about grant park was after it was all over. i'd gotten a call on the train from my grandma (who was so disapointed that my "i'm facinated by palin" comment weeks ago didn't translate into a vote for mccain) and it made me feel all discombobulated and wierd in a way only my grandma can. I love my grandma, but i lie to her a lot, and there's something about her and people like her who take away my personhood. But then there was the magic of the historical night on the jumbotron in grant park's butler field (i could see the lights that were shining on obama!) what was most amazing to me was everyone going home. it was the usual crush of big downtown events like 4th of july, and closed streets, i'd done that before. but at 4pm parking in the loop was prohibited, so there was no one driving. there were taxis on the street, and the buses lined up all the way around multiple blocks. (lisa! and i walked 3 or 4 blocks and passed 7 or 8 146s before we found one with open doors and passengers that looked like it was leaving anytime soon. there were bikes chained to anything that wasn't moving, and people with yes we can stickers on their helments were threading their way through the sea of pedestrians.
this is where i want to live. chicago. the loop. surrounded by teeming hoards of obamaniacs that can be sorted into all sorts of different boxes. where you can walk in the streets, and everyone takes the bus home if they don't have a light for their bicycle. long live public transportation.
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