About a month ago, Chicago hosted a
“Clean and Green” weekend. Part of what our church, CCC Edgewater, did to take
part in the event was to get our community garden cleaned up and ready
for the growing season. I have no real business in a garden, but Cary
Anne invested in a plot with our friend Lisa so they can grow their
own veggies this summer. CA took the morning shift in the clean up,
and she was put to work helping to build the raised garden beds, which means she was right in her element considering she spent her entire college
career as a student aide in the theater helping to build sets. I
took the afternoon shift, and my work was much less sophisticated.
Mainly, I moved rubble. After the morning clean up, there was a large
pile of rocks in the lot, so my team lined the perimeter with chicken
wire to keep nosy animals out, and we placed the rocks at the base of
the fence to keep it down. Overall, it was a successful weekend, and
I know we're all excited to see things blossoming when the weather
gets warm.
Then, a little over a week ago, my
brother, Jonathan, and sister-in-law, Andrea, came into town for a
weekend visit. It was exciting because not only had we not seen them
since Christmas, but also because both them hadn't been to Chicago in
years. Though the weather wasn't great, we were still able to do all
the touristy stuff we wanted.
First up was a trip to The Bean...
Up next was Navy Pier...
After that, we took a short bus trip to
the Willis (Sears) Tower, and a shaky elevator ride up to the 103rd
floor. I was a bit worried about the view considering skies were
overcast, but once we got up there I realized there was nothing to be
worried about.
One of the coolest things about the
tower is the Skydeck, which consists of several retractable glass decks that
visitors are invited to stand on, so they can look down and make
peace with their God.
 |
| Andrea, a portrait of total confidence |
The final thing we all did together that Saturday was drive out to the 'burbs for a professional soccer game. Jon is a big fan of the Kansas City team, and it just so happened they were playing the Chicago Fire during his visit. (Yes, our soccer team is named the Chicago Fire. Why name the team after a national tragedy, I don't know. You don't see the Amish naming a sport's team the Pennsylvania Schoolhouse Shooting, do you?) Anyway, what I don't know about soccer could fill a book. We sat in the section with all the other KC fans, and they seemed to keep getting excited or mad about things I didn't understand. Everyone was very energetic despite the drizzling rain. In fact, there was one KC fan there with a trombone who only seemed interested in playing music and leading the crowd in cheers. I legitimately think he only watched a few moments of the actual game.
One of the funnier things about the event is that while we were there, our friend Jesse tweeted a picture of he and his wife, Ruth, at the game. Cary Anne and I studied the picture then went on a hunt to find where they were sitting. They were right in the front row, so it wasn't too difficult to find and surprise them. Oh, the perks of social media...
In the end, Chicago defeated Kansas City, and thing started to turn ugly fast. There was a lot of shouting and cursing, and I quickly realized why there are so many soccer riots in Europe.
The next day, we had some pizza with Jon and Andrea before they got on the road back towards Kentucky. Overall, it was a great weekend and makes me hope some of our other friends will be able to visit us here in the Windy City this summer.
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