temple.  Something about the lettering and the apostrophes, it looked like it could be Hebrew.  But as we toured the grounds, I discovered a brand new religious ethos that I had no concept of existing prior to taking that drive that day.  There was something very magnetic about the Temple’s presence. It drew me in.  There is a visitor center in which many questions are addressed about the ethos of the practitioners of Ba’hai.  Apparently the central tenants of this philosophy focuses on the acceptance of all beings on earth as one tribe of many.  That all religious thought - from Buddhism to Christianity to any other religion in existence – are right, they all lead to the one truth of a higher power.  The placards with interracial, inter-age, inter-sex couples stated that Ba’hais seek to end world poverty and work for global equality of standards for human rights.  The ideas really spoke to me.  I couldn’t figure out why I never heard of this group previously.  I also couldn’t figure out why, of all places, this glorious temple - with pristine lawns shaped like flower pedals encompass the structure drawing the circular energy into the center and up through the dome of the Temple – is in suburban Chicago.  And on top of that, the Temple was built with only contributions from the parishioners, no political or economic affiliations.  Who are these benefactors, so wealthy, so focused on peace and eradication of world poverty, and why does this seem so underground.

In the visitor center, I bought a book explaining the history of Ba’hai through stories of its prophet.  It started feeling close to a cult so I retracted. But there is a Ba’hai group in New Orleans and I got their contact information so I might sniff them out down here.

Jenelle arrived in Chicago to her mother stating that she is planning a surprise birthday party for her.  Tim Ritz, Eric, Heather and Pete, her siblings, and Matt were all in on the surprise.  Pete and Heather were out of town for Heather’s sister’s wedding.  Matt was by chance in town from NY.  Tim Ritz had just been in Brooklyn still convinced that I stole a taxi the night before the wedding. Eric and Jenelle went to Rutgers together and he lives in Chicago.  The surprise happened at Mickey’s Pub and I went to the 4200 block of Clarke instead of the 2400 block.  I was an hour and half late.  No one picked up their phones.  Then my mother did, and she began directing me to Mickey’s Pub.  Mid-way through my frantic disgust of being lost, sitting at a stop light I saw a biker get doored.  I said Mom I just saw a woman get hit by a car door.  Thud.  It was awful, one minute she was upright, the next she was on the ground. Thud. I heard it from the 50 or so feet I was away from the scene.  I stopped being up tight about being late for Jenelle’s party.  The biker got up, she looked a bit shaken up.  She wore her helmet and she didn’t look like she was bleeding but she would enjoy some really nasty bruising.  She was up like a champ, her bike was a bit mangled.  I continued on Clarke hanging up with my mom and shaking off the amplified sound of the car hitting the bike and the woman hitting the ground.  It was all too close to home since I fear the day that happens to me.

The last night in Chicago, my family went to the dog beach.  I love when we all do something together.  It happens rarely these days but feeling all of us together makes me really happy.  The dog beach is probably one of the happiest places on earth.  The pure joy and glee that dogs feel on this beach spills over into tangible excitement.  Dogs get this shimmer in their eyes when they are happy and feel free, its hard not to smile.  Its also hard not to smile when you can tell that a dog is also smiling.  Sitting on the beach watching all the dogs play freely I smiled.  I looked to my right and a medium sized retriever pounced on me. Pinning me to the sand, hurtling over me and running a circle around me, I think he felt my glee and was attracted to it. I think he wanted me to play with them and have fun with them.  I think he knew how much I’d enjoy that.  Sitting up, laughing, I look over to the water and see my sister in hysterics.  She caught the whole thing too.  We looked at each other and laughed.  The sun set and we all went home.