Painting the Way

According to Krygier and Wood, a map is a portrayal/representation of a large or small portion of the earth, or even the earth itself. It has projective neutrality. A map is related to the world it depicts. This is because it gives a picture or 2-D view of the area it shows. We as humans are incorrect when we look at a map and say, “This is Chicago.” We are not looking at Chicago itself. We are looking at a bird’s-eye-view of Chicago, whether we are set in Chicago or not. In order for that statement to be correct, we would have to be above Chicago or in the streets that make the city.

Why do we make maps? Without maps, humans would have no way of getting to and from places of long distance. Technically, we could, but it would be much more difficult than it would be with a GPS or even a paper map. We make maps so that we may navigate land with ease, long or short distance.

Word Count: 172

Paint chips are easy to pick, but not nearly as easy to follow. In a big city like Chicago, one would believe that the paint chips chosen would be easy to match. This simply isn’t the case. We can begin with how the day felt.

Fullerton station — 11:30 am

It was a hot, sunny day. It was also humid. At that time, there were many DePaul students presumably waiting for the Red line train. I was waiting for the Brown line. The smells coming from Whole Foods were intoxicating, making my mouth water. I was listening to music, as always. The song in particular that I was listening to was Spaceships by AREA21. I remember this specifically because I got super excited about hearing this song for the first time in a long while.

Brown line — 11:45 am

I’m listening to A-Team by Ed Sheeran, getting all in my feels. I notice a singular light on this train car, which is a bright blue. I match it to my first paint chip. I take a picture of the light, which receives a weird glance from the woman sitting across from me. The man next to me is sweating profusely, and I understand. It’s very humid on the Brown line, since there’s more people on it in the middle of the day.

11:56 am

We’ve stopped on a bridge “waiting for signal clearance.” This happens every day. The river reflects itself upon the glass windows along the river and Riverwalk. I’ve paused my music to take pictures of the buildings outside. I can hear a woman talking to someone about her problems with breastfeeding. She’s quite loud. It also smells like gasoline or smoke of some sort. It makes me want to gag.

Washington and Wells — 12:00 pm

I’ve gotten off the Brown line and begun walking aimlessly. This proves difficult. The streets are full of people. Someone pushed me on the stairs and I fell. My leg hurts. I mentally flip off the person who did it because physically doing it is 1. More rude 2. Not in my nature. The Dunkin Donuts across the street is calling my name, because coffee and donuts are every person’s best friend (and if they say it’s not, they’re lying). I look to my right and find a building labeled “DINE.” It has little multicolored squares on it, one of which matches my pink paint chip. I follow the building down Madison Street, where I encounter the Lyric Opera building.

Lyric Opera — 12:05 pm

Employees are protesting. I have no idea why at first. Upon further research at home, I found out that strikers seem to be upset about new management and new budgets. Anthony Freud, the Lyric General, wants to try and increase revenue, but employees don’t like how he’s doing it. (source: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/news/lyric-opera-musicians-strike-0?utm_source=breaking-news&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20181009&utm_content=hero-readmore). I spoke with my close friend Amy Nicholson, who has worked with the Lyric in Turandot (among others). She said, “They’re attempting to negotiate contracts and management is demanding too many cutbacks.” It seems to just be the Orchestra who has gone on strike since management can not come to an acceptable contract. They are working on a Save Lyric campaign due to management moving from Lyric Opera towards Lyric Unlimited. That is as much information as she was able to disclose.

Side note: Heaven Has No Name by Jeremy Renner is playing at the moment in which I take the video of the strikers.

Madison Street — 12:07 pm

There is a pink “N” and a homeless man, who I saw that morning, is on the side of the street asking for spare change and wishing people a good day. I hate passing by people who need money because I never have any on me. I keep my head low, and follow other people, who are heading to the Metra station. I’m listening to “Happier” by Marshmello. It’s hot, even though I’m close to the lake. I’m sweating and I’m thirsty.

Ogilvie Transportation Center — 12:10 pm

It smells like a mixture of Starbucks and train fuel in the station. The floors are glossy, as usual. OTC is usually like an oasis in the heart of Downtown. The Hudson News sign is a bright blue, so I match it to my paint chip. Other things that matched included the electronic panel, Metra logo, and concourse sign. I’m exhausted and want to go home. I get on the train and wait the twenty minutes until the train departs.

Word Count: 758