careykirk.com

“Do you like Chicago?”

I tend to get asked this question a lot, and I honestly don’t know how to answer it.
It feels like Chicago and I dated casually for a good year or two, and then trouble reared its ugly head. Little things Chicago did would get under my nerves - ya know, how chomping really loudly with your mouth open does or antagonizing you in your moments of rest. I can tell Chicago isn’t the happiest with me right now either. I stopped going out to dance and drink whiskey as much, and limited my adventures to the weekend. Because, well, Chicago I am sorry - but it’s hard waking up at 4:30 in the morning and sitting on your public transportation for an hour and a half just to work a 9 hour day. Chicago why don’t you understand!!

The thing about this trouble between Chicago and I is that neither of us know how to acknowledge it yet. We know we should probably talk about it, figure it out, come to some conclusions. But instead we just ignore it. I try to see the cup half full on most days, but lately it’s been hard. Chicago is full of murderers and gang members and people who want to steal your money and cut you up. At least that’s what the news reports, and what I see living in the lovely Humboldt Park.

And in light of my recent encounter everyone is a bad guy.

But it looks as though Chicago is trying to see the cup half full, too. And, I give her credit.

Friday morning though she was testing me. I awake to sheets of rain outside. I check the weather to find out that it is going to last all day. Great! I am meeting my partners for work at a different location than normal to plan, and this means I have to take two buses and walk a good 5 blocks over the Amtrak tracks to get to them… in the rain. Okay, Chicago let’s do this. I grab my umbrella, and head out. See though, Chicago can’t make up its mind and is always changing the rules somewhere along the way. On Friday it was in the name of bus stops! They moved the bus stop to the other side of the street. Only problem…there is a car parked in front of the bus stop, a small tree blocking the driver’s view of any pedestrians waiting, and a large puddle (okay more like a pond now) on the road for cars to splash on through as they drive 10 over the speed limit on Western avenue.

I’m sure you know where I am going. The bus driver completely passed me up! I waved with my big yellow umbrella - HEY!!! But she just kept on going. This means I have to wait another 15 minutes in the rain. Then of course Chicago is a little tempermental and decides to blow my umbrella in to the street! I am sans umbrella. I run back to the house (at this point the sun has come up) to get another umbrella, but my key gets stuck in the door. I have to wake up Nathan through a phone call to let me in because I cannot get the key out.

Chicago knows how to push my buttons.

Finally I get on a bus going south on Western, and arrive at my next stop. There is a guy waiting there with me about my age, but his day might even be worse. He doesn’t have a jacket or an umbrella, and while he looks nice enough he could be a bad guy. This is Chicago after all. I think to offer him a spot under my umbrella with me but decide against it. Right now I don’t care about humanity. He decides to ask me when the bus will show up (because I had checked it on bus tracker - okay Chicago I see you are trying with this one), and I tell him four minutes. He looks pitiful - cold, wet, and nice. I offer to let him stand under my umbrella.

And, just like that…
We are two strangers attempting small talk in the cold rain under one umbrella.

And this is when I realize that not all of Chicago is bad. There are good people here. There are good moments here. There are good times here (had and to be had). It just ebbs and flows like all relationships. And, if this is going to work, Chicago and I are going to have to meet in the middle.