Skip to main content

Standoff At 58th and Whitney


I have spoken many times of the morning walks that my dog and I take.  There are a number of obstacles that sometimes get in the way.  Climbing out of a warm cozy bed is the first one.  I set the alarm for 3:30 am and will do a snooze or two before crawling out.  Somewhere in those two snoozes I'll do a scan of my body starting at the toes and working up.  If anything seems out of order I'll push the "Stop" button and head back to Slumberland.  

 Then I'll do a radar scan on my phone to see if there are any clouds approaching that may contain moisture.  If there are any within a 300 mile radius I'll push the "Stop" button and go back to sleep.  

 If there are no body parts out of whack, rain clouds approaching, and I haven't slept past 4 o'clock, then I have no other excuse to use so I climb out of my horizontal sanctuary.  We slip on our high-viz shirts and off we go toward Roosevelt.  This first half is the urban portion of the walk.  Main artery traffic, homeless army wandering around, 7-11 and a short chat with Bruce, the security guard at Empath Health complex.

 After that it is the wild and woolly.  The last half is through some more undeveloped areas that contain lions, tigers and bears.  Well, maybe not those, but other critters are on the prowl.  

 A few months ago I spotted a dog/wolf/coyote walking down 58th to Whitney and over to a pond for a drink.  As we approached the edge of the high hedgerow that hides the pond, we saw a brown dog/wolf/coyote drinking some water.  I tried getting a picture but they didn't come out well in the dark.    


Then, a couple weeks ago, as we were walking on the sidewalk at the T where Whitney and 58th join, I spotted this.


(Cue The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly soundtrack music.)

 It was a standoff.  Whatever was in the middle of the road - and us. I'm no wolf wrangler, and I was standing where it wanted to go so we started walking along, and away.  

 


Here is a still taken from my iPhone.

 And as we walked on, giving the thing its space, it moved across the road. 



        


Luckily, it was not hit by the approaching car.  It didn't seem too upset by the car and dashed across in a kind of non-chalant fashion.  The standoff ended.  We proceeded down the sidewalk, and it was heading over to its pond, and presumably home before sun-up.  

 This area is soon to be developed.  New condos are on the way and this aspect of the walk will be changed.  Not for the better.  I don't know where this guy, or girl, lives but its habitat is clearly in this section of the city.  When they start bulldozing, and clearing the land, it will lose.  Its called progress.  I've got other words for it.  
And before I let you go, here is a video of my trip up North.  Aquaman and I, Big Drip, were out at the treatment plant and I saw this.  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flashback Friday

Class, Or Lack Thereof The Dwight Vice gravestone in Oquawka, Illinois. I bring this old chestnut out every so often just to remind me that class is classless.  Dwight Vice was killed in his home near Oquawka in 2001.  It was one of those things that can generate crime:  two guys thought Dwight had a lot of money stashed at home because of his pot-selling sideline to supplement his fishing job.   Not really one of those big drug deals gone-bad things.  Marijuana was, according to the trial, about the only stuff Dwight sold.   But these two guys barge into the house and killed Dwight and attempted to kill his 11 year old kid, Darryl, before they took off with what money they could find.   His son, now 23, was stabbed in the back and left for dead.  He survived and is wheelchair bound and has undergone several surgeries to repair his wounds.  He will be paralyzed for life.   None of this is pleasant.  Reading the f...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Mary Davis Home - Part 2

None of these pictures were taken by me,  they came right from the MDH website.  I am posting these so that friends who have never seen inside where I worked can gain access.  After 27 years I have many stories, tales and acquaintances.  But, I wouldn't know how to express them appropriately in a few paragraphs.  I enjoyed 98% of my stay there and hope I made a difference in the lives of a fraction of the kids who entered.  The original MDH at this site was just the front part.  The large red-roofed area in back was added on in the 90's. This is the Jerry Carlton library.  It was unofficially named after one of the counselors who truly loved the place.   He passed away around 2002, I think.  Mr. Farber looks like he is explaining a few things to a client. The classroom. Activity area with the gym behind the windows. Another shot of the classroom. It was a little different area to teach since we had 2 classes and 2 teachers i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Flashback Friday - Cold Case - Part One

53 years ago today, Gordon "Peel" Duncan walked into the dark post office in Seaton Illinois and was brutally assaulted by an individual or individuals.  He died two days later.  The murder was never solved.     Gordon Duncan was one of the publishers of the Seaton Independent, a weekly newspaper in town that started in the late 1800's and stopped publishing in the 60's.     We  boys were just young children when this took place, but we have been fascinated by it ever since.  The imagination of kids, I suppose or maybe the fact that it was unsolved.  Regardless, this was a big deal in our little lives.  For our parents it tended to shatter the idea that Seaton, our town, was safe.  That it could fend off the forces of evil in the world, that in our little universe we would be impervious to harm was gone forever.  For us kids I don't suppose we were old enough to know real fear.  Fear for us was not getting our list ...
2 comments
Read more