The Flaneur
It is 5 pm on a Friday night in Lincoln Park. Everyone is rushing out of work. The sun makes an orange hue against the buildings. There is an exciting energy of what's to come that night. Women and men happily talking on their cellphones and going into stores. I watch them hurrying along. Walking fast across the street a man drops his roses that he was possibly going to give his date that night. The upscale restaurants on opening their doors awaiting their new guests to come in that night.
There is an unseen romantic energy in the air. The wind is crisp and a woman's hat flies off her head as she waits for the traffic light to turn from red to green. She laughs joyfully just happy that it's Friday night. A homeless man sits on the side of the curb watching these people rush home to their families, some to their lonely apartments after work maybe wondering what it's like. The park across the street is full of caretakers with their baby carriages wandering around not noticing all of the excitement around them.
I see a billboard across the street that reads "Be Note Worthy", an interesting thing to read at this time. The sun setting on all of the buildings makes a gorgeous array of reds and oranges giving the streets a magical quality.
I can see Sears tower from here which is the largest building in Chicago. I wonder how many people are able to fit in it. There are many upscale people around me with nice clothes and perfect hair. Among them are some more homeless people sitting in little tight street corners, on curbs or in the park. These polar opposites seem to define Chicago which is a huge melting pot of diversity.
With everything I see, I am reminded of the electricity of excitement in the air and the romantic magical energy that sweeps this city on a typical Friday night in Chicago.