by Milan Vydareny
2024-04-08

All Work and No Play

I woke up this morning feeling really lethargic. I've been working a lot of hours lately, on projects I hope will start to actually generate some income for me before the apocalypse. Sometimes, you just need to take a break from the grind, and recharge the batteries. So I decided that today, at least for the morning, I would do something besides work and worry about career advancement and economic achievement. So I decided on some radical activities:

• Cook and do some advance meal preparation.
• Cut and flatten a large pile of Amazon boxes that have slowly taken over one corner of my kitchen; then carry them out to the recycling dumpster.
• Go for a long walk to someplace new that I've never been to before.

That all went pretty well until I went out for my walk, and discovered that I had completely forgotten about the Solar eclipse that was taking place at that very moment.

As I turned the corner onto Hoyne Avenue and crossed Foster Avenue, I noticed that there were several hundred people in Winnemac Park. Actually, it would be a feat had I not noticed them. And I suddenly remembered. Eclipse!

Like a Modern Seurat Painting

Far from the Seine and Paris, Winnemac Park is a jewel of a park on Chicago's North Side. These past few months, however, it has been largely empty every time I walked through it. Chicago weather discourages outdoor activity for all but the very committed Chicago denizen. Today, however, it was 70° F. with only light breezes and no clouds. If it hadn't been for the eclipse, it would also have been sunny.The combined good weather and rare partial eclipse attracted dozens of people over to the park with their blankets, lawn chairs, coolers and other paraphernalia along with the obligatory viewing glasses to permit safe observation of this rare and numinous event.

"Just what I needed," I thought. I have always been invigorated, seeing people enjoy that park, and this was no different. I traipsed through the park, smiling a lot, and enjoying the freude of others, occasionally stopping to say hello and exchange a pleasantry or two. The park seems to have the same effect on others as well; when in the park, they put on their "friendly" hats, smile back and wish you a "good day."

Beyond Winnemac

Since my intention was to cover a couple of miles walking, I decided to exit the park and continue walking south on Damen avenue. I rarely walk much south of Lawrence and Damen, so I thought the change of scene would be somehow cathartic. On the way, I spotted a couple of eclipse observers without protective glasses; instead they were using the "pinhole camera" technique attempting to project an image of the eclips onto the sidewalk just outside of The Perfect Cup coffee house. Note the street photographer behind them, also getting ready to take a photo.

Maybe It's Spring

I'm starting to see signs of Spring! [Hooray!] The Evangelical Covenant Church (in this neighborhood we call it "ECC") is a Swedish Christian faith and the Swedes in this part of Chicago (and there are still lots of them here) generally take pretty good care of their property. You can see in these photos that they planned ahead, and planted Spring flowering bulbs last fall (or before) that we are now just starting to enjoy.

As I turned the corner onto Leland Avenue, I noticed these colonaded single family homes that looked really nice. (I don't know if they're occupied by Swedes or not!) I don't know what that flowering shrub is but it's a nice harbinger of Spring, I think.

I finally turned back North to return home. On my way, I encountered several neighbors outdoors, and of course, they were watching the eclipse. Several loaned me glasses so I could see the dark disk of the moon crossing the face of the sun. It is pretty impressive, and once you actually see it happen, you being to understand why ancient peoples viewed these kinds of events with a mixture of awe and dread.

I finally arrived at Winnemac Park on my return journey, only to discover that even more people had arrived to witness this once (or maybe for some twice or thrice) in a lifetime event.

I also noticed that Amundsen High (on the East side of the Park) and Chappell Elementary (on the West side of the Park) had brought many of their students outside to witness the event. Amundsen even set up their Track and Cross Country tent, while Chappell from what I could see from across the athletic field had some sort of camping tent set up for their students.

All Things Considered

It turned out to be a pretty good day, after all. The weather was great. The astronomy was interesting. The people were very friendly. The apocalypse failed to arrive.

What more could I ask?

Oh, I forgot, I was also inspired to write this blog. Kind of a fluff piece without much content, but I got some nice photos to share.

I hope your day went as well!