61 Work away all your pain

I thought I remembered more from our visit to Norm's. Maybe just a little. South Side.

Similar. Norm's place was cleaner & no backyard.

I have no idea why everyone's family members were off somewhere. We didn't ask why everybody was gone. There was more trust of fellow human beings then. Easier to get along with people when you trusted them. Norm's brother was out of town so we took his room. Something. Remember the scene in the Blues Brothers in the hotel? The train by the window. Well, the L rode right by. We were on the second floor so it was about the same level. I mean right next to the bedroom we were in. Every time it went by it didn't just make a lot of noise, it shook the whole damn building.

 

Norm's place was the complete opposite of Phil's. Kind of seedy and rundown. But the neighborhood felt more alive. Lots of people on the streets. A mixture of storefronts and plenty of bright clothing on the people walking the street. It was 1972. But, we didn't spend a lot of time outside while we were there. Pretty sure we stayed with Norm about four days or so.

Norm's girlfriend was staying there. She was very nice. Kind of quiet, but I could be at times too. I remember the four of us got along really well. Spent a little time listening to music and laughing about the state of life. You could tell we were out of towners though. How do you describe mopey New Yorkers that spent a lot of time contemplating shit on the subway? We were a little "gothier."

In a way we were all so innocent. We wanted to hear and learn about the different ways people led their lives. You could watch movies, read a book or a newspaper, or experience it. When LBJ and I met people along the way a lot of time was spent listening.

Here's the thing though... we were at such ease with Norm and his girlfriend we spent a lot of time relaxing. After the first day we hardly left the room. Even with that train going by constantly, I don't think we stopped much. Maybe the hypnotic vibration of the train did a number on us? 🤣 Couldn't control ourselves.

Wondering about food? No problem. Norm's girlfriend was kind of a riot. She made us food and left it by the door. 🤣 Knock knock knock. "Hey. I made some food." 🤣 I guess every one was laid back and just enjoying themselves.

By the third or fourth day the weekend rolled around. Norm was off work. Knock, knock, knock. "Hey, let's go out today." Norm and his girlfriend wanted to go to a nearby park and throw a frisbee around. Believe it or not, we never did that before. Long Island hippies weren't big on it. That would interrupt listening to music and all that other stuff we did. I mean I went to the beach all the time, but I went in the water and body surfed the waves. I didn't throw a frisbee.

I remember the park. Not details, but the sights and sounds. Lots of music on transistor radios. Jim Croce was playing loud. Don't Mess Around With Jim. Green grass and dogs running around.

Lots of people. Actually pretty crowded. I think it was good we finally went outside into the air and sun. Norm was cool and was welcoming. But we figured it was time for us to hit the road again. We actually had a pretty great time after our first intro to Chicago.

Went back to Norm's, had a good dinner and actually slept. Norm was a real city dweller and was worried about us. He handed LBJ a switchblade for protection. They also gave us another sleeping bag so we didn't have to share. How about that. 💞

60 So often it seems like home

58 mayor daley made this place

Lots more vehicles in the morning. I remember the sun came out and we dried out pretty quickly... except for that sleeping bag. We just kind of got up and went. Found a little place to go number one, even though I was always good at holding it. Sorry. Stuck some toothpaste in my mouth and brushed my hair. The water got us pretty good the night before anyway.

We got picked up by another truck along Interstate 90. I was in the back, don't remember much. The trucker was heading off the western course and let us off on the outskirts of Chicago, eastern side. Hitching the entrance ramp, a fella picked us up and said he could drop us off the other side of Chicago. That sounded good to us because by the looks of where we were, we didn't want to spend too much time there.

I used to hang in some funky neighborhoods in New York, but some of the neighborhoods we were driving past were crappy to a degree that I hadn't ever seen before. The guy driving seemed pretty cool but then he said he had to make a stop. He took us into a place that I'll try to describe. I was in the backseat like usual and I all I could do was to turn my head right and look at the bowels of desperation. The buildings were tumbled. If there were any people to be seen, they were joyless. Leaned or sitting, but very few. Something you wouldn't believe could exist in this country. The 70's were fun but there was a lot of struggle for the poor and middle class alike. No excuses for some stuff though. No excuses. The rich don't feel it, usually.

Like this but lots and lots of rubble. Much shittier.

Make a stop in front of a building that didn't look like anyone should be in there. If somebody was, they had to be living way worse than Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy. This was a lot worse. Ok. Like a couple of idiots sitting in the car. Oh. We didn't want to make any assumptions, right away. Sitting there, looking around. Saying "Wow. Look at this." Oh five minutes goes by... 10 minutes goes by. "What's he doing in there?" All of a sudden LBJ blurts "He's getting other people. Let's book." We were definitely so out of place there. We walked fast and headed back down to the highway. 

Hit the entrance and put our thumbs out. Typical 70's car pulled over. The guy yelled at us "What the hell are you doing out here? Get in!"

It wasn't a cop car. I just like this picture.

I couldn't tell you the exact date but it was August 1972 sometime. The only exact date I remember was the day we left because of the Rolling Stones concert and resulting mayhem. The fella's name was Phil. Easy to remember cause we stayed with him awhile. He was very upset that we were walking in that neighborhood. He didn't work and my presumption was that he was over there to pick up drugs. Phil went on to tell us about the Mau Mau killings that just happened. It was like a contained race war in Chicago back then.

Very difficult to find information on this on the internet. You're not getting your full history at all. But people were in fear in Chicago. That shithead Daley. I'm not going to say I knew everything about what when on there... but whatever he did or didn't do was no good. Corruption. Politics.

Phil was somewhere in his 20's. Just got out of the army a little while back and was living with his parents in Oak Park, Illinois. But they were gone for a couple of weeks. Headed over to a neighborhood of Frank Lloyd Wright homes and the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway. How do these cities go from one extreme to the next with a couple of miles? 

Anyway. It was going to be weird.

Mau Mau members headed back into jail.