Fun and Games Dept

Some family pumpkin carving fun this evening.

I think the neighborhood has more Halloween decorations this year than the number of Christmas decorations last year. There’s pumps and compressors blowing up all sorts of ghouls and goblins. Lights adorn many fences and porches. Two and three flats are adorned with decked out balconies. Every once in a while a tree or a porch will make a screeching sound as one walks by. Motion sensor technology is cool!

My husband and I celebrated nine years of legally wedded bliss today. There was no fancy dinner at a swanky restaurant to celebrate the occasion as the pandemic has changed all that. We did, however, have a wonderful home cooked meal (yay for a husband that cooks!) and great conversation.

One should marry their best friend.

Even though we’ve been together for over 24 years and as a gay married couple. have multiple anniversaries to celebrate, each one of them is special.

Especially when there’s flowers involved.

I’ve been trying to take more photos to inspire me to write more. I took this shot off the balcony the other night. It’s blurry because I have an iPhone X, the last model before the night shot feature or whatever it’s called. The little buildings you see on the horizon are the Sears Tower, the Trump Tower, and the Hancock Building. They’re about four miles away.

There were no business gatherings on the rooftop patio across the alley from us this year. The trendy building has been mostly empty since the beginning of the pandemic. Once in a while someone will sneak up there to talk on their phone during the lunch hour but there’s been no one at the bar, no televisions, no games of pool. 2020 is certainly one for the history books. I wonder if we’ll learn from this round of history.

The clock on the clock tower is always 10 minutes fast. The clock was repaired the first week of us living in Chicago. Within a day of the crane coming down the clocks jumped ahead 10 minutes and have stayed that way for three years. I find it disconcerting. I like my clocks to be synchronized.

A video of a snowball fight in 1896 was recently colorized and speed-corrected. The result was shared on YouTube. I really enjoy it, as many photographs from that era don’t feature big wide smiles and tend to lend a more “somber” vibe to the time. Ooh, and the mustaches on the men are awesome.

It’s fun watching folks from the late 19th century having fun in the snow.

I rode the Lakefront trail here in Chicago for the first time this year. With COVID-19, rising water levels in the Great Lakes, and other construction work to mitigate the eroding beaches, I was never sure as to where and when the trail was open and when it was closed.

It turns out that as long as you keep moving and don’t congregate in groups, you’re welcome to enjoy this little slice of the city.

The Lakefront Trail runs about 20 miles along Chicago’s shoreline of Lake Michigan. It’s well marked, it has exit and entry points that tie the trail into the ever-growing designated cycling routes along city streets, and for the vast majority of the trail, it separates cycling traffic from pedestrian traffic (when joggers and walkers follow their signs). There’s a couple of places where it’s particular congested, mainly near the downtown and tourist areas. Chicago’s bike share program, Divvy, is quite popular and there’s a lot of folks enjoying the availability of these bikes with their classic ding-ding bells.

I rode the trail down to the south side of the city, deciding to turn around at the 2400 block, which put me about eight miles from home (as the crow flies). People were pleasant, and when I was taking a few moments to enjoy some water and get turned around, I had a nice chat with two ladies who were out for their Sunday stroll. They were laughing amongst themselves and we exchanged pleasantries as I passed them.

My bike is nearly two decades old and has thousands of miles on it. I don’t see myself replacing it anytime soon, if ever. It does what it needs to do and I feel very comfortable on it. I swapped out the saddle a couple of years ago after my last round of surgery. I don’t need something supporting my crotch and possibly causing “trauma” in that area. The split saddle I use now is quite comfortable and it makes the rides more enjoyable.

How much fun are these folks having in this performance? There’s something special about the Mod sound in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

From 1969 here’s “The Friends of Distinction” with “Grazin’ In The Grass”.

I need to see some autumn colors today. Mother Nature didn’t really want me up in the air in one of my favorite airplanes today, so we went for a ride across the prairies of Northern Illinois.

I’m getting to know Northern Illinois like the back of my hand. I feel as comfortable driving across the backroads of the area as if I was driving the backroads of my native Upstate New York.

The beauty here is different but nonetheless quite beautiful.

We made a stop at Kankakee River State Park. The camping areas have been closed for 2020 but many folks were enjoying the picnic areas along the river. We spent some time strolling about the quiet Potawatomi Camping Area. During our walk we talked about retirement and touring the country in an RV.

I miss camping. I love nature.

As a solid Gen-Xer, I was raised on 1970s and 80s television. Monday night? Little House On The Prairie. Tuesday night? Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley. Wednesday: Eight Is Enough. Thursday: Mork and Mindy, The Waltons.

The list goes on.

Sprinkled in there was “The Mary Tyler Moore” show. The show was a little more adult than I preferred in my elementary years but I always found Mary Tyler Moore to have that classic beauty and she seemed really nice. I know the theme song and opening credits have always brought a smile to my face.

Remember when television shows brought a smile to our face? Television was an escape from the rigamarole of real life. We could step away from the ills of the day and lose ourselves in a idealized version of days gone by or laugh our way through 30 minutes of escapist comedy. Sure, plenty of shows had a realism to them, but the technology and production values of the day gave us the opportunity to fill in the blanks with our imagination.

Whenever I see the Peignot Font, preferably in rainbow colors, or hear the familiar first bass notes of the theme song, I instantly think of Mary Tyler Moore and her smile. And then I smile.

Love Is All Around, no need to waste it.