Q: If you were raised by Dan Quiery, what fills you with a sense of pride?
A: The successful inclusion of Public Transportation into your itinerary.
I understand that the following story will sound fruitless to most.
But most weren't raised by my Father.
My Dad loves Public Transportation.
He's one of its stronger advocates.
Tonight I did him proud.
And I have to admit, this fills me with a sense of accomplishment.
Tonight I came home from work.
I relaxed.
Watched one of my favorite TV shows, The Soup, at 9pm.
After the show ended at 9:30 I got up and left my condo.
Walked the few blocks to the Metra station in downtown Des Plaines.
Less than five minutes later, the train arrived to wisk me into the City Proper.
I got off at the Irving Park stop.
Briskfully walked across the street and up the escalator to the CTA platform.
Easily, without a doubt, it was the shortest time I ever had to wait for a train.
About four stops later I'm off the train again at the corner of California and Milwaukee.
It was a nice November evening in Chicago today.
About fifty degrees.
Just warm enough to warrant me going jacketless tonight.
Long sleeves served just fine.
Less than twenty minutes later,
up California to the north,
and over Fullerton walking east,
I had arrived at my destination for the night.
A few beverages with a couple friends.
Ears willing to help me decompress my latest drama.
A roast beef sandwich on top.
Not to mention, a few tunes from a local band....
And I'm off...
This time west on Fullerton and south on California.
The wait at the eL stop was a little longer than I would've liked now (just after 12:15 am).
A quick hustle back across the street at the Irving Park stops provided the night's only true drama.
But fear not, I was able to catch the very last outbound train.
Promptly at 12:43 am.
Bringing me back to downtown Des Plaines some fifteen minutes ago at 1:04.
Allowing me to be blogging in front of my computer by 1:15.
By the time I have finished this post, it's 1:30.
Exactly four hours from the time I left here.
I feel like I hit the town with the precision of a sniper.
What did I actually accomplish?
Not much.
But it was better than what I did yesterday: Watch Road House on DVD.
