On the Grid

I got the call I had been waiting for all day.

"Come and get me. They're releasing me in an hour."

Mark had spent the day at the hospital getting probed, stuck, and having photos taken of his insides. Now they were done with him. At four forty five in the afternoon they let him go home. A seven mile drive that usually takes me anywhere from fifteen to twenty minutes. But this was rush hour and everybody was out on the streets, so it would take much longer. In addition to rush hour, the Chicago Cubs were playing at Wrigley field and the suburban hordes were storming "Wrigleyville". (Not really called Wrigleyville except by the suburban hordes. Real name, Lakeview.) Now, with traffic at near gridlock, add in a protest march down Lake Shore Drive and over to Wrigley Field. I don't disagree with the protestors. The city has done very little for many areas where the complexion is not quite as fair as it is on the North Side. So I couldn't take my normal route to pick up Mark. Instead I had to zig zag down side streets, which works out great if you know what you are doing. The biggest problem with the side streets though, are the speed bumps. Oh, and the bicyclists who think they don't have to stop at stop signs. Oh, oh.. and pedestrians who are staring down at their smart phones as they wander aimlessly across streets. Other than that, and double parked trucks, the side streets worked for me. But I have a sneaking suspicion that much of the gridlock in Chicago is caused by Uber/Lyft drivers. There has to be a hundred thousand of them here because every time I'm stuck in traffic I see the stickers on all the cars around me. Uber cars, uninspected personal cars driven by the owners. Just shove the baby seat over to the side and hop in. No chauffer's license for the drivers, no safety inspection needed. I don't know why the city would let them get away with it, unless...  maybe, it's because the mayor's brother is a major investor in Uber. Nah, corruption in Chicago? Unheard of.