A Year in Chicago
A Year in Chicago
Our walk starts at the cancer survivors' garden at the north end of the park. We wander the length of the park but finally retreat to a bench not far from where we start. On our left, from the farthest to the nearest, are Lake Michigan, Lake Shore Drive, some upward sloping grassy park-land, a walking path, and more upward sloping grass land. To our right, there are more grass and then some tennis courts. We are in a little court-yard setting with a few benches scattered around.
The weather is so fine. Sunshine sifts through the leaves hanging above the benches. Breezes come from every direction. Sometimes birds chirp a little, but most times we hear a peaceful humming - the sound of traffic from the Lake Shore Drive softened by the near silence of the park. When the wind drifts in from the right angle, we can just make out the faint conversations from the people a few benches away.
Our surroundings are beautiful. When I look out to the lake, I see the top of many a sail boats against the backdrop of the almost inseparable blue water and the blue sky – it looks just like a masterpiece oil painting.
And it feels so comfortable. With my eyes closed I absorb the warmth from the patches of sunshine coming down between the leaves. And the caress of the breezes feels cool and makes me drowsy. It's amazing how the sense of well-being can be triggered by the smallest things. There is nothing else I need at that moment.
But such an un-eventful afternoon is not allowed. What follows is a little live show that's kind of colorful.
EP and I took turns lying on the bench. When it's EP's turn, I look around randomly and a couple on the grass land on our immediate left catches my attention.
They lie on the grass. The man has grayish hair and he wears a yellow T-shirt and a dark short. The woman has curly black hair and wears a black cotton dress. What they are doing can only be described as violently face-sucking. When I first see them, the woman has both her arms wrapped around the man's neck. The man, one arm underneath the woman's shoulder, uses his other arm to push down the top of that woman's head so that her face is smashing onto his own. And they can barely keep still - one of them always tries to get onto the top of the other so they frolic constantly. After a while they sit up a tiny bit and the man lowers his head-grapping hand downwards to the woman's waist. Their faces glued all this time only their heads shift (so that their mouths can fit tighter, I suppose?).
Not to spare EP this "treat", I do a live broadcast on the "couple on the grass". From time to time, I will declare: oh get a room already. And we hypothesize the couple’s relationship - what's the situation that holds them to the grass in an open park (where they can't really do what's so exhibitly clear on their mind) versus a bed in a closed room (where they can). The whole time they are oblivious to the people walking by the neighboring path.
The couple eventually sits up with their upper bodies separated after half an hour‘s face sucking. (Numb mouth tissues?) They look like to be at their mid forties. Then they walk away. They look quite respectable - they don't even hold hands walking away.
