"Oh me too. Let's go. Where do you want to go?" I said.
"I don't know..."
Thus began this adventure, on Tuesday, October 25.
Sometimes its you just have to escape the walls of Moody Bible Institute. Its suffocating, walking the same tunnels, seeing the same people, greeting each other with the meaningless,
...."Hey! How are you?"
"I'm good, how are you?"
"Good"
"Good "....
.... conversation. Nobody really cares. It’s just our own little way of saying "hi" whilst seemingly being concerned about your neighbor’s life.
Sometimes you just need to escape.
Michelle led the way, slowly bringing us farther and farther into the depths of the city. I could hear its pulse, smell its perfumes, feel its skin, and see its exotic and dilapidated beauty. As we came to intersections, we would take whichever walk signal came first, which made out for a merry time as we put as much distance between us and Moody as possible, as fast as possible.
Our first stop was the river. We walked down to the water level, along the picturesquely lit walkways enticing and enchanting to the eye. We walked then to a sort of tourist center, which had a scale model of the city laid out on the floor. We studied it intently, seeing if we could figure where we were, identifying places we’d been or places we wanted to go.
Then somehow, we ended up at Millennium Park. We saw the Bean, the fountains, and moseyed our way down to the stage in the amphitheater in the center of the park. The amphitheater was "closed", but that didn't stop rebellious us from slipping past the barrier and heading down there anyway. It lasted about 10 minutes, before a security guard yelled at us to leave. Woohoo! Social irreverence!
Hours slip by as two people who enjoy each others company lose themselves in conversation. Our topics ranged from spirituality, college life, our homes, our siblings, our friends... life in general. We had conversations that counted; that definitely weren't shallow and forgettable. It’s great when you can finally breathe and share your thoughts with a fellow Christian with ease and without fear of judgment.
We wandered and wandered and wandered the bustling streets, and slowly made our way to Navy Pier. The only problem that with our getting to Navy Pier was how we were getting there. We were walking along an exit of some sort that was branching off of what appeared to be a highway or viaduct. Danger was in the air as we walked against the direction of traffic, which was going by at rather high speeds. At one point we were going to jump a railing that appeared to be dividing the road from the sidewalk, but in fact it was dividing the road from the ground, which was a nice 50 feet below us. THAT was fun. Apparently in our walking we had traversed up to the second story of a kind of strange traffic hub that converged a bunch of roads. I felt like we were characters in an action movie, running down the side of, and sometime middle of, the road, looking for someway to escape the imminent danger of a reckless driver. Finally we did arrived safely to the refuge of the sidewalk, and once more felt more at ease about our journey.
Upon our arrival, we decided that Navy Pier really wasn't the place to be, and our real destination was the beach. It was here that the real fun began. A slight drizzle began to fall from the sky, and both Michelle and I agreed that it was about time to have a real cloudburst. We hadn't had one yet since our move to the big city, and we concurred that it would be great to get soaked by a good 'ol Midwestern downpour. So, with that thought still hanging in the air, it began to rain. hard. really. hard. God had answered our silent prayers.
We ran along the beach, barefoot and whooping and shrieking, splashing out into the lake, then scurrying back, fleeing from the biting cold of the water. We then walked along the shoreline, on a kind of cement courseway that ran along the edge of the lake. At this point in our little foray, the practical jokes began. I, the gentleman, after jesting to push Michelle in the lake, assured her that I no longer had any intention of doing so. We walked then closer to the edge, staring deep into the dark, cold depths. With a yell and a jump, Michelle faked me into thinking she was about to push me in. I leapt back with a holler, and she burst into a fit of giggles. Little did she know the consequences of such a scare. I started toward her, with a straight face and a definite purpose in my step. She could see that I meant business. She shrieked and darted away, trying a reason with me that she was kidding and she was sorry. I wasn't about to let this one go. I got to her, scooped her up in my arms, and started toward the edge of the water. I have to say, I scared her a LITTLE bit more than she scared me. And no, she did not go for a swim. :)
After walking the shoreline for a ways, we turned back toward the city. The lights of Chicago transform the skyline into a bejeweled crown, masking so well the depravity that actually lies within its heart. We walked State Street, past the high-end clothing stores like Prada, and Brookes Brothers, and other stores that I would never step foot in whilst at college. Heck, I'll probably NEVER step foot inside one of those stores. But that's fine.
We finally arrived back at campus wet, tired, and happy. It was an evening well spent.
And I felt free.
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