Dazed and Confused

It was an absolutely perfect spring Sunday and it was my son's 7th B day party. We had a "Pad Thai" party with wine and cheese on our deck for family members and the kids played in the yard. My son had a few kids over from his school.

I had gotten a call from a former GL surfer who moved back to the east coast. He had come in for the weekend and went to the "Subway Series"...the Cubs versus Sox game...that had been sold out nearly forever. So we arranged to get together after the game at our former Lakeview hangout off of west Belmont, Cody's. Ben and I often had gone surfing and then hit Cody's for a few when he lived in Chicago.

After the end of the party I hopped on the southbound Howard Line (Red) to get to the Belmont station, my transfer point. Each el car has a "booth" for a motorman, as any el car can be the first. When in the middle of the train, the booths are used for passenger seating. I like to sit in these booths because it lends an element of privacy.

So, since the game had ended, I anticipated the hoards of people boarding the train at Addison. I was getting off at the next stop, Belmont, anyway. So immediately this black kid with Rasta hair and long black basketball shorts sat next to me in the small booth. The train car filled almost immediately. Behind me, someone stood outside the seat where I was.

So the kid pulls out the first...a roll of $20s and $100s bills, big enough to choke a dinosaur.
He was busy counting. The "lookout" stood glaring at me and anyone who would dare notice. Then the kid pulled out his second (!) roll of bills. The kid probably had $10k in cash on him.

Not wanting to be "involved" or even nearby, I excused myself and pushed my way towards the train door, waiting for the next stop. Clearly, unless this kid was a ticket scalper, he was into drugs or something illegal.

I did my civic duty and upon stepping onto the Belmont platform, I left 911 with a full description and the train car number, etc. I hope this motley crew was met with a visit by the "men in Blue" by the next stop at Fullerton to fully investigate the situation.

So I transferred to the westbound Ravenswood and got off at the Paulina station. The neighborhood USED to be horrible. My dad used to lament the departing of the old Germans...and the "taking over" by Appalachian Whites, gangs and (horrors!) minorities. The Wiebolts closed, the old German restaurants went away and junk stores replaced the once thriving retail areas. Then the riots on the south and west sides made it "feel" like the neighborhood was nver coming back. Gang grafitti and broken windows were a pervasive sight.

Now the area is "hot hot hot". Mercedes convertibles line the streets and former immigrant frame houses that might have had five or six resident families are now being torn down...or converted to "fashionable" places with granite kitchen counter tops, etc. It is now "Wrigleyville West" or "Lincoln Park North", take your pick. Starbucks are all over the place.

So I returned to our old haunt, Cody's which is unchanged from pervious years. It is also one of the few remaining original Victorian structures around. The bar was filled with suburban originated yuppies who had just left the ball game. Some were smoking cigars and sipping wine. So our group, the "friends of Ben"...were now the interlopers. We drank there before these cleansed "invaders" invaded, roamed those streets when the 'hood was "bad" saw the flashed gang signs and heard the screams and gunshots. (when I was in HS). West Lakeview is now like Lincokn Park--full of "Pixies" and Yuppies.

I stopped for some Chinese on the way home. The perfectly lit restaurant was across from the corner Starbucks and occupied the former storefront of an excellent German bakery. I ordered some Kung Pao chicken. I like this dish because it is usually prepared with enough spice to make a person sweat. Despte the Mandarin Chinese conversation going on in the kitchen, the cooks had prepared the dish....like the 'hood has become...utterly BLAND and BORING. Like hearing about "Fusion Food" in the suburbs or Omaha or Memphis....(is real ethnic food possible in a boring places and in cities without substance??)

Yesterday I lamented that we had a big gang fight down the street. But do I "really" want the sort of gentrification and cleansing and homogenizing that a bunch of yuppies and pixies would bring to Edgewater ? Nope. maybe a little crime sf good for a 'hood after all. The two 2 flats next to me are going to be town down...so we could sell out our house and get quite a price. Will I?? Not if I can help it.