Braving the Big City

It's funny how easily the whole Chicago thing has come back to me. For instance my driving, I have reverted back to my taxicab driving style. I squeeze through impossible openings, honk at cars that take more than three seconds to react to green lights, and I've been exercising my middle finger freely when morons cut me off, much to the dismay of Mark. He thinks I'm going to wreck his car. It's possible, considering how crazy people drive around here. They run stop signs, speed down sides streets, and turn from the wrong lane all the time. After driving around here now for almost six months, I've come to the conclusion that the Chicago Police are not enforcing traffic laws. The city is, with cameras (I got a speeding warning from one of them), but not the police. I have not seen one cop pull anybody over for anything since moving back here. You would think the city could close that big deficit in the budget with traffic fines... if the cops would oblige.

Another thing that I noticed about living here is that I have acclimated to the weather. Just this morning I walked the dogs around the block in shorts and a tee shirt. If I was still living in Florida, I would have been bundled up in three layers with my nice warm hoodie as the top layer. But not here, not in Chicago. I proudly walked down that sidewalk at six in the morning dressed like it was ninety degrees out, even though it was a brisk, sixty six degrees.