Black Tongue

This morning I woke up with a black tongue, I got nervous. When I googled it I found out that my condition ws called black, hairy tongue. I was stressed I might have some kind of stomach cancer considering my weak stomach for the last few days, it turns out that my saliva reacted weirdly to the chewable Pepto-bismol tablets I ate last night. Thank God.

Getting Older

Soon I turn 33. I have waited forever to look my age, and I finally feel like I am. I mean, I weigh a couple years ahead of my age, so I have been waiting for my physical features to catch up. Well, I finally got crows feet, I have a furrow over my brow, my sideburns are starting to fill in, and I think I can grow a man mustache.

Puking

I can count the times I've thrown up in my life in less than two hands. On Thursday I added to my count. Its not good to eat a whole loaf of raisin bread, a baguette of 9-Grain bread, chicken medallions, and a banana split, and get the stomach flu. The good thing about this sickness was that I learned a method of not tasting my puke, I hold my nose, I recommend it. I felt over the sickness today and partook of at least three cups of coffee, a roast beef sandwich, Lou Manati's pizza and some wine...don't feel good. No puke, thank God, at least stuff is not coming up, just going out the other side, I can handle that.

Irony

Driving up Pulaski from I-290. I see a lot of foreclosed, boarded up houses and apartment buildings plastered with political signs for next week's primary.

Guerilla Historical Society Update #1

I found a photo of North Avenue and Pulaski from 1934 in a Special Collection of photos from the Weast Side of Chicago. I've got to check it out at the Harold Washington Library downtown. It comes from the Campbell Collection #277. There are apparently more photos from our area dating back to the turn of the 20th Century. Also, Bethel Church has a bunch of photos of the church and the neighborhood dating back to 1896. I am going to be allowed to check them out, amybe even achaive them.

Vote Februry 2nd

Don't think it doesn't matter. Your choices are few.There are some Green Party challengers and even fewer Republicans in Chicago. We effectively have a one party system in this city and county, and if this were the Federal Government we'd start a revolution. So few people vote here, so your vote does make a differnce. True Chicagoans vote.

Check out your ballot and some editorials here:




http://elections.chicagotribune.com/



http://elections.chicagotribune.com/editorial/

My Favorite Puerto Rican Actor

Luis Guzman is hands down my favorite Puerto Rican actor. I love it when I see this guys face on a film.For years I swore that the villain in Ghost was the same guy. However, I was mistaken.

Star Sightings

Every once in a while when I movie is being filmed in Chicago I happen upon the set. The first time this happened I was at the Field Museum and saw a scene from the 1988 Kevein Bacon/John Hughes film She's Having a Baby. Later, I actually met some movie stars, I shook hands with Robert Downey Jr. and was snubbed by Tommy Lee Jones on Irving Park Rd., during a break from a scene from the 1998 sequel to the Fugitive, U.S. Marshalls. I also saw David Duchovney and Minnie Driver slow dance over and over during the filming of a scene from the 1999 movie, Return to Me. Another time I saw the irrepressible actress, Helena Bonham Carter walking down Michigan Avenue, in town filming the dark Steve Martin comedy, Novacaine.
However, there is one star sighting that burns in my memory. It is my encounter with the most asinine and arrogant actor ever to grace the silver screen, if you think I'm speaking of local thespian Jeremy Piven you are wrong, you must meet Billy Zane.
The fateful night began at 11:45 during a summer night in the year, 1997. Daniel, my brother, and I were going to a midnight showing of the future Bruce Willis, Michael Clark Duncan blockbuster, Armageddon at the McClurg Court theater downtown. We sat down a little toward the back. From the corner of my eye, I notice a gentleman sporting a Donegal Irish Tweed hat covering a cleanly shorn head, a white collared shirt, two top buttons unbuttoned, white slacks,and white shoes, but I didn't pay much attention. Then some girls came running up to the gentleman, in the commotion the gentleman exclaims in a snarky voice, " Oh no, Armagedden outta here." My brother and I looked back, our contempt muscles flexing, at the lameness of his pun. Soon a Puerto Rican man came running up the aisles,yelling "Oh my God, its Billy, Billy Zane, I love your work on the Titanic." Soon a swarm of people began to surround Mr.Zane. He entertained the crowd with his half humble stories of working with Michael J. Fox on Back to the Future, Sam Elliot on Critters, and of his title role in the adaptation Sunday comic, The Phantom, co-starring Kristy Swanson, of the original Buffy the Vampire fame. His sordid tales were interrupted by the house lights dimming. Soon the crowd was ready to watch that summer's second and best cinematic turn at portraying an asteroid's potential to end all human existence. As the previews were about to begin, the motion picture began to become distorted, maybe some snafu with the projector, all of a sudden a bellow cracks from in back of us, "FocUS!". O' Billy Zane, with his method acting, trying to be the hero. The whole movie I felt this knot in my back, I couldn't shake the cringe that Mr. Zane elicited in me. To this day whenever I see Billy in print or on screen, I remember that fateful day I ran into a famous movie actor and realized that they are not just like us, sometimes they are just an ass.

Cook County Commissioners

Last night we had two candidates for Cook County Commissioner come to our block club meeting. I have no illusions of grandeur that this kind stuff is going to change the world. I'm no revolutionary or system guy, I know this because one time I said said to my Principal on my first day teaching, and I quote " I am going to change the system in CPS", and that didn't happen. I do believe in incremental change. I do believe in education and connecting the dots. What I mean is that little things like knowing who is on the ballot before the election, who your candidates are by name and face, what they stand for, knowing the address of the polling place make a difference.

Let's connect the dots, my alderman won a landslide victory in 2007 with 70% of the vote, just 3,400 votes. There are 370 registered voters in my three block precinct. If we organized to get our three 1500 N. blocks of Keystone, Karlov,and Kedvale to vote, we would've had over 10% of the vote. We have the power to make change, in the political sense, at this small scale and over time. Oh I think its a travesty that only 15% of the registered voters in my ward voted for my alderman. I'm suggesting we can wrap our heads around this thing; politicians look at numbers and just a small coalescence of grass-roots, registered voters in forgotten places is scary and can get an elected official's ear.
My goal last night was to facilitate a situation that would allow my neighbors in this remote, unassuming part of Chicago to feel like they have a voice, that big struggles and complaints that we have everyday about how the system fails us doesn't fall on deaf ears and we're not always just pissin' in the wind. The goal was to educate neighbors so that they weren't voting on February 2nd blindly, it was also to get some aspiring politicians to get comfortable in our basement, tell us what they do or like to do, tell us their platform, and take questions. I found it to be beautiful. Simple, beautiful, radical Democracy.



P.S. If you want to get a better blow, by blow perspective on the night read this post by Emily called Politics:



January 8, 2010 by runyanthree

We had the 2 candidates running to fill the seat for Cook County Commissioner at our block club meeting last night. How humbling to see two politicians shaking our hands in their thin little black dress socks (because everyone takes off their shoes before they come in to the basement). It was really interesting to hear more about the politics and inner workings of Cook County (which short of NPR, I know very little about)…how much money is spent, how much they make, bits and pieces of their role in the overall functioning of our city and who likes and does not like who. And of course the commitment to end patronage. They were able to provide some specific things they would do and then avoided other questions. Dave famously asked many questions and even explained at the end that we felt all politicians were full of shit. Diana talked about her horrible experience at Cook County Hospital regarding her current kidney stone and Dan asked for money for our block club to start a summer program. I loved the opportunity to connect a name and personality and I told Bill that I think he should arrange it each election in some capacity. Oh! I almost forgot the most important thing–while one candidate was here the other arrived with his Dunkin Donuts and coffee for everyone. Bill told us later that when he went out to greet the candidate and his crony that the guy had fallen down our stairs and was mad so he went to wait in his car. With our recent snowfall the stairs were slippery…whoops. Bill had fun imagining him fly down the stairs in his nice suit. He told Bill he would only be able to stay for 15 minutes but must have had so much fun talking about himself that he stayed for over an hour (and then apparently went to go ice his back). So just so you know any day now we might be sued for all we have.

Doppleganger

Over the last year I have gained over 20lbs. In February I weighed as low as 206lbs now I'm 227. I am beginning to look less and less like Wilmer Valderrama, formerly of That 70's Show and currently the Voice of Handy Manny on the Disney Channel, and more like the great character actor Oliver Platt from such great movies as Beethoven, Disney's The Three Musketeers,Dr. Doolittle, and the Oscar nominated Frost/Nixon.

Guerilla Historical Society

I've tried guerilla gardening on Pulaski and LeMoyne and my plants were stolen. Next up, Guerilla Historical Society. I have gone underground, since no one was interested, and I have been collecting historical photos and information about my neighborhood of North/Pulaski in Chicago. So far I have procured about ten photos ranging from 1900-1973. I'm a preservationist in a neighborhood that doesn't know or doesn't care that it needs to be preserved, so I am alone. I plan to strike in the next year, by informing residents, by any means possible, about the history of our neighborhood and the need to preserve the collective memory of this space and place. If you care to join me in the revolution, I will be staging my first installation soon.

My Final Resting Place

Today I went out with my dad on a self guided tour of our beloved town. I had tried to make a customized tour based on a theme my dad gave me. He wanted to visit old mansions of famous Chicagoans. That took us to the South Loop and Prarie Avenue. We tried getting into the Clarke House, the oldest structure in Chicago, and the Glessener Mansion Museum, but when we got there the tours were booked for the next two hours. The tour took on more of a final resting place theme.

We happened upon the site of the Fort Dearborn Massacre, we visited the tomb of Stephen A. Douglas,the famous orator and Senator form Illinois, saw the site of the Camp Douglas prison camp,the final resting place of many Confederate POW's, we ate in Chinatown, and ended up touring the grounds of Graceland Cemetery.

It was a treat trying to find the tombstones and mausoleums of Carter Harrison, Daniel Burnham, Mies Van der Rohe, Potter Palmer, Marshall Field, Cyrus McCormick, John Kinzie, Joseph Medill, Joseph Armour, and other founding fathers of our city.

My father kept saying what a special day he had with me, and there is nothing better that stumbling upon places you've seen in pictures, in photos, or read about in books, and seeing them and experiencing them in real life. The day turned out to be unexpected, the best kind of day.

In all of the joy of our discoveries, I came to a decision that I wanted to be buried in Graceland Cemetery among the people that fostered the development of this city I call home.

I think of my grandfather, who is coming close to his last days, even though it probably makes practical sense to bury him wherever he dies, whether he finds himself near family in Chicago or Orlando, his insistence that he be buried in Puerto Rico, where he was born, forced a move back to his hometown of Mayaguez, PR so that it was assured that he is remembered forever in the place that holds so much meaning in his heart.

I hope that I will be able to do the same, I literally and figuratively want to put down roots where I will not be forgotten. I am planning to live in Chicago for the rest of my life, but I hope wherever I find myself from here on out, that my family will honor my wishes to be buried in the sweet sandy, clay soil of Chicago. Maybe in Graceland Cemetery.

True Chicagoans Pay For Parking Now

Yes it is true, I now have to pay for parking downtown. I can't get away from it. I think Katie and I have funded the municipal pension fund through our numerous parking tickets. Daley, you and your alderman have beaten us, the common Chicagoan, down with your schemes to make more money. We submit, we will have pay for parking downtown, no way around it.

Ice Skating

Yesterday I went ice skating with Liam. We tried Millenium Park but the line was 45 minutes long to get skates. Thank God I remembered that nine parks around the city have skating, it just so happens that just two block east, the park at Richard J. Daley Bicentennial Plaza has a rink. Just a 5 minute wait for skates. Getting them on a 3 year old is a different story. That took about 20 minutes.
We had one of the most memorable times this break. Liam loved skating and slipping while I held him up by his shoulders. The skyline looked stunning. On a way back we found one of the best shots of the skyline I have seen in a long time. If you can, check out the bridge over the Ashland EL stop on the Green Line.

Ft. Hood Massacre

One of the stories coming out of this tragedy is the murder of a 21 year old soldier that was three months pregnant. Turns out she lived three blocks away from our house on Kamerling. Sad.Pray for her family.

Nate's B-Day Tour

Today's Itinerary:

1. Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral and Rectory

Designed to resemble the Russian provincial churches known to its first parishioners, this elegant church is an unexpected feature of its neighborhood. Even more surprising is the fact that its construction was partially paid for by Russian Czar Nicholas II. The walls of the church are load-bearing brick covered with stucco; the detailing of the two-story rectory repeats the same sinuous curve found in the roofline of the church. The ideologies held by the client and the designer harmonized well in this project, producing one of the most-inspired, small-scale works of influential architect Louis Sullivan.

Ukrainian Catholic Church

Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Closed didn't go in.

Ate lunch at Mr. Beef on Orleans

2. First Baptist Congregational Church

Address: 60 N. Ashland Ave.
Year Built: 1871
Architect: Gurdon P. Randall

Social activism has characterized this congregation since its founding in 1851 by abolitionists. The innovative, amphitheater-style auditorium within this Gothic Revival-style building was widely influential in church architecture. The adjacent Carpenter Chapel was designed by Otis Wheelock and built in 1869 for the Chicago Theological Seminary. Closed, didn't go.

Stockyards Gate

Bubbly Creek

Pope’s Visit - Five Holy Martyrs Church 4327 S. Richmond St - Couldn't find it.

Englewood

Pullman District 11141 South Cottage Grove Avenue

In 1880, George Pullman commissioned architect Solon S. Beman to design the perfect industrial town, a landscaped haven complete with indoor plumbing and gas facilities. However, his utopia did not last. When an economic panic hit, Pullman had to reduce his workers' hours and wages, causing a bloody strike (the first organized one in U.S, history) to erupt in 1894. Today, much of the town remains intact, although a recent fire gutted one of its main buildings. This is a must-see for anyone with an interest in urban histories, planning or the workers' movement in America. You can wander around Pullman any time, but it is best seen on one of a variety of tours offered throughout the year. Awesome.

3. K.A.M. Isaiah Israel Temple

Address: 1100 E. Hyde Park Blvd.
Year Built: 1924, addition, 1926
Architect: Alfred S. Alschuler

This building, based on Byzantine-style design precedents, houses the oldest Jewish congregation in Chicago. The first Jewish settlers in the city organized Kehilath Anshe Maariv in 1847; Isaiah Israel had its roots in the city's second Jewish congregation, which was founded in 1852. In 1971, the two merged to form K.A.M. Isaiah Israel Temple.

Obama’s House-

5046 S Greenwood Ave

Chicago, IL 60615- Secret service kicked us off the sidewalk. Got to see Obama's house briefly.

Nation of Islam- Louis Farrakhan’s house

4855 S Woodlawn Ave

Get Directions

- Area served: - Show

Category:

Unverified listing

Kenwood District, Oakland District- Farrakhan wasn't home

4. Pilgrim Baptist Church

Address: 3301 S. Indiana Ave.r
Year Built: 1890-1891
Architect: Adler & Sullivan

The decorative and planning skills of architect Louis H. Sullivan, along with the engineering abilities of Dankmar Adler, are embodied in the strong masonry forms of this building, which is embellished with terra-cotta panels of intricate foliage designs. The dramatic interior of the church contains similar ornament. Built as Kehilath Anshe Ma' ariv synagogue, the building has housed the Pilgrim Baptist Church since 1922. During the 1930s, this congregation and its longtime music director, Thomas A. Dorsey, were instrumental in the development of gospel music. Among those who sang here were: Mahalia Jackson, Sallie Martin, James Cleveland, and the Edwin Hawkins Singers. Destroyed in a fire.

4. Quinn Chapel

Address: 2401 S. Wabash Ave.
Year Built: 1892
Architect: Henry F. Starbuck

This church houses Chicago's oldest African-American congregation, which traces its origins back to 1844, when seven individuals formed a nondenominational prayer group that met in the house of one of its members. In 1847, the group organized as a congregation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Named for Bishop William P. Quinn, the church played an important role in the city's abolitionist movement. After the Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed the original church, the congregation met for many years in temporary locations. The congregation purchased the present site in 1890, and the current church is a reminder of the late-19th century character of the area. Didn't go.

6. Second Presbyterian Church

Address: 1936 S. Michigan Ave.
Year Built: 1874, reconstructed in 1900
Architects: Howard Van Doren Shaw,James Renwick

When this Gothic Revival-style church was designed--by a prominent New York architect-- the surrounding streets, including Prairie Avenue, one block east, were lined with the homes of wealthy Chicagoans. Members of the congregation included the Glessners, the Pullmans, and the widow of President Abraham Lincoln. The interior decorations include stained-glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany. A fire in 1900 destroyed much of the church, but it was reconstructed under the supervision of architect Howard Van Doren Shaw. Didn't go

Douglas Blvd.- Saw old Synagogues turned Baptist churches

Homan Sqaure- Saw the original Sears Tower

Rio wins the Olympics

I knew Rio was going to win. That South America has never had a Olympics sceeemed to seemed to be a convincing argument. As much as am happy that Daley didn't get his Olympics, and that he will come back to Chicago with a rare defeat, and have to face the voters in 2011, I am sorta disappointed that we didn't get to showcase our beautiful city to the world and finally rid our city of an international reputation of a city of tommy-gun toting gangsters, the home of Micheal Jordan's restaurant, and Jerry Springer.

Rock Starr

Tomorrow I am going to play Rock Band: Beatles

U2

Just went to a U2 concert at Soldier Field with Ryan Steingard. It was awesome. Elevation, Vertigo, Beautiful Day, Where the Streets Have No Name, With Or Without You, awesome live. Only have been to three in my life before, Ringo Starr and his All-Starr band, They Might Be Giants, and Jurassic 5. This was the biggest concert I've ever been to in my life.

This is......

Today was a great day. I went running at the lake, came home, prayed at church; the sun was shining through the stained glass, cam home cleaned the block and alley with a motley crew of neighbors, harangued local businesses, in English and Spanish, for not cleaning up their dumpster areas, built a storage shelf, hung out with my beautiful Ava, walked around the block with her, came back, took Liam with me to Land of Nod to buy Ava a teether, went to Trader Joe's, Liam did all of the shopping in his mini cart, went to Costco bought some diapers and wipes, drove home, ate enchiladas, gave Li a bath, read him stories, put him to bed, ate brownies at Beth and Charlie's downstairs, read online news articles, watched the movie trailer for Black Dynamite, began writing this blog.

The big news though is that I found some books that will add to my eventual book, that I haven't written yet, called Urban Imagery: For Kids. Sorta an urban planning and visual arts guide for parents that want to expose their kids in all things urban. So at Land of Nod, a yuppie kids store, I found a whole bunch of books written and illustrated by a Czech artist named Miroslav Sasek. He published very unique children's books under the name, This is......, that guide them through major urban centers of the world. Each one captures the hustle and bustle of each city at a certain moment in time, the sixties, and matches it with whimsical, stylized, comical, water colored illustrations. Check for yourself. Beautiful artwork.

Save the Pioneer Bank

Our nieghborhood is a former bright light aka theater district, and major trolley line stop. North Avenue/Pulaski Avenue, formerly North/Crawford was home at least five major theaters, hotels, restaurants, and bars, in addition to many mom and pop stores catering to locals, and still does today. The shopping district from Pulaski Rd. to Grand Avenue retains a largeley unbroken True Chicago urban streetscape, while one of the major theaters, the Tiffin, has been demolished, the five story Pioneer Savings and Trust Bank on the northeast corner of North and Pulaski remains a major landmark. Although it is a landmark in a spatial sense, it is not designated a landmark formally. It was nominated last year, but for purely pragmatic reasons, it probably will be difficult to market if strict landmark rules are applied to the building, negotiations between the landmark commission and the developer who owns the property have broken down. My guess is that developer generically develop into condos, however if they took a pulse of the community, they might find that people want to preserve our built history and maybe a library or community arts center can make use of a landmarked building. Anyone interested in preserving the built environment of the North Pulaski area can contact me at wsmilj1@gmail.com or call 637-2781 0r 794-3095.

Restorative Justice

"Restorative Justice is a philosophy that seeks to bring together all of the stakeholders (victim, offender, and community) to work together to address the harms and needs of those affected by a harm. Restorative Justice also seeks to engage the community in the process and to give a voice to the victim."

There is a block club here on this block. I am the president of the club, the 2nd. We are part of a greater network of block clubs called The Block Club Federation. The people in our house moved in five years ago, the following spring our neighbor Maria, the former block president, approached us to organize the block club. It happened, Dave became the 1st president and we began working on creating block clean-ups, consistent meetings, tree plantings, an annual block party, a tutoring center, a mural, speed bumps, new sidewalks and curbs, Halloween and Christmas Parties, backyard movies, Ladies Time Out, barbeque's, football and basketball leagues. We've organized for new streets, against prostitutes and johns leaving their used condoms in our grass, heroin users carelessly leaving their used needles in our childrens' play areas, we've fought for greater police presence, and have built partnerships with the alderman and other organizations to create a better community. It has come rather fluid and organically and without pomp and circumstance. We're just a bunch of neighbors that have coalesced as friends under a greater purpose, of creating a safe place to live for our kids and provide a forum for people to express whatever they want about improving our community and building on the assets we already have here.

It all sounds great but it has at times been tedious, depressing, slow, discouraging, confusing, seemingly worthless. Really we're part of something bigger than us individually, but individualistically speaking, it's taken a toll. But, we take this seriously. We are cognizant that building community, organizing a community, and doing community is hard work. You feel a responsibility to be involved in all the action on the block. Sometimes it can be unhealthy psychologically and emotionally. We've had to persevere through racism, classism, and claims of elitism, that we've used our power to undermine the staus quo of the hood. Some have claimed " passive-aggressive white take over", others have equated the community building as " Hernando Cortez overthrowing the Aztecs." However, nothing has been so trying as negotiating with our new neighbors for peace and quiet. It has been an undertaking of massive proportions and a masterful finesse of street negotiation and formal round table discussions that our block and our next door neighbors have come to an understanding of what our block stands for and what is acceptable and not acceptable here on Keystone. While some here had the power to "make the problem go away", we decided as neighbors to invite the next door neighbors to the block club meetings, so that we could air our concerns and they could speak for themselves.

In the initial meetings people either didn't speak up or they brought up generalities about problems on our block. We all agreed that when we saw people from other blocks, gang bangers, or randoms we weren't familiar with on our next door neighbors porch we'd talk to our neighbors directly. That didnt work. Young people, sometimes upwards of 25, would not listen to the adults, and the problem persisted. The next meeting we were directed to call the police. That didn't work. Soon more kids were coming around. Gangbangers started recruiting some of them, two guys set up shop selling weed down the block, next door was ground zero for customers and the hang out where adults couldn't intervene successfully.

We had another meeting. The voices in the club started getting louder, accustations became more pointed. So we attempted to address the situation by contacting the landlord. That created days of peace, then, like kids who start trouble when they think no one is looking, the problems began in earnest. Which led to more calls to the landlord, calls to the police, etc.

The last draw was this past meeting, last month, it was advertised a week prior, and come the day of the meeting, the victims ( the block) came out en masse, the offenders( our next door neighbors) brought an advocate to speak, to defend their side of the story and air out grievances about people calling the cops, their landlord, and (rumored) alderman about their house. At first, their advocate acted as if we had it out for them. Five people piped up at the same time and defended the actions of the block, and indicated that it was our next door neighbors that gave us the action steps to take if they were screaming at the top of their lungs until 3 am, or if 25 random kids were tearing up the block, smashing car windows or tagging up our community mural. It was the block members that called out the parents of the kids from next door to step up and be parents, if they too, really wanted the problems, that stemmed from their house, to stop, then they needed to step up. Seemed kinda harsh, but for all the negative attention that was put on our next door neighbors, I think they got to finally hear and believe all that the block has been implying for the past couple months. " We've got values and norms on this block, and either your with us or against us. And if your against us, we're organized, and your going to have a lot of heat applied to you, and if you don't like it, well, buy in to what's established here or leave." And I think we heard what they have been implying, "It's hard for us to change things so fast, we ain't use to a block that is organized, we're use to getting buck wild, so it's gunna take some time. So quit calling the police every single move we make". The community spoke, the community heard each other, things have gotten better. As many of the stakeholders as we could get were at the table negotiating how to live together on the block, peacefully. Rich, poor, white, black, Latino, old, young, renters, owners, unemployed, employed, trying to be neighbors. We've grown as a block. This is my example of, though not perfect, actually, ugly and dirrrty, restorative justice.

Reading Rainbo

I'm rereading The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros so that I can read it to my students this coming school year. The house on Mango street was not a real house or in a real neighborhood in Chicago, but a mishmash of ideas, feelings, and impressions Cisneros had living on streets near here; Keeler, Campbell, Loomis, Wabansia, Paulina, as well as stories her students told here while teaching in Pilsen. Personally, I love this book. I can sit all day and try and express the feel of my neighborhood good and bad, in poetic, romantic ways, but it is not nearly as striking as the rich tapestry of emotions, experiences, and imagery that Cisneros weaves throughout the book. Check it out.

That's What I Talkin' bout

Nothing like good old community development to get the blood stirrin. Woke up at 7:30, solicited commitments from key players on Karlov to watch over their new sidewalks so that no one steps on or scribbles their names on the wet cement. Got the graffiti busters to bust the right graffiti on the street. Went with Liam to the alderman's office, got our donations for the block party, gossiped with the chief of staff about city politics, went to neighborhood businesses and got more donations. Went to Katie's grandma's house. Came back home, got a call from the alderman's office confirming that the CAPS meeting with the police was going to happen in the Jimenez Grocery parking lot and if it rained that it would happen at the Defenders of Christ Church on Wabansia and Tripp instead. Got a call from Angel, he moaned and groaned about some random guy trying to befriend him and embezzle $70 from him. Tried to empower Angel to speak up for himself and come and report the guy at the CAPS meeting. Told him to meet me at 6:40 to leave. Went back and forth, guess the Sox game was more important than his safety. Hung out with Eric and Emily. Our kids trashed their apartment. Went downstairs, called Ramon, asked if he wanted to come to the CAPS meeting, he say OK, ate, kissed Katie and kids goodbye. Go to Jimenez, no meeting, go to DOC Church, cops cant get in, meeting is outside, people talk about all the shootings near Nixon school, flashers on the Fullerton Metra tracks, a crazy kid on Kedvale threatening old people with a gun and intentionally shooting at ladies to strike fear in their hearts. Asked questions about local gang territory and graffiti, reported drug dealers on our block. Dave asks about the boy who was trying to steal his kids' bike, that he caught and detained, and why the cops never followed up with him about whether they caught the other accomplices. The cops say after they took the boy away, the officers' SUV lost it's brakes and smashed into a car of an uninsured woman, on Cicero. No one was hurt, but the boys face was smashed into the window that separates those in custody and the officers, that is why they didn't get back to Dave. Dave is satisfied with their answer.
Leave the CAPS meeting with Ramon, drive him home, decide to stop in the 2010 Budget Meeting at Falconer Elementary to hear other community activists praise, argue, petition, berate, and vision cast. See more city workers, politicians, and their cronys than actualer concerned city residents. Talk to my alderman and the police district commander about the CAPS meeting they are pleased at the turnout. Watch a man go off about the Jefferson Park TIF district, its misuse, and how one developer has created blight along Milwaukee and Lawrence, see Mayor Daley rub his eyes, get up and leave to take a pee break while people rant, don't think they know he left. I leave myself, to take a pee break, Daley is out there schmoosing, taking pictures, joking with city workers. Watch from the side, love the theater of the whole thing. Sit down, talk to a Streets and Sans woman. Give a play by play of Daley's actions. Laugh. Sneak into some photo ops. Write down our neighborhood budget requests, grab some swag, leave. On the way out meet guys from Six Corners/ Portage Park working to get a Metra Station near Cicero and Irving, make some connections, get a card, leave, satisfied with my day.

I Can Do Bad All By Myself

I love Tyler Perry movies. Just saw a new trailer for his new movie. Madea gunna shank sombody.

Salvage someOne

Scene 1: 11:00, second floor Salvage One, Chicago,Illinois.

Bill: (Cell rings) Hello?

Henry: Bill I need you to pick me up?

Bill: Who is this?

Henry: It's me Henry, it's to hard, I cant do this, I need you to pick me up.

Bill: Henry, I paid for you to stay, it's non-refundable.

Henryr: I know, I'm sorry.

Bill: Henry, you have nowhere to go, this is your last chance, there is nothing we can do; you can only go back to the street. Henry, this is supposed to be hard, you need to stay, its good for you, you need something that is hard. You gotta stick it out, it's gonna be difficult.

Henry: It's too much, I'm leaving can you pick me up?

Bill: I can't now, I'm by downtown, I've got my niece and nephew and Liam. Stay there, I'll pick you up later.

Henry: No that's ok, I'm leaving,.......bye Bill. (click)


Bill calls Katie, no answer. He then calls Teen Challenge.


Bill: Is my friend Henry Roman there?

Teen Challenge: We tried to talk him out of leaving.

Bill: Is he there?

Teen Challenge: He just left.

Savior Complex

These past few days have been a whirlwind.

Wednesday
At night Henry shows up at my door to say hi. He attempted to get his wife to let him back in, it aint happening, no place to live. So he asks me to drive him to St. Mary's on Division so he could spend some time in the hospital, they'll take care of him. Two hours later, he shows up again, no place to live, doesn't want to live on the street, so I decide to let him sleep in the basement guest room. I told him he could leave out the back door so he could find arrangements for shelter the next day.

Thursday
Come home from Men's Group. Eat breakfast with Katie and kids, go down to pick up laundry. Smells like freshly taken shower. Henry says he had the best sleep in a long time, and that he cleaned up. Wants to know what I am doing today, I tell him I have to go to Higgins, my rental building, and do some work, he asks if he could tag along. I agree, with some trepadation, I was supposed to work with my dad, you see mixing my two worlds can be problematic at times, hard to explain, but just to say my dad likes to work alone, and having Henry in the mix could create situations where I have to negotiate around.

Everything went fine. My dad worked alone mostly, Henry tried to bum a cigarette off my dad, he said no. Awkward situation. I tell my dad Hector is without a place to live. My dad feels bad, offers a smoke to Henry. They both smoke inside the building. I kick them out. They come back, I offer my dad the opportunity for me to buy him materials while he stays back to work, alone, he agrees but tells me to take Henry he doesnt want to babysit him. I shusk him, but oblige.
Hector and I go to Russo Hardware get everything we need in one shot. Come back, my dad wants lunch so he leaves. We work on fixing doorknobs, dad comes back, we leave. Decide to drive to IKEA and get lunch in Schaumburg. Hector has never been to Schaumburg. Likes IKEA, likens it to a fancy Cook Bros. ( Ghetto Costco). We leave, go to Portillos, see a lady taking wads of cash and a portible credit card machine, Henry is impressed, creates an imaginary scenario of the lady being in the city, getting stuck, and someone taking the cash and machine. Get back on expressway, listen to a CD of indie music, Henry says he'sfalling to sleep and needs something he can wake up to. Put in a Pearl Jam CD and karaoke Alive, Jeremy, Evenflow, while driving and eating an Italian Beef sandwhich. Take I-294 to I-290, get off at Independance Blvd. Go past Garfield Park, and end up at Breakthrough Urban Ministries. Got a tip last night that there were 30 beds available. Uh,oh I thought you can get a bed just like that... no it is a 2-3 week process to even get considered. Well, Hector might have to go to Pacific Garden Mission in Podunk, southside Chicago somewhere.

I take Henry to the house to have Katie help me figure out where to take him. The process was maddening. Calling SRO's, local community organizations, the YMCA, shelters. Nothing can be offered to Henry immidiately. He is essentially on the street til he goes through the interview process for any inteim housing organization. While I am stressing, Katie and Henry are playing with my kids and keeping them occupied. I finally ask him to leave the house and come back at 6 so that I could problem solve. We finally get a lead with a group called LUCHA, but they will call with further info tomorrow. Then we realize that Henry has one more option and maybe he would be ready to enter a 1 year intensive program for drug addiction called Teen Challenge, it would meet his need for housing, food, and medical as well as building him up emotionally, physically, mentally, and spritually. We propose it to him, he agrees, does a phone interview, and qualified, and they had room, if he was serious. He said he was. We put him up for the night at the fleabag hotel and would go together to Teen Challenge tomorrow.

Friday
Hector arrives at 8am, we call Teen Challenge, they say he needs 7-8 days of clothes, Collared shirts for classes, dress shirts and tie for Church. I let Henry have a couple shirts and a tie and give him a couple bucks to by dress pants and shoes at the Salvation Army. I tell him to come back at 12 and we'll leave. He does, we go to Walgrees for some toiletries, then McDonalds for his last meal before he leaves for 1 year. We pray, then he enters the building.I read the rules and the expectations of the program to Henry. The program is very structured, its going to be hard, we both acknowledge that. 4 months at the dormitory and 8 months in Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, or Pennsylvania where he will be taught how to read and write, get his GED, and improve jobs skills. I am so excited for Hector. He seems to be excited at the prospect of reading a newspaper for the first time. I pay for the program, norefundable if Henry leaves. They assure me that most stick the program out. Henry seems worried, but he says he need to do this for himself, he's tired of living this life. He asks me to pray for him every night, I agree.


I know that this will be the program that gets Henry clean for good and on a path of realizing the person whom God created him to be.

Bochinche(Gossip)

I hate the term "white" as a catch-all phrase. Using the term "white" can be used as a way of describing injustice, whether it be institutional or individual, upon someone from a minority group. It also is used as a means of distinguishing those in power and those that do not have "a seat a the table". Periodically, it is used as an insult, such as " Why you actin' all white?". "White" is also used a marker of class, such as
"That's how white people talk." or " Why you dressin' like a white boy?" "or " That' s what white people like."
I also find it funny, when you ask a young person, with very little experience with different races, how to describe a white person, they say, "They're all racist", " They're all rich." "They're all stuck up."

This is all a preface to some of our experience on our block. These are the thoughts that have gone through our neighbors minds since our moving here five years ago. We knew it was a reality, but have done everything we can to beat the "white" catch-all phrase by just living here and creating relationships with our neighbors on our block. While I welcome all the critical permutations that the term "white" stands for, in their purest forms, I can't stand when my neighbor, outside my window, gossips about the "white people" , how they aren't from around here, that our neighbors are just puppets for what we want to do in the neighborhood, that it has to take "white people" to move here to bring up the block. All this from a friend.

All I'm saying is hearing someone describe us and what we have done collectively with our neighbors on the block in the most laziest and racist way, as "white people" just disappoints me, hurts me, and divides our block into us versus them, which should not be. We're a community of many different people trying to figure out living in the same space together; and reducing each other to the most base descriptions just fuels hate, distrust, and division. I plan to confront him and have him explain himself face to face, hopefully we'll have a nice talk. Ironically though, the puppet, La Comay, from Puerto Rico's SuperExclusivo's favorite catchphrase is, "Bochinche!".

Summer Reading

Just received a text message from someone recommending I read a book called Sidewalks in the Kingdom. This is about the city and it's built environment and it's relationship to spirituality. I am also ordering a book call Our Lot, about the roots of our current housing crisis and a critique of the American Dream of owning a home. Good summer reading.

Toilet Warz

I have the privilege, not of my own accord, of living in a society, that even to this day, favors a man. There still is a wage gap between men and women, women still must fight to not have the government make choices for her medical and family decisions. Women have made significant gains in gaining equality. However, there is one place that women should not have the same rights, equal protection does not extend to pooping in the same bathroom.