Lost and Found: A Financial District Experience
The Journey
(2:57) — The journey that never ended…begins. Rising from the depths of the “L” at the Jackson stop, I was greeted by a street flooded with teenagers. Tall, short, skinny, fat, boys, girls, and everything in between. My eyes were greeted with formal attire and the latter, all cover a teenage host. Everyone is walking fast, but not to fast, as direction seems to be in question for some as they clutch their phones navigating.
(3:00) — Looking to my right, I see a large wooden stick with an acorn and corkscrew attached to the end. The stick was accompanied by a homeless man in a wheelchair, a essential commodity to the sticks presence. (Attempted a picture but was shooed away by the same admirable stick).
(3:06) — My next encounter was part one of my series: Irony in the City. In front of a restaurant, a man of tremendous muscular proportions, a man that seemed he could hold the city on his shoulder, was selling something that crushed every preconception noted. Mr. Incredible was selling incense, demonstrating their effectiveness with a small stick that was about the size of one of his veins.
(3:11) Averting my gaze upwards, I notice men in a cart being roped up the side of a building. They were cleaning windows on a massive building. Reciting a quick prayer for their safety, I moved on not wanted to watch any longer.
(3:14) — Part 2 of the “Irony in the City” series. Imagine seeing the one person who basically defines health in your eyes, doing something that will bring them negative health effects or even death. I witnessed a nurse in full scrubs put out one cigarette while simultaneously lighting up another. Funny.
(3:17) —There is an ambulance speeding through traffic approaching the intersection I am waiting at. A man, possibly homeless and with obvious disability, sees a dollar in the intersection. He rushes into the intersection to grab the dollar, the ambulance is only about a hundred yards away. Money is worth more than life itself for some. The man walks on with his life, a dollar richer.
(3:20) — Never has my judgement been tasted quite like staring up at the Chase Tower. Is the building curved, or not! I also must say, that the courtyard surrounding it is a beautiful place to take a quick time out from the hustle and bustle of the city street. The courtyard was silent beyond the sound of the fountain and the occasional howl of wind. Entrancing artwork that I could stare at for hours made the area feel like a place of zen.
(3:22) — A clock stands tall over a seemingly tiny bench. I felt that whether meant to be symbolic or not, the clock over the bench was a way of saying “Time rules all”. When schedules are tight and days are long, time is of the most importance. I hope on day to look down on time, beat the game of life, create my own time instead of relying on others.
(3:28) — Traveling peeping into unknown land, I pass the Harris Trust & Savings Bank. Only now do I see the change in demographics. The people are older, suits more expensive, and conversations more business oriented.
(3:30) — Walking, just walking, looking into shops and restaurants. Finally, I look up to see the most intimidating building I have ever seen. If Godzilla was a building, it would be the Chicago Board of Trade. The behemoth was shaded at the bottom from other building, but gradually attracted more sun the further I looked up. The atmosphere around the building was eerily quiet, and overwhelming to say the least. I had to step into the street to get a proper picture of the massive structure.
(3:39) — Hidden. I almost missed the money museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Stepping off the streets and into the museum, I was greeted by a guard who instructed me through the security measures required for entry. The whole museum smelt of fresh bills. I became the newest/youngest chair of the Federal Reserve. Incredible, I must have serious talent.
(3:45) — Approaching the Willis Tower, everyone was sharing the same street but not in the same world. It was as if everyone was in an alternate dimension mentally while physically inches from one another.
(3:50) — Arriving upon the Willis Tower, I could feel the vibe change. I went from feeling like everyone around me was carrying out everyday duties to feeling as if everyone around me was doing something for the first time. The area around the Willis Tower held the most diverse groups of people I had yet to encounter. It was almost as if each nation send a representative to congregate outside the tower.
(4:00) — Why are there grown men in suits conversing with the same lingo I use with my friends? Walking past the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Center, it was odd being able to relate to adults conversations. This can either mean I am growing older and more mature, or the businessmen are of a generation not far off from mine. This is a concept I struggle with as it seems I am so far from my future, yet I am living it out every day.
(4:01) — The sound of an approaching helicopter forces my head along with other nearby to surge up almost as if we thought that it would be gone if we didn’t look quick enough. The helicopter seemed to be giving a tour over the city, a tour I would like to one day take part in.
(4:13) — I am passing an alley and smell something other than the usual sewage or trash. It was something rancid. I notice a bird, dead, pressed flat to the concrete. I thought about the bird. How could a creature with a god given gift such a flight, be crushed flat against the concrete. I feel like many people enter city life a bird. The city is inviting, so many gusts of wind enabling opportunity for success to whoever takes the opportunity. The city can also destroy, take someone able to thrive, able to fly, and crush them. Crush them flat against the concrete in an ally, while others who took the right gust of wind, thrive and survive above.
(4:30) — Next I see a huge parking garage, 10 floors later, I am on top of the huge parking garage. (For clarification, I did walk up the ramps all the way to the top in order to preserve my walking integrity). The view was breathtaking, I was the bird, above the city streets and indifferent to other people.
Secret of the City
I got very lost on my way back to the train station, which will explain my hour of un-noted trek and 6.62 mile log on my walking app. While attempting to find my way back I thought of an alternative take on the city and found it necessary to share. Take what you want from this and interpret as needed, “Everyone can be anyone that has everything. The city is a cloak that only reveals those that want to be revealed.”
