Shortly after moving to Chicago years ago, I went to see the city’s Fourth of July fireworks in Grant Park with my housemates. By the time we got there at 5 PM, there was barely enough room on the grass for our blanket. And after the fireworks ended, we found ourselves walking being carried along by the crowd, right down the middle of Jackson Blvd. I’m not totally sure my feet touched the ground the entire way to the el station.
That was fun, but sometime between now and then, my tolerance for crowds took a dramatic downturn. And that’s why, given the NATO summit AND the Cubs-Soxs games, I am staying the hell out of town this weekend. You couldn’t get me inside the city limits if you laid a trail of doughnuts to Howard St.
Instead, I’ll be heading to someplace quiet–maybe the Emily Oaks Nature Center or the Ladd Arboretum. Might bring a doughnut, too.