After 3 days of near continuous rain and completely continuous gray skies we woke to bright sun in a clear blue sky and temperatures in the mid 70s. By any standards it was a beautiful day, by Chicago standards in early May it was spectacular.
Our IRS refund check arrived the day the Illinois lock down order went into effect. It had been sitting on the table since then. I decided I could justify riding my bike to the nearest branch on my bike, about 5 miles away, to deposit it and enjoy the rare treat of the lovely mid spring day. As I rode I felt almost normal for the first time in weeks. That is not to say things were normal. Businesses were shuttered, people, including myself, were masked, I was able to make a u turn on the broad street I was riding down, which is so chocked with traffic during normal times that such a maneuver would be impossible.
After contactless banking, putting check and deposit slip into a plastic tube which is then vacuum delivered to the employees inside, my receipt being returned to me in the same manner, I decided to take further advantage of the sunshine.
I rode over to the nearby square and looked at the empty storefront with the For Lease sign in the window that once housed the jewelry store I had worked at for a brief period. I rode past the closed restaurants and bars. I was pleased to see the independent apothecary store was open for orders and curbside pick up. I was glad to see the bookstore, also independent, still there, although closed due to the current crisis. We had once used our windows in the jewelry store to promote it over the global, faceless, menace that is Amazon.
The square is a special place. A charming, old world mix of family owned shops, bars and eateries. A meeting place for the residents of the surrounding area. Although it lacked the crowds of people I had become accustomed to during my employment there that would normally be expected on such a beautiful weekend day there were still a handful on the benches enjoying the sun. I thought back to the weekly concerts held there over the summer featuring local bands of various genres. I remembered the joy and sense of vitality of neighbors dancing, talking, laughing and enjoying life and music together. I wondered if that would happen this summer or if that, like so much else, would be different this year.
I rode past blocks of brownstone apartment buildings interspersed with graceful, yet solid, turn of the century homes along streets whose old trees which shade them were just beginning to return to life. Bright flowers dotted small front yards. Neighbors and friends greeted one another from a social distance, most wearing masks. Children played with siblings in the small yards, gleeful at the opportunity to be able to venture outdoors. I thought of how difficult it must be for them to understand this moment in history.
When a Chicago spring is kind it is special. A promise of what is to come as a reward after a long winter. It is a time of rebirth. Flowers peeking up from the ground, trees sprouting leaves of that special hue of green only seen at this time of year.
Our country, indeed the whole world, has had to reset. As when a computer updates it will take time before the download is complete. But, as with technological updates, I hope that what appears after our screens come back up and we are able to log in again will be better than what we had.
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