Wandering Chicago- A Literal Walk, Down Memory Lane.
I started my walk-off in North Center at my old work (my dad's company). I worked there from December to March. My old place of employment is at Damen, Lincoln, and Irving Park. People looked to be rotting in their cars while they waited through traffic; you could see the look of annoyment on people's faces through their car windows, and I thought to myself that even though it would take longer, they would probably have a more enjoyable journey if they were walking. Looking at the traffic made me think about a segment in The Paris Review from our assigned reading, “There’s something so attractive about wandering aimlessly through the city, taking it all in.” I agree walking is so exhilarating, especially when no specific destination is in mind. Here's a GIF of the traffic in North-Center:
I often walked over here after work, but I noticed new things like this new store, pictured below.
I did a quick Google search and discovered that the store is a place to buy recycled children's clothes. I continued to walk down Damen. It had just rained that morning, so the grass was wet, and I could smell the passed rain in the air; when it rains, it's one of the only times the air noticeably smells and feels fresh. I know the area since my dad's office is in North Center. I walked past places I'd seen before but had yet to notice. I walked past a garden and noticed that part of the gate was re-painted. I always passed this garden; I would’ve never seen the new paint if I were driving. I also saw Halloween decorations for the first time this year. Halloween is my favorite holiday, so seeing decorations on people's houses was exciting. I took a video of my favorite one: https://youtube.com/shorts/ciC3P6Pwg0A?feature=share.
I walked past a mini library; I love it when neighborhoods have little cabinets with books. I’ve always thought that they were such a wholesome addition to any community. The one I saw had a book called Hush Baby Hush. My parents used to read to my sister and me before bed. It is about children all over the world saying goodnight. Most of the other books in the library were horror mystery books, my favorite genre. I'm planning to go back and take one, but I didn't at the time because I didn't have a book to leave there, and I also don't have much time to read because of schoolwork. I also noticed that somebody left a bundle of hair ties in the mini library, which I thought was sweet, and I thought about the fact that a homeless woman or a man with long hair could come and take one, and that would probably be such a present small little victory for them. Below is a photo of the mini library.
I started approaching Roscoe village and arrived at the intersection of Damen and Roscoe. I used to live in Roscoe Village. I passed the restaurant where my sister's boyfriend used to work, a bar and grill called The Commonwealth. I remember being there with all my friends before he left for college. Walking over there made me miss my sister; this neighborhood is filled with so many memories that we share, like the park we used to go to play in the fountain or the street festival we would go to, retro on Roscoe or the taco restaurant we would go to with our parents, or the park we would go to; Hamlin Park, to swim at the park district pool. I began to cross the street across from the park when I noticed how beautiful the raindrops looked on this pine tree, which is something I know I wouldn't have seen if I was driving or biking.
At this point, it started to rain a little, but I didn't mind; I love the rain so much; I love how it smells, sounds, and makes me feel. The rain makes me feel calm, and it relaxes me. I passed my old dentist on the corner of Belmont and Damen. The guy who owns it used to be our neighbor on Claremont Avenue off of Roscoe. We used to live in a house behind the Party City that sits on Western across from Jewel-Osco and Lane Tech College Prep High School. My old friend Nadia attends that school, so this walk made me think of her.
I kept walking and eventually approached the intersection of Diversey Parkway and Damen and Clybourn. There used to be run-down buildings called the Lathrop homes. They were initially built sometime in the 1930s as government-funded housing, but they became abandoned and were a hotspot for crime in the city, similar to Cabrini-Green. The apartments were redone in some places, but others remain abandoned just next door. On the corner of the intersection are the restored, very nice-looking apartments and the abandoned ones are hidden behind a bridge and a wall. I was able to snap a picture of both:
I had to jump to take a picture of the abandoned apartment complex. I think it is odd how much they are doing to hide it when they could restore it instead. Here is a site with more information on The Lathrop Homes: http://chicagopatterns.com/lathrop-homes-replacing-history-with-an-iconic-experiment/.
I ended the first half of my walk at my gym on the corner of Elston and Damen. After I finished my workout, I headed down Elston and to Fullerton and turned into the Riverpoint Center shopping mall. I know of a cat colony behind the Marshals in that mall, specifically in between the Marshals and the river, where cats have lived for years. I went to see if I could find the cats, but they are usually really shy, so I wasn't hopeful. When I arrived, I saw a lot of cat toys and half-eaten food cans, but no cats. So I left that area.
Here's a photo of where the cats usually hang out:
I remember going to the Chuck E. Cheese in Riverpoint Center when I was younger. I remember my parents hating it so much, but they pushed their hatred aside because my sister and I enjoyed it so much. I also remember having my sister's and my birthday party at this party place that did makeovers, gave up inflatable electric guitars, and took our pictures. I don't remember what it was called, but it's sad it's shut down now.
I started walking back to Lincoln Park down Fullerton. It was so loud with all of the cars passing by. Here's an audio clip I got:
As I was walking, I saw flower petals trailing in the street, and I noticed they were right in front of a flower shop, which also had an abnormal amount of petals on the ground. Seeing this made me wonder what happened and how sad and aggravating it must have been to have dropped a huge bouquet of flowers. Not to mention, this shop seems super expensive, like the type of place you put orders in months in advance.
It was getting dark at this point. I love nighttime and being outside when it's dark, but I'm not out in the dark often due to safety reasons and being a woman in a big city. I wish I could run around at night with my girlfriends and not care about what sound was behind me or what I might've seen in my peripheral vision. But I can’t. This reminded me of one of our readings, Walking After Midnight. The text says, “Women have routinely been punished and intimidated for attempting that most simple of freedoms, taking a walk.” I felt that in my chest. As the sun started to set, my body started to tense, and with recent criminal activity in mind, I decided to end my walk at my dorm.
The reading Walking After Midnight really struck me, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. When I was reading about the lesbian couple being harassed, it made me think about when I was walking with my girlfriend at the time; we were holding hands, and a man spit on us… twice. It happened as we were approaching our bus stop. The man got on the bus while 𝒘𝒆 waited for the next one. It’s so unfair that, as women and members of the LGBTQ+ community, we must tolerate things like this: 𝑾𝒆 have to wait for the next bus, and 𝒘𝒆 have to be mindful when walking to 𝒐𝒖𝒓 homes. This reminds me of my favorite quotes from the reading Walking After Midnight;
“-accepted that this world was not hers. Even on her own block.”
Reflecting on this walk, it was definitely worth my time; in the beginning, I was stressing about the time it would take to walk. I had a lot of homework that day, and I was worried about how long it would take me and if I had time to complete it. In the end, the walk actually helped me to destress and get my head on straight. It is important to ensure you are in the correct headspace before you complete a task you feel stressed about. It will help you put your best foot forward to attempt said task with your best effort and energy.
