Showing posts with label jets. Show all posts
I've been working on coaxing out my inner optimist. Today marked my most recent experiment. This year marks the fourth summer that I have spent living in Chicago, which also equates to living through four Air & Water Show weekends.
Although I have never actually attended the show, I'm fully capable of imagining two million bodies crammed into the thin stretch of lakefront land between Oak Street Beach and Fullerton. And I want no part of that mass of sweaty people.
Since I also live in the vicinity, that overflow reaches my day-to-day life. The simple act of using a sidewalk becomes a life-endangering pursuit. The second anyone starts to hear jet thrust, they come to a complete and abrupt stop in front of you, even in the crosswalks, to look up into the sky. Thus, I tend to skip town each year on this weekend.
Unfortunately I skipped town last weekend and gas is expensive. So, instead I've decided to change my mind and behavior, to the extent that I can.
First of all, I've admitted to myself that sitting in my apartment and watching Blue Angels fly-bys is a rather unique experience. And the sound of jet thrust does bring me back to the absurd number of times that I watched Top Gun in high school, before I knew too much about Tom Cruise. These guys do some pretty amazing things and I have to appreciate them for that.
Secondly, I realized that through a simple act known as avoidance, I can remain mostly ignorant to the gawking masses and the inherent frustrations. Google was helpful in finding me the show times (10am-3pm), so I'll make sure to avoid the streets during that period. I'll avoid the lakefront at all costs and attempt to make any outdoor movements in a westward direction.
So maybe I'm still not a natural optimist, but I gave up a little ground. Baby steps.
formation \08.17\
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Labels:
clouds,
jets,
sky
Although I have never actually attended the show, I'm fully capable of imagining two million bodies crammed into the thin stretch of lakefront land between Oak Street Beach and Fullerton. And I want no part of that mass of sweaty people.
Since I also live in the vicinity, that overflow reaches my day-to-day life. The simple act of using a sidewalk becomes a life-endangering pursuit. The second anyone starts to hear jet thrust, they come to a complete and abrupt stop in front of you, even in the crosswalks, to look up into the sky. Thus, I tend to skip town each year on this weekend.
Unfortunately I skipped town last weekend and gas is expensive. So, instead I've decided to change my mind and behavior, to the extent that I can.
First of all, I've admitted to myself that sitting in my apartment and watching Blue Angels fly-bys is a rather unique experience. And the sound of jet thrust does bring me back to the absurd number of times that I watched Top Gun in high school, before I knew too much about Tom Cruise. These guys do some pretty amazing things and I have to appreciate them for that.
Secondly, I realized that through a simple act known as avoidance, I can remain mostly ignorant to the gawking masses and the inherent frustrations. Google was helpful in finding me the show times (10am-3pm), so I'll make sure to avoid the streets during that period. I'll avoid the lakefront at all costs and attempt to make any outdoor movements in a westward direction.
So maybe I'm still not a natural optimist, but I gave up a little ground. Baby steps.