I Saw a Dog!!!!
5:35 pm (Corner of Belden and Racine) I begin my walk outside of my dorm, Hotel Belden. The first thing I hear are cars honking at the intersection Belden and Racine where students cross without looking, stemming traffic. Unfortunately for drivers, students don’t care if you hit them. Go ahead!! Pay for our tuition!!
5:36 pm (Walking south on Racine) As I walk past Oscar Mayer Magnet School, I see a young boy with, presumably, his grandmother. As they walk, I overhear the boy tell his grandma about his busy day at school, full of coloring and playing kickball. What a life, I think.
5:37 pm (Still walking south on Racine) I make prolonged eye contact with a man in a passing car. I presume this is because we are both wearing glasses, and therefore members of the Glasses People Club. We are united in our blind brotherhood.
5:40 pm (Corner of Webster and Clifton) I notice a doggie bowl outside hair salon. A woman inside the salon gives me side eye for stopping and taking a picture. I wish I had a dog.
5:41 pm (Walking east on Webster) I hear a man speaking with an accent. I turn my head and see he is at the end of an alley between two buildings. He is wearing business clothes and is talking on the phone. He also gives me side eye.
5:45 pm (Still walking east on Webster) Many of the restaurants on Webster have open store fronts and I hear snipets of different conversations as I pass by. I wonder if they know I’m eavesdropping.
5:48 pm (Corner of Bissell and Webster) DOG! DOG! I SEE A DOG!
5:51 pm (Corner of Fremont and Webster) A window washer finishes with his work, picks up his bucket and tools, and begins walking along side me. I notice he is eating gummy worms. I’m hungry.
5:52 pm (Continuing west on Webster) A man is hooking a car up to a tow truck. The driver asks if the tow truck dude can drop him off at his house. The tow truck dude says “Yeah, no problem.” Iconic.
5:52 pm (Still Webster. Still westward) ANOTHER DOG SPOTTED!! I LOVE DOGS. THIS ONE IS REALLY TINY. THE LAST ONE I SAW WAS NORMAL SIZED BUT THIS ONE IS TINY.
5:53 pm (Webster) DOG
5:54 pm (Webster) OH MY GOSH A BABY. HE’S SO CUTE. HE’S IN A STROLLER. HI.
5:55 pm (Corner of Halsted and Webster) I hear the music from restaurants all around. I like it. It sets the mood.
5:56 pm (Webster) AWW A BABY WITH GLASSES. SHE IS REALLY CUTE.
5:57 pm (Oz Park) I finally make it to Oz Park and it is amazing because there are SO MANY DOGS! AND BABIES! AND OLD PEOPLE! All of my favorite things are collected in one place. Actually it’s really nice. The sunlight is streaming through the trees and I feel peaceful. There’s a family playing basketball and there’s a football team practicing in the distance as parents watch.
6:00 pm (Oz Park) A kid runs by screaming “I’M BATMAN.” His grandpa runs after him. I chuckle to myself.
6:12 pm (Lincoln Avenue) Two more kids run by dressed as Iron Man and Captain America. Did I miss the super hero memo? This makes three, count ’em, three baby super heroes. I would have totally dressed up if I had known.
6:15 pm (Heading northwest on Lincoln) A woman walking behind me begins crying laughing at a joke her friend says. She is laughing so hard, she stops and doubles over. This is a nice end to my walk as it makes me feel like I too have friends and can feel happiness.
Response
In my walks of the city, I find beauty in the architecture I see, from the newest skyscrapers to the oldest brick coffee house. I find joy in the nature I come across, usually leafy trees that shade sidewalks or colorful gardens bursting out of their gated home. I find comfort in watching the people around me, with their own unique fashion sense and they’re interactions with each other. Because of this, I try to walk with my eyes and ears open to everything around me and to walk in new places. Each of these experiences remind me that I am not alone and that I live in a beautiful world. In general, my walks in the city soothe me, however I often am worried that this sentiment is too naïve. How many times was I reminded by my parents, grandparents, friends, classmates, and coworkers to be careful, to walk in a group, to carry pepper spray? Because of these warnings, I sometimes get nervous when walking at night, especially if walking at night. I cannot help these suspicions and fears from creeping up on me, although they were not there originally, walking beside me.
