Only in Chicago

50 degrees? 50 degrees in December, in Chicago? OK so it's only supposed to go up to 49 degrees. Still... Then again there is supposed to be snow tomorrow. As they say if you don't like the weather in Chicago, wait a few minutes. Very cliche but so true. I don't remember 50 degree days in December growing up. I hated winter because as a kid I (and my siblings) walked to school. Down the block, under the viaduct, past the highway, turn right at the next corner then all the way down to Hiram H. Belding school. I did this for nine years, kindergarten through eighth grade. In all the ridiculous Chicago weather, monsoons, hail storms, blizzards, tornadoes, searing heat, etc.(my recollection may be skewed a bit by post-traumatic stress disorder from just having to go to grammar school, but that's another story), my Mom would still send us out and to add insult to injury we had to go home for lunch and repeat the process.

In fact, despite the weather if you wanted to get somewhere you walked. A lot of times by yourself. You found yards to cut through, alleys, an occasional wooded lot, railroad tracks to follow and highway ramps to cross over. Thinking about it, it is actually amazing that we weren't abducted or worse. Back then we would often forget to lock the doors and not think twice about it. My Mom used to say that "Things like that didn't happen back then." I think more likely we just did not hear about it. Newspapers only came out daily, or even weekly and the TV news was more about the rest of the world. Today in our world of instant communication if something happens we are there almost immediately if we are not there to begin with.

None the less I survived those walks and the weather. Looking back those days seem surreal now and conjure up memories of my walks that create scenes worthy of fine bone china plates. Thoughts of wintery paths along the snow covered railroad tracks and long grasses and wild flowers waving in the wind on the sides of the highway in the summer give way to the obvious; "What the hell was I thinking?!"

Monarch on the Wild Flowers photo by DMThompson Copyright 2010 GoldenMark, Ltd. All Rights Reserved