Day 54 - Chicago Knights
Trip Start
May 18, 2008
1
55
63
Trip End
Jul 17, 2008
Chicago,
Illinois,
United States
Friday, July 11, 2008
Getting up today was tough this morning because the bed was so comfortable. I eventually got up and met up with Kathy downstairs to get some breakfast. After the fooding, she decided me to show me the land since it was light outside.
I got to see the whole scope of the land they were farming. I believe she told me there was corn and soy beans that they made. All the while, their new Saint Bernard, Tucker was running around having fun biting on to my pants being a puppy. Kathy took me to the shop in the backyard and I got to see where Lauren does his side work for the town. He fixes machines and has the equipment to make nuts and bolts from scratch. It's a pretty big shop, but then again, they have the space to do it. After some playing around with Tucker, Kathy showed me her garden that she was working on and then we decided it was lunch time
Harder's farm house!
. Lauren came home to the house as we were thinking that.We grilled some hotdogs for lunch and talked about cultural issues. We shared a dialogue about how diverse Buddhism is. Recently, a Laosian family, Buddhists, had gone through family members passing away and Kathy asked me about funeral services in Buddhism, the outlook and how they're done. SGI Nichiren Buddhist memorial services are much more like celebrations of one's life and an acknowledgement that it continues.
It was the first time staying over at a place that wasn't in a city or town but I had a great time! Off to Chicago from here and it's quite a drive. I hit the road and not too far into I saw some pretty dark clouds in the sky. Hail not too long after. So big that I thought the windshield was going to crack! After a bit, it started to calm down, but the rain did not. It did not stop all the way to Chicago. I planned on driving through Milwaukee but that would just make me arrive later and I was already falling behind. Seems to be theme. I didn't really care to just drive through if it was raining.
It must have rained for 5 hours straight (and I wasn't in the same place)
Kathy and Lauren
. Driving actually made me kind of nervous since I desperately needed a tire rotation. It may be able to wait for a bit. But a bigger issue might be the problem with driving in Illinois with the tolls that you have to pay. They don't cost a whole lot but I definitely spent some time digging through my change at an unmanned exit that only takes change or a pass. What happens if you dont have 60 cents?I arrived at Jason's place a little bit later. Jason is Mark Woods best friend from way back in the day. Mark Woods is a good friend who lives in Washington, DC who I've gotten to know in the past few years. I called Mark when I figured out that I'd be driving through Chicago. He made sure that I had someone to host me while I was in his hometown. Jason was an SGI member that Mark and his brother Mike had introduced to the practice a little more than 10 years ago. Jason's place was amazingly huge! I couldn't believe that he lived there alone! We sat down and talked about practicing the SGI and our experiences with the SGI. He shared with me he had some hiccups with certain situations but we talked more about it and made some sense out of it all. The bottom line is that any organization is made of people and as such, we show our human tendencies. It's normal. The key is to look and take action beyond such human tendencies and see what's important. And I think Jason and I are very much doing that
Country livin'
.After our long dialogue, I thought we were going to get some rest as it was after midnight now, Jason came out of the room and asked me if I wanted to go out. I responded, "Well, I've gotta be on the road way before tomorrow night... ohhh, you mean tonight?" We went out.
Jason knew of a friend that was going to free wine tasting that night and he thought it might good to check that out. I drove, and on the way I got a little tour of Chicago and some of the more famous places to be around. The old fashioned architecture as pretty neat to see in downtown. We weaseled our way into the nice restaurant with the free wine tasting, Zed 451. We met up with Jason's friend at the door and he gave us the info we needed to walk right in without being hassled. Felt a little James Bond-ish. There we tried some very fancy wines, some with a sticker price of $500 per bottle/case. Like I can taste the difference... We were among company of wine tasters and vendors, mostly well dressed. Some you could tell were in the same boat as me and Jason. Nevertheless and interesting event and night. They had finger foods there and I had dinner.
We parted ways with his friend, Cole and we had plans on going down the street where his good friend Mary was working at a bar, the Blue Frog Bar and Grill
Free wine tasting
. Jason actually works there on occasion to let out the bartender in him. Mary is also a practicing Buddhist in the SGI and from the moment I met her I thought she was hilarious! She's the karaoke host at the bar and a good one at that. I learned or relearned (as I know of her family) that she grew up in Silver Spring, MD until about 1990 when they moved. She's a trip though. After spending some time at the bar after it closed with the staff, we drove home and got our rest for the night. I'm glad that I'm always up for an adventure, I would have missed out on all that!Miles driven today: 526.3mi
Daniel
