Chicago: Oh the everyday

 My mother and I often make jokes about how we could use events from our everyday life to write great research papers. I've seen everything from navy airplanes and space shuttles flying overhead, to prostitutes, to peace marches, and ponies all in my small little area of the city. Some of these things annoy me and some of these things amuse me. My need to prove that this type of stuff actually happens is the main reason I take my camera with me everywhere I go. 

Everyday life in Chicago is usually pretty mundane. You wake up, you go do whatever it is you do, be it work or school or whatever, and on the weekends you relax and party in the evening. But then sometimes you wake up on a Saturday morning and you see six ponies in front of your house. You might blink a little bit and make sure what you're seeing is actually what's in front of your face and sure enough there they are. Cute little ponies that stink.  

The day the ponies were here it was about celebrating. It was Monroefest and it was the chance to have fun,  foster a sense of community, and to just enjoy the day. However, that's not always the case when things go on here. Sometimes it's about raising awareness of the ugly things that are going on in the city. Case in point, the march that my alderman participated in. This march was all about making a stand about the violence going on around the city, especially in the poorer neighborhoods of Chicago.

The clever little shirts all said "Peace in the Hood". Normally I am a bit irritated by large groups of people outside my house, especially when they are accompanied by drums. But this wasn't one of those cases. Anyone from Chicago knows that gun violence is a very serious and sad occurrence. There is absolutely no reason for the murders that go on here. So if a politician puts himself out there, walking with his constituents to get people involved then I'm all for it.

These are the types of things though that happen on an everyday basis. 

It's pretty cool I suppose. It keeps life exciting and it means that I will always have something to talk about on this blog.


Despite these stories, Chicago isn't just the random things like ponies and peace marches. Everyday life is just people going to the beach, or jogging next to the lake. Just like any other city there is tons of traffic. Kids go to school (with their weird clear plastic backpacks) and parents go to work. There are always complaints about riding public transportation. 


Everyday life is dealing with politicians who lie and cheat all the time. Everyday life is having to be re-routed because of weather, or movie filming, or a parade for a sports team, or a big political trial. That's what makes Chicago so dynamic I suppose. There's never a boring day here. It's always something to do here that is unexpected.  


Now that I've written more than I expected, it's time for the photo spam. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of CHICAGO: THE PHOTO STORY...uh actually it's no so much exciting as it is visually appealing. Anyway, read on.

-L

Lauren Green, 2010

Lauren Green, 2010

Lauren Green, 2006