Yesterday, we celebrated the Fourth of July on the third of July: We traveled to Glen Ellyn Illinois and spent the afternoon with lovely friends in one of their lovely backyards. We noshed and drank, we talked SCOTUS (and then drank some more) and laughed a lot. In spite of SCOTUS.
We took the Metra commuter train from downtown Chicago to the little bucolic downtown of Glen Ellyn. It’s a sweet little berg in the western suburb, and an affluent one. One of our friends picked us up at the station, and on the route she pointed out something I’d never seen before: The streets was lined with blankets and camp chairs. In Glen Ellyn, people call dibs for spaces to view the Fourth of July Parade—a day in advance. They leave their stuff out overnight. This would not work in my neighborhood. But it was sort of delightful to see.
Then, today the regularly scheduled program on WBEZ (our local NPR affiliate) was interrupted bu a report about a shooting at a Fourth of July parade. Details were sketchy. It was in Highland Park, which is very much like Glen Ellyn, but located on the North Shore area of Chicagoland.
As I write, the death toll is 6 and the shooter is still at large.
We have enormous problems and our institutions aren’t just not finding solutions, they’re working against solutions.
Today, I find it hard to feel patriotic pride. I guess I’m just grateful that my mother and father are not around to see this.
We all have a lot of work to do.
Thank you Mike. You’ve said it all. What more can be said? It will continue until it starts hurting our representatives at election time. We attended the Grant Park Orchestra annual 4th of July concert (on July 2) and downtown was packed with people. It was nice to see. But walking home, I felt like anything can happen at any moment. And it did today.
Mike, This is so scary and upsetting. I know a couple who were at the HP parade with their children and grandchildren. Luckily, they are okay. But these horrors keep occurring while politicians sit on their hands. Shameful.
Yes. A sad day and your comment about hard to have National pride is true for so many reasons. I am not proud of this country and our precieved democracy
Another day, another shooting… should NEVER become a saying!!! Alas…
Unfortunately, well said. 🥲
Oh Mike, I’m sitting at my computer and hearing fireworks everywhere while reading your heart wrenching words. In the midst of it all, I’m thinking about the day spent with Beth at a Highland Park grade school, the day after the Uvalde shooting, and worrying how many of those kids and their families are now victimized by the insanity of our political naysayers and insane gun laws. It hurts. I mean, IT REALLY HURTS.
Dear Mike,
I know Glen Eklund well. My dentist is there I lived next to Glen Ellyn in Wheaton for a while.
The famous Children’s choir met in my dentists building in Glen Ellyn. The director was Doreen Rio .
Glad you had a good time.
Annette -( one of Beth’s students.)
Dear Mike,
I forgot to say that we do have a lot of work to do and a lot of it is education. Our children today aren’t taught civics and science-(Don’t get Covid.)
I am volunteering more.
Annette
I wore black, yesterday on the 4th. I was mourning the Supreme Court’s decision to debase females to cattle. Sadly, the choice of the GOP and the Supreme Court to allow guns to anyone resulted in a happy event turning deadly. The Supreme Court also restricted the EPAs ability to fight pollution. I am indeed mourning.
No words. The hated and insanity has to stop. I, too, am glad my parents aren’t around to see this.
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