Here I come again, Chicago, and I know its going to be one heck of a ride for the next ten months. I just relocated from Portland, OR where I've resided for the last 3 years. I left a lot of great people and great organizations, but my path has moved me back to Illinois. I will be an official Chicagoan Monday, October 25, 2010.
My apartment came through and I'm a proud resident of the venerable BUCKTOWN! Thus, Bucktown Beat is born. I already journal the hell out of my life, so why not start this chapter as a blog. Since Chicago has an old feel to it, much like the ratty mags that came out back in the day titled with 'the beat' in it, I thought I'd take on that feel.
I'm going to blog what happens to me in Bucktown and Chicago. I seem to notice situations, people, events that most people don't as well as have some pretty unbelievable stories that truly do happen. Sure, I probably exaggerate a little, but it's based on the craziness of life.
Here's a excerpt (except it just happened last night in Portland):
Jen, Travis and I were at the local Portland Irish bar, Kell's, because I wanted to say goodbye to my most "sooooo meaty" bartender named *JJ. Hunk! This is not meaty in the sense that he's one of those guys that goes to the gym every day for 2 hours. This man is one of the most perfect meaty specimens of a man. His man thighs are slightly bulge worthy (he bikes all over). He's face is worthy of painting. He has a great smile that every woman in there would swoon over. Tall, dark, and handsome and smart as well...you get the picture. Just an all around every woman would fall for guy. I heart him but this handsome man has a girlfriend as long as I've known him so Jen and I just like to look.
Sitting at the booth across the bar, I felt someone staring at me so I casually looked around. At one of the tables in between my booth and my meaty bartender, sat three young, short guys. I had noticed them walk in earlier because one of the guys (the shortest one, like 5'3) was wearing a set of sunglasses that most blind people wear - the big bulking, black out shades. He was not carrying a walking stick, instead his hand was placed on his friend's shoulder who was guiding him around.
I swear I felt him staring at me through his shades because I had noticed his friends at the table looking over quite often. It was probably the fact that I was sitting next to Jen - a tall, super blond athlete. Men always notice her. So, I leaned over to Jen and said, "I think the blind guy is staring at me." She quickly replies loudly, "LYDIA. The BLIND guy is NOT staring at you! He's BLIND." This ensures us a dirty look from one of said blind guy's companions because I think he overheard her say blind. I replied, "I think he is."
You would think this is the end of that story. No. We don't get embarrassed when people overhear us. As a guy Jen dated for a month whom we dubbed "Deal breaker" said once to our friend Stephanie "Do you not understand them yet? They don't whisper. They don't care if you hear them!" Of course, that was only with Deal breaker. I think it was mine and Jen's mission in life to torment him. He loved it.
After finishing our Guiness, we walked outside and chatted. Another bartender came out whom we nicknamed Chauffeur (which I cannot remember why at the moment) to chat with Jen because although he has a huge crush on her, he will only call or text but never make actual plans. Men take note, she WOULD have gone out with him if he had made specifics. We were standing there laughing and out comes the two short guys with their even shorter blind friend. They carefully walk him out making sure his hand is on one of their shoulders.
I could see that Chauffeur is watching blind guy as closely as me as Jen is making some comment about how I thought he was staring at me. Travis was laughing. Then, at the SAME EXACT SECOND that Chauffeur noticed, I noticed too. Blind guy, being led by his friend who wasn't paying attention, was about to walk with his right foot right into a low standing sign. But does this happen? NO! Blind guy carefully avoids it by moving his foot at the last second. Chauffeur and I shout "His foot just moved out of the way of that sign!"
Jen and Travis and the doorman's attention rivet to the blind guy and we notice he steps up for a curb he would have no way of knowing was there without a blind stick AND he was no longer holding on to his friend who was walking three feet in front of him. Chauffeur takes off running after them.
We watch almost in a slight horror of the situation that Chauffeur later tells us he confronts the blind guy by saying, "My sister really is blind, you dick head." Blind guy, or now Dick Head, just stutters and looks sheepish.
Moral of the story: I KNOW WHEN A GUY IS STARING AT ME, be he blind or not!
-LIM-
*Name change.
