Mondays with Mike: A nice COVID leftover  

The view of Printers Row Park from our window.

Don’t let that headline mislead you about what I think about COVID.

COVID continues to suck. Not as bad as it did, but still pretty bad. I, for example, still have spells where my balance is compromised and it feels like I’m going to tip over. It’s not often, but still too often.

Based on the behavior of motorists, bicyclists, and those crazy electric scooter riders, it feels a lot like COVID left people with a sense that none of the pre-COVID rules and norms apply. (I’m talking to you, bicyclists who ride on the sidewalks.)

COVID did, however, force us to be creative and resourceful. For us and our friends here in our Printers Row neighborhood, that question became how can we get together safely. The answer was and is right outside Beth and my place’s window: Printers Row Park.

It’s more of an urban plaza, there isn’t much green space. I wrote in earlier post about our get-togethers there. I’m happy to report that even though we gather indoors, as we did last night for dinner at our place, we are keeping the park tradition alive.

Camp chairs are de rigueur. Sometimes food is involved, and an informal pot luck ensues. Beth will whip up some yummy deviled eggs. Our friend Jim brings a fold up table.

Conversation and laughter commence. Our last outing was badly needed. It was on the Fourth of July, the day of the Highland Park shootings. Despite the threat of rain, we chanced it. And we were lucky for a while. Then it started drizzling. Then it picked up. For some reason we didn’t fold. We sat out there eating polish sausage that Jim fixed, getting rained on. Umbrellas came out, with one of our party telling another–noticing that he had a domed umbrella and was holding a wine glass, pinky up–that he looked like Mary Poppins.

Still, we persisted. It was absurd, really.

But then the rain stopped. And then the sun came out. And we ended up staying out until dark. It was delightful, all in all.

Best part? Our pal Jim brought a radio control model of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. I’ll leave you with this: