Research

As I wind up my second annual babysitting assignment in Chicago, I'm thinking back on the three weeks I've spent and what I've learned.  One of the things I have really wanted to see in Chicago is the sculpture known as the Bean.  I've tried to see it a few times as I made my way around Chicago on various visits, but somehow I just could not locate it.  Very frustrating.  So my answer was that this time I did not want to leave Chicago without seeing the Bean.  I was assured that it would be taken care of.

So one day Elly and Annie and I set out for the Bean.  Annie was delighted to show me the way through the park and tell me all about how big the Bean is.  And I loved it.  It was fun, delightful, charming.  I took pictures of the reflection of the skyline in it and my own version of a selfie, a picture of the Bean and if you look hard enough you will see a picture of me taking the picture reflected in the Bean.  Sort of a Dotty version of Where's Waldo?

Then Annie told me that, while the Bean was nice, the really great place was the fountain next to it.  She had a point.  The fountain is not your ordinary fountain like Bethesda fountain in Central Park or Buckingham fountain here in Chicago.  It consists basically of two large flat rectangles facing each other in a shallow pool type area.  The rectangles are tall and very plain and water runs down them thinly.  Look again and you will see faces are projected on the rectangles.  They are faces of random people in Chicago; young, old, men, women, kids.  And the expressions change as you watch.  And if you watch long enough, you will see the lips purse and a stream of water spouts from that place into the "pool".  Kids shriek happily and run into the stream of water, laughing and shouting and playing.  Then the faces change and we wait for the new expressions and the moment when the spout erupts again.  It is a hoot watching the fountains, the faces and the kids and grown ups enjoying the water on a Spring afternoon.  I did enjoy finally finding the Bean but I'm really glad Annie shared her fountain with me.

I'm also remembering that when I arrived, Luke was reading The Lightening Thief, the first in the series about a modern day boy who discovers he is related to the Greek god Poseidon.  The speed with which Luke devoured the book and demanded the next in the series was only a slight surprise.  I simply remarked to Luke that he had definitely come to the right family.  But then I found that Luke was not content to just read the book series.  He also wanted to find out about these gods and goddesses who were either characters in the books or were mentioned in passing.  That led to a copy of a kid's book of Greek and Roman myths.  That in turn led to books from his school library on the Greek and Roman gods, rather than just stories.  Not to mention discussions with Gran, who happens to think myths are fun stories to read and talk about.  At some point we found ourselves in a discussion about the founding of Athens and the competition between Athena and Poseidon for naming rights.  We agreed that Athena's gift of the olive tree won the day but we disagreed on what Poseidon's gift had been.  Neither of us, of course, were willing to just let the discussion end there.  Luke went for his books and I dived for my iPhone.  I loved the fact that we seem to have a budding research scientist on our hands  and even more that Luke turned out to be right.

It's been a fun few weeks.

Roads

A few weeks ago I was driving down a back road on one of the islands near Beaufort.  I was really enjoying it.  The live oaks arching over the road.  The calm green and soft gray colors.  That marvelous tunnel effect.  I was thinking that this was the perfect atmosphere to drive through and just to be in.

Then I remembered that almost exactly a year ago I was driving on roads in Oklahoma and Arizona and New Mexico and thinking much the same thing but with different detail.  I was loving the openness of it.  The fact that the horizon was a thing of the far distance.  The beiges and golds and immense sky.  The Sangre de Christos at the edge.  The exhilarating, freeing feeling that you could indeed see forever.

How different.  And how wonderful it is that two things so different could make me feel great in different ways.

But I wasn't expecting much when I set out to drive from Beaufort to Chicago.  I was surprised.  I don't have any idea who's doing the planting but someone has done a huge job.  For so many miles along my way there were the whites of dogwoods in bloom and the purples of redbud trees.  Every time I thought it was over, another clump showed up.  At first I thought they were simply wild growth but there was too much of it and it was too orderly.  Not organized or landscaped but just too consistent to be Nature I think.  And much more than I was expecting from an Interstate.

So to whoever is responsible for this program, "Thank you."  It's the best project I've seen since Christo's gates in Central Park.  And it reminds me that roads in and of themselves are a great thing and I need to keep moving because there are so many new and different ones to find and explore.