At 4:15AM, my alarm clock reminded me that it was time to remove 6" of snow and ice off of my car so I could drive New Roomie (& his GF) to Midway Airport. 2 hours of fitful sleep was erased by a hot shower and the will to deliver my precious cargo to their destination on the South Side.
The city never got around to plowing the side streets last night, nor did they salt. My little Silver Bullet hemmed and hawed under the weight of it's 3 passenger's, to say nothing of their belongings, which occupied every nook.
LSD was blissfully free of traffic, which proved a double edged sword. Though one could travel at 60MPH, the slick road and the absence of many streetlights, made doing so a risky venture. Looking to the east, the vast inky void of the Lake proved no help, only a distraction.
Straight ahead South stood the mighty John Hancock, towering over everything around it, including itself; anything above 50 stories disappeared into the low hanging clouds. I thought about what it would look like if one lived high enough up there. It might just look like heaven.
Speeding over the Chicago River past the hollowed out non-sense of navy Pier, past the few elite residents of Lake Point Tower and onward toward the Museum Campus. The wall of historic buildings along Michigan Avenue in the not too far distance seemed to keep a wary eye on my progress, which was unimpeded by traffic lights.
Rounding the bend past the Field Museum, past the horror of Soldier's Field and the monstrosity of McCormick, I downshifted onto I-55 South, although my destination was sure as shit not St. Louis. No. We would take the route along the asshole of Chicago.
The "nice-part" of the city gives way to the reality that supports it all here. The sewage-treatment plants, coal-fired power stations, rail yards, asphalt factories, incinerators. It's very Gotham like at 5AM on little to no sleep with 2 silent passengers, eager to catch a plane home...
The city never got around to plowing the side streets last night, nor did they salt. My little Silver Bullet hemmed and hawed under the weight of it's 3 passenger's, to say nothing of their belongings, which occupied every nook.
LSD was blissfully free of traffic, which proved a double edged sword. Though one could travel at 60MPH, the slick road and the absence of many streetlights, made doing so a risky venture. Looking to the east, the vast inky void of the Lake proved no help, only a distraction.
Straight ahead South stood the mighty John Hancock, towering over everything around it, including itself; anything above 50 stories disappeared into the low hanging clouds. I thought about what it would look like if one lived high enough up there. It might just look like heaven.
Speeding over the Chicago River past the hollowed out non-sense of navy Pier, past the few elite residents of Lake Point Tower and onward toward the Museum Campus. The wall of historic buildings along Michigan Avenue in the not too far distance seemed to keep a wary eye on my progress, which was unimpeded by traffic lights.
Rounding the bend past the Field Museum, past the horror of Soldier's Field and the monstrosity of McCormick, I downshifted onto I-55 South, although my destination was sure as shit not St. Louis. No. We would take the route along the asshole of Chicago.
The "nice-part" of the city gives way to the reality that supports it all here. The sewage-treatment plants, coal-fired power stations, rail yards, asphalt factories, incinerators. It's very Gotham like at 5AM on little to no sleep with 2 silent passengers, eager to catch a plane home...
4 comments:
good morning batman.... weekend's coming stud! later.
That was practically poetry until you had to rip on my fair city.
Aw, that was beautiful stuff. I love the John Hancock as well. There is something about standing next to those iron girders, and touching the bones of the building. And, hey, I love the line "the asshole of Chicago." Pure poetry. I think I live in the lower intestines of Dallas. Not quite the asshole, but not the nipples either.
Maybe it's nothing but I really liked the way you wrote this.
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