Burning Up in “The Windy City”
Every story has one or more grey areas that we can’t necessarily seem to express in words without giving the impression of an over-exaggeration that embellishes it. So how do I describe, in my own words, something so eventful that triggered me to feel anxious, mysterious, alive, zealous, inquisitive, nutty (isn’t that peculiar?), and glorious all in a single moment? One step at a time, that’s how.
What a warm, wonderful Wednesday, I thought to myself as I looked at hundreds of ant-sized people and automobiles from the 94th floor of the John Hancock building. September had not even started, but I was wide awake. This perspective was undeniably amazing; my head spun as I looked at a 360° Chicago view. A couple with a pair of large binoculars asked me, “Is that the Sears Tower over there?” I was delighted that they had referred to it as the Sears Tower, rather than the Willis Tower, which most tourists would have been unaware of.
The month of August was coming to a close, but one short sight (shown on the left) of Lake Shore Drive had captivated my focus as I stared into the depths of Lake Michigan. The waters were so calm. I was at ease with my surroundings. I never wanted to leave. But we must move onward and continue this story, I constantly reminded myself. In an instant, we descended from bird’s-eye view to worm’s-eye view. Now it is time to walk up Michigan Ave. until we reach Oak Street Beach and Gold Coast. As shown on the left side below, many of us had stopped to take a picture of this art.
While many others had their focal point being the Rolling Stones logo, I was more intrigued by the bird in its cage, next to Mick Jagger’s mouth. I believe that it better resembled my entire group, in the sense that we recently were given the ability to fly like a bird flies and see what a bird sees. But now, we were momentarily trapped and about to be swallowed by the endless city roaring around us. It hit me like lightning — we have now become miniscule people as we had seen before — and that was equally terrifying and invigorating. Relentless, I knew that letting fear get the best of me was not an option, so I clenched my teeth and stomped my feet forward.
Gold Coast was to be the first stop of many on this unique day in the Chicagoland area. Standing on the corner of State Street and Stanley Paul Way, an unknown territory, I was cheerful as I took this picture. Just by noticing the architecture of the exterior of the building shown above, particularly between the second floor windows and third floor windows, I could tell that there was some historical background for me to discover. I learned that the neighborhood had been established by Potter Palmer in the aftermath of the Chicago fire of 1871.
The architectural history did not stop there, either. I had also come across what I was told is the original Playboy Mansion, formerly owned by Hugh Hefner, along with the building presented above, which I believe to be a venerable place of worship. I was mainly interested in the fact that an apartment complex had been placed next to it; nevertheless, I nearly fell behind the rest of the group as I compared the architecture and size of both buildings, including the mere color of the bricks.
Our visit to Gold Coast had been as swift as the Chicago fire itself. Before we would have burned up, we jumped on over to a neighboring area called Old Town. Another historical background, of course! Unlike our previous stop, this “Old Town” had survived the Chicago fire, which explains why it has been given such an old-fashioned name. Most of the town appeared to be abandoned and inhabited, but the darkness wouldn’t stop us from lurking about. As I saw this bright neon red sign, I certainly became a happy camper.
In the end, I figured out that we were never trapped, waiting to be consumed by the city. We had an unlimited number of opportunities that we didn’t know how to decide, and that made us feel vulnerable to our surroundings. Subsequent to all this walking, discovering, sweating, and exploring, I still find it difficult to otherwise describe my experience this past day, so I must sum it up in two words: totally “amazing”.
