Accomplishment, achievement, commitment, conditions, decisions…
The desire to accomplish is not complemented by an equal portion of energy with which to achieve one’s goals.
Commitments are tempered by the conditions to which one subscribes himself.
Decisions made one day are forgotten by the next waking hour.
Unfortunately, there was no time for pizza or hot dogs or Italian beef. Maybe next time I’m in town.
Chicago may be flat, but it makes the nightscape that much more impressive. Find yourself a spot on high on which to perch, preferably somewhere along the lakefront, and look westward. The streetlamps, perfectly aligned on a grid, look truly amazing. All the way to the horizon, there are tiny flickers of light that indicate civilization’s presence.
Even to look eastward is breathtaking. The pattern of lights end abruptly near the shores of Lake Michigan, marking the start of an endless black void. (Drive north along Lake Shore Drive, between the Chicago River and the curve at Oak St. On your left, tall, well-lit buildings. On your right, darkness. You grip the steering wheel tightly, afraid that a slight wrong maneuver will send you crashing through the concrete divider and into the icy waters of the lake.) Navy Pier, with its gargantuan Ferris wheel ablaze with color, seems as if it is on an island, separate from the city itself.
Maybe one of the best places to view the lights of Chicago up close and personal is by Lake Shore Drive, at the mouth of the Chicago River. Here, it is so bright as to fool you into believing it is daytime, perhaps even approaching the magnitude of Times Square at night. The skyscrapers flank the river like stalwart guardians–the Wrigley Building, lit with floodlamps positioned at the river’s edge, is ready to defend the river’s honor.
The scene may even be more surreal than a walk through Times Square after sundown–there is a perfect balance of night sky and man-made lighting to make the mood right.
But, returning to the present domicile for the time being:
Why do the E-Z Pass lanes on the PA Turnpike (peace. love. turnpike.) not have functional lane signals? Each time I passed through, I felt like I was breaking the law or something ’cause there wasn’t any indication that my tag was accepted. Add to that the fact that it was a holiday weekend, and 99% of the drivers on the turnpike have to actually stop and get a ticket when they enter and then pay with actual cash when they exit, so I feel like everyone’s watching me and wondering if I’m evading toll collection when I breeze through the lane at 5mph without stopping. Stupid Pennsylvania.
The winds were truly mighty this weekend. I had to take a few minutes to regain my walking-on-ice skills (too many instances of falling on me bum as a wee one have scarred me for life, I guess), but a part of me was happy to see winter had finally icumen in. The biting winds, the sub-freezing chills, the lovely sensation in your earlobes as they make haste towards frostbite… ahhhhhh.
The leaves have fallen off the trees, sleeping under a blanket of snow. It is the season for curling up in front of a blazing fireplace with your favorite loved one. A good book will suffice in a pinch. Stay warm, everyone.
