#947: Fillet of Soul

June 29th, 2018 § permalink

I was alone amid the plastic palm trees, the stack of South Shopper coupon magazines and a display of Gospel Tract and Bible Society leaflets expounding fundamentalist Christianity.

Behind the door behind the counter behind the bulletproof Plexi, a woman worked to make my sandwich. I was left to poke around the empty pickup area of Dan’s Soul Food and Bakery on 79th in Ashburn.  » Read the rest of this entry «

#818: Tour de Chicago – Lakefront Encroachment

July 19th, 2017 § permalink

If all went according to plan, the wife and I are currently backpacking through Marseilles following the Tour de France and you’ve already taken bike routes through the history of newspapers and the LGBTQ community.

Now let’s talk about the lake. » Read the rest of this entry «

#679: The Stony Island Arts Bank

August 29th, 2016 § permalink

The crumbling plaster of the ceiling has been preserved mid-crumble.

It’s been lovingly repaired, restored, captured in a moment of time as an image of something half-falling, the old textured plaster preserved in decay.

It’s a touching detail, really. A nod to the decades this South Shore bank fell into disuse and disrepair, but one made into something lovely. Its age and wear is the beauty.

It’s as good a symbol as any for the Stony Island Arts Bank on the border of the aged, worn and disrepaired neighborhoods of South Shore. » Read the rest of this entry «

#262: Peace to 2013

December 30th, 2013 § permalink

Peace to the old man sipping drinks at the VFW bar.

And the bagpiper on the condo roof.

Peace to the newsman, chasing stories for cartoons.

Peace to the lady who jammed in Tunisia.

And peace to the one who makes really sexy ladies’ underthings. » Read the rest of this entry «

#175: A Waltz on the Roof

June 10th, 2013 § permalink

A white van marked Metra stopped suddenly by a Family Dollar on the stretch of South Side 71st named after Emmett Till.

The driver leaned out the window by the intersection with Patton and stared.

A tow truck driver stopped in the middle of the street, not even waiting for the intersection. He stopped by the train tracks that split the east- and westbound lanes of “Honorary Emmett Till Road.” He stared too.

They both drove off as a tall, muscular bald man crossed the tracks south so he can turn and look too. He stood by two women who had gotten out of a car by the Family Dollar to gape. One of the women pulled out a phone to catch it all on video. The Metra van returned, cruising slowly from the direction it left toward before circling around to stop by an empty lot to stare again.

The six women in orange continued to dance on the roof. » Read the rest of this entry «

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