Funny Things Chicago Style

1) Lincoln Park. Walking to an early morning appointment, a college girl runs by me in an ultra short, skin tight American Apparel looking mini skirt and a sheer white tank. Massive heals in hand, bare feet on the sidewalk. Maybe she figured if she ran past everyone, people would notice her less? Dodged into her apartment. Oh, college morning afters Chicago style. It must have been a cold walk of shame.

2) The next few stories are funny... but that sad, I'm uncomfortable, kind of humor.

Woman walks towards her car parked by the bus stop and tells her friend "God, I had so much whisky tonight." She progresses to enter the vehicle and turn on her car. Her friend sits in passenger seat and they drive off... good luck to them. Hope they got home safe.

3) Late night ride home on the bus. (Something unfamiliar after a few months of living in the woods). Bus isn't packed, but is relatively full. A bunch of young guys are sitting near the front. They've obviously been drinking but don't look like too much trouble. One announces that he's had fifteen shots. A third of a fifth, or something like that. The bus drives on for a while and makes the usual stops in Uptown where odd things tend to happen, not because the people getting on are bad or anything but there's a high concentration of mentally ill and homeless people around those blocks and the bus ride reflects this.

The young guys make space for a middle aged woman wearing three coats (it's not that cold).

"Would you like to sit down mam? Let me make some space for you"

"Thank you. Bless you"

"No bless you. Praise Jesus Christ..."

This led to ten minutes of banter where the youngens teased the woman. She didn't seem upset because she really thought they were praying with her. The feeling on the bus was tense. Everyone knew the guys were messing with the woman but no one seemed to be getting hurt so... she got off the bus without much more of an uproar than more phony Jesus talk. The guys were putting on an act and everyone else on the bus was a reluctant audience.

That's when the attention shifted from the woman to a man with the worst skin condition on his legs I've ever seen. Not that I'm an expert, but it was scary looking. He had a trash bag with him full of old beat up magazines and books. He took one out, some kind of fashion magazine and offered it to the drunk guys for a dollar. This led to another twenty minutes of entertainment for the young "gentlemen." They passed around the magazines. They negotiated prices and told the old man that he was in the wrong business. Instead of pulling out just any magazine from trash cans and dumpsters, he needed to look specifically for booty magazines. Porn would leave him flush with cash. They went into detail about this. I moved to the back of the bus. The man took his sales job seriously and it was sad to watch. He obviously had some kind of dementia or mental problem. Did he have family or anyone taking care of him?

4) Lovely experience at a sports bar. Sarcasm implied. Obviously.

Interaction with friend of a friend of a friend, while person I knew was in the bathroom.

"Hey if X strikes out with you, you should give me a call. I've got a king size bed and I've been staring down your shirt all night. You took your vitamins. Good job."

WHAT!? As a friend later said... "Why do the rudest apes always approach women in bars? Because the cute ones are more subtle and don't need to... "

At any rate, I almost wanted to hear more of his gibberish since it's such great material and hard to make up...

Well... that's all for now folks. Until next time.

Nomadic Life

Being a nomad is not the same as being a drifter. A nomad has a connection to a way of life that includes a sense of community and tradition even if people are not always together or on a particular piece of land. A drifter is an individual who's defined by being unattached and floating in the wind and currents.

The online Oxford Dictionary defines nomad as, "a member of a people having no permanent abode, and who travel from place to place to find fresh pasture for their livestock... a person who does not stay long in the same place; a wanderer." Its origin comes from the "late 16th century: from French nomade, via Latin from Greek nomas, nomad-'roaming in search of pasture', from the base of nemein 'to pasture'" (http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/nomad?region=us). Its definition of a drifter is "1 a person who is continually moving from place to place, without any fixed home or job. 2 a fishing boat equipped with a drift net." (http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/drifter?region=us)

A nomad travels in search of fresh pasture. A drifter floats along like a boat with a cast net. Both travel to maintain a livelihood and nourishment, but only one, by definition is "a member of a people having no permanent abode." A nomad is linked to tradition and community, even when wandering alone. What is the modern equivalent of leading sheep to fresh pastures?

Rural Escapades

Running in the woods feels amazing. Not in a park. Not on a path next to a river or a lake bordering a highway, but in the actual woods. No smog, no bus sounds, no creepy strangers, just creepy neighbors. Okay that's not fair, my neighbors aren't creepy (anymore).

So much better than running on the road. No cars and the dirt actually gives a little bit, unlike pavement. It's that non-choreographed relationship with nature that feels great. Parks don't do it justice.

The tics, mosquitoes, mud, rain and broken branches? Obstacles and necessary evils. Maybe. Are tics really necessary?

Old friends. Old friends are amazing. You know who you are. You can tell them everything, thinking it's everything, and they fill in the blanks.

Running with an old friend, thinking of a montage of the runs that came before and laughing as I struggle to keep up. Sometimes it's me. Sometimes it's her. This time it's me. Why doesn't running shape last forever? I guess that would defeat the purpose of actually having to keep up a practice and run.

Homemade pies, home cooking, neighborhood woods and staying home with a book. It's good to be back in New England.