You’ve read my update from yesterday so you know how badly I needed today to go well for my sanity and my general well being. So let’s pick up with how the day started.
I had gotten the directions from Stacy late Friday night and I didn’t print them out at that point because I didn’t want to wake up my grandma. I would have plenty of time to print them out in the morning. Well Chris calls at 8 am to wake me up and ask what the fck happened to the Redskins. Two minutes into the phone conversation right after I had turned on my computer to get ready to print out the directions, the electricity goes out. I don’t think anything of it and I sit around for a few seconds waiting for it to flicker back on. It doesn’t happen. A few minutes pass and I get on the cell phone and call Chris back since the house phone is a cordless phone and thus doesn’t work when the power is out. I call Commonwealth Edison and they have the estimated time of repair at 9:30 which would still leave me with enough time to print out the directions and still make the Don Kessinger Cubs autograph signing and the rest of the deal for the day. I decide that I will go ahead and take a quick shower so I’m ready. It is pitch black in the bathroom and you can’t see anything. I open up the door leading into my bedroom and keep the main bathroom door open and open up all the shades in my room and the spare room across the hall to allow as much light from outside as would shine in even though it was gray and overcast. I also had to light a couple of candles to get enough light to see. I get my hair washed and just get myself completely lathered up with the soap when the water shuts off. I completely forgot about the well pump needing electricity so once the pump ran out of water that was it. I had to get my grandma to get a jug of our drinking water from the back room so I could dump it on me and rinse off the soap. Damn that was some cold water. Very cold. I get dressed and call back ComEd and the new estimated time of getting the electricity fixed is 10:30 which would NOT leave enough time to get stuff done and to where I needed to be. I ended up having to go to the library and get onto their computers and get the directions. The world tried its damnedest to fck me over today and keep me miserable but I hulked up and went on the offensive.
I left the library and headed for Skokie and had no problems with traffic or anything and made it to the sports cards store about 15 minutes before the signing was scheduled to begin. I went inside and Kessinger was already there signing. I got his signature on the 1969 ball along with Ron Santon, Billy Williams and Ernie Banks that I already had on it and got in the car and called my grandma to check on the electricity (I hooked up one of the old phones so she would have phone service while I was gone.) The electricity was still out so I called ComEd and more places were listed in the power outage and they had no estimate for when it would get back on. It is a damn good think I stopped waiting and just went in to the library. I decided to head over to Superdawgs where I was supposed to meet Stacy and her mom and dad in an hour. I got over there in 10 minutes and damn that place was busy. I drove up and down Milwaukee Ave. a few times looking for a parking space and I kept passing this flower shop. I said to hell with it and parked and went into the flower shop. I left with a red and a little teddy bear. I stored it in the back seat for safe keeping. I drove up and down the street a couple more times and finally found a spot. to park in the vicinity. I walked up to Superdawgs and it was time to meet Stacy.
As soon as we got there, we headed towards the ferris wheel which is her favorite attraction at Navy Pier. I’ve never been there so it was all new to me. The first thing we really see inside is a guy dressed like a spotted leopard doing contortionist stuff. We walk past that and head upstairs to go towards the ferris wheel. We had to walk through a arbortoreum kinda thing to get there and I took a few pictures. We got onto the 150 foot tall ferris wheel and I took a bunch of pictures of the view. Here are the pictures I took:
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After getting off the ferris wheel we walked around to see what was on the pier. I saw the world famous or at least to Cub fans, Billy Goat Tavern. It isn’t the one they talk about during the games that is in Wrigleyville but it is the same owners and such. I had to take a picture of the sign especially since I was wearing my Cubs polo shirt and my 1969 Cubs hat. Here it is:
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At this point my camera batteries died so no more pictures for me. I think that is plenty of pics. Stacy took a picture of the two of us with the arm extended point the camera at yourselves picture. When she emails it to me, I’ll post it on here. We sat down and watched a horrible pirate juggling act and then a really bad comedy improv team do sketch comedy. Secret Pants needs to apply here. We got up and walked around some more and ended up going to the Joe Be Do BBQ Jazz restaurant. We listened to some jazz music and Stacy was joking with me about me even bothering to look at the menu and pointed to the hamburger. Instead I branched out and got the beef brisket, cornbread and baked potato. It was the first baked potato that I’d had in forever. It was great food and great music. Stacy kept antagonizing me by taking off my hat or turning it sideways. We talked for quite a bit and then it was time for the fireworks. We watched the fireworks which were very nice and then went on the 30 minute boat tour of Lake Michigan. We got to see the skyline of Chicago all lit up at night which was very cool. I was telling stories over the top of the history of Chicago recording which Stacy laughed at.
After the boat ride ended at 11:30 we decided to call it a night and start heading back to the car. We went to the free trolley ride bus stop and waiting for about an hour before we could fit onto a trolley. It was then a mile walk up State Street to get back to the car. I gave her the rose and the bear and thanked her for a wonderful day that more than made up for the horribleness of Friday and the very bad way that the day started. She asked if I was going to give her the flower and bear if I didn’t have a good time and I told her that I knew it was going to be a good day.
I didn’t go into everything about the day but I’ll just say that I was happy less than 24 hours after the Redskins took their worst drubbing in my lifetime so that is pretty damn amazing.
My grandma was waiting up for me at 2:30 am when I got home wanting to know where in the hell I’d been and saying how she was worried that I had gotten mugged.
Well it is time for bed as my cousin is coming in 5 hours to put the celling fans in for me.
Very Good Day…the world tried to hold me down but I rose above it and I’m happy.
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