Riding a bicycle is a healthy activity and is both legal and encouraged during Chicago’s Stay At Home order. Just be sure to maintain safe social distancing while cycling.

Was biking banned?

There is indeed confusion. That’s because Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told residents to not go on long runs or bike rides during the COVID-19 shutdown. “Stay at home,” she said. “Only go out for essentials.” The mayor said this and was visibly upset at reports of gatherings around some of the parks and beaches in Lakeshore that were in violation of the order.

After this announcement, the mayor promised to back up the words with action. “Be smart,” she said. “Not only will our police be deployed to shut them down if you are not abiding by these orders, we will be forced to shut down the parks and lakefront.”

She also announced that violators will get one warning to disperse or turn away from closed parks, and then will be cited with a $500 fine followed by arrest if the person continues.

Chicago’s Press Release Encourages Physical Activity

The official press release from Chicago states that Chicagoans are still able, and encouraged, to exercise during this time. That includes cycling, walking, jogging, running.

Lakefront closed

On March 26th, the lakefront was essentially shut down. All trails, beaches and parks are now closed until further notice. Other recent closings include the 606 Trial and the Chicago Riverwalk.

Many people feel that the orders are a bit harsh and have complained that their fitness routine and ability to exercise has also been interrupted.

Exercise is Allowed

However, the mayor did say that getting outside for a short walk was a good thing, but she didn’t want people to go on long walks, runs and bike trips. She also said that she didn’t want to keep people from getting their exercise, but they need to do it in groups of less than 10 and stay six feet from one another.

The rest of the country

San Francisco has a nice guide on how important it is to bike or stay active and healthy during the pandemic. Cycling is still encouraged in Tampa as well as Orlando, San Diego and many other cities.

Stay safe.

Bicycling has a great article about how to cycle safely during Coronavirus if you’re interested.

Amid our concerns about brewers and establishments closing over the COVID-19 “stay-at-home”, we actually news of new brewers.

Crushed by Giants posted to their Facebook that they have passed all of their inspections, and are approved to operate as a brewery. The facility, from the owners of DryHop and Corridor breweries, is coming to 600 N. Michigan Ave., site of the former Heaven on Seven restaurant.

Nik & Ivy Brewing has announced that they building a taproom at 1026 S. State St. in Lockport. They’ve already posted photos of fermentation tanks arriving at the downtown location, and are looking toward a summer opening.

Also this week, Orland Park’s village board has approved a redevelopment plan for the site of the closed Toy “R” Us store at 151st St. and LaGrange Rd. The plan would see a Chiptle and Panera Bread in one new building, a Raising Cane’s Chicken Figures with a drive-through, and a BJ’s Brewhouse as an “anchor.” This would be the first Illinois location for the California-based chain. It would fill a gap in Orland Park after the closing of Granite City and with Rock Bottom’s status uncertain. Patch

You may notice most of the listings for online events are dropping the map icon linking to the Google Map of the location. I’ve set my script to drop it if the location starts with the word “online.” But if the event suggests you get the beer for carryout, I’ll try to leave it in.

Friday, May 1

Saturday, May 2

Sunday, May 3

It’s that feeling of waking up in the morning and for a few moments nothing is wrong. Everything is normal, quotidian. But as you brush your teeth, it sweeps over you. Everything is not normal.

For me, a knot in my stomach gets tighter as I wake up, as I begin again to cope with reality.

It happened when my mother died. It happened when I was diagnosed with cancer. And, it’s happening now.

It’s the way trauma works. Moments wash over you. The wheezing of a ventilator. The sound of a doctor’s voice over the phone. The feeling of an unmade bed or an IV in your arm. Moments that may seem inconsequential to others but that pound reality into your brain.

For me, it was the NBA that did the pounding. I was watching the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks play when news broke that a Jazz player had tested positive for COVID-19. Just after the half, as I remember it, the NBA had decided to suspend the season beginning the next day. The Jazz and Thunder were set to play after the Mavericks-Nuggets, but the players refused to play and the season stopped.

Whether it begins again isn’t clear. ESPN is airing classic games, tonight the Pistons smashing the Lakers to win the 2004 NBA championship. It’s a weird thing to watch.

Old games, old players—a reanimated Kobe Bryant for one—old announcers, but new ads. Every one seems to mention COVID in one way or another, but ESPN’s ad did me in. It ends with the tag, “Sports. We miss it, too.”

Out of the blue I burst into tears, just sobbed. Though I love basketball, I wasn’t crying for a missing playoffs season.

I found myself thinking, “I want to feel safe again.”

And that’s what all of these traumas have in common for me. Each in their own way is traumatic in itself. But it’s the aftermath that does me in. It’s the feeling that the ground will no longer support me. Not the earthquake itself, but the aftermath of destruction and the threat of aftershocks.

If you lose one person, you can lose another. If you get cancer once, you can get it again and worse the next time. If COVID brings the world to its knees, then the next pandemic might end it all.

As I have learned, life comes back to normal a moment or two at a time. It moves forward and slips backward. Some days a little momentum builds and then everything stalls, moves in reverse.

It takes a long time to move through the worst of these things. Especially when they’re still in motion, still wounding, still threatening.

Here’s wishing that you and yours are well and that you’re finding a way to face each day with hope.

Like me, you probably dislike all of the ads on this page. They pop up unexpectedly, sometimes cover text, start playing videos and clutter the post itself. I have no control over any aspect of the ads, from content to form to placement to number. I am sorry that they have taken over our blogs on ChicagoNow and I appreciate that you continue to read. 

Do me a favor? Click my “like” button and join our Facebook community.

If you’d like to know first-hand when I have a new post, type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

Ricky Gervais in The Tonight Show, Tuesday, April 28, 2020 (courtesy YouTube).

As horrific as the trauma and stress of Covid-19 is, I’m consoled by one thing: Our humanity across the planet has never been more evident. It doesn’t matter if you’re famous or not, rich or not, accomplished or a regular joe. We all are facing so much in common right now. The fear.  The boredom. The inability to go about our “business as usual.” The joy of the connection with friends on electronic media. The time spent with family that has become more meaningful than perhaps we ever expected. Life is so strange, and so comforting normal and basic at the same time.

Last night I caught “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon – I hadn’t seen it since the Pandemic hit, because I usually fall asleep before it comes on, but I was awake and watched how the show’s broadcast unfolded. Usually it’s boisterously with music from The Roots with iconic scenes from New York City to open, and finally we see a live, loudly cheering audience before Jimmy steps out in front of the crowd. Instead, last night’s show opened with Jimmy trying to get his daughter’s to announce the show’s title. It was very cute. It was a very quiet intro. It felt a lot like FaceTiming or Zooming with a friend at home. But it wasn’t someone I knew personally. It was Jimmy Fallon.

Then Jimmy and his wife Nancy took their dog for a walk and answered viewer mail. It’s usually an edgy, sarcastic bit. Last night, the Fallons answered a question that related to the extent they went to start their family. It wasn’t a series of quick barbs. It didn’t seem planned – it was a personal story of triumph over difficult, emotional odds. It felt like a deep conversation you might fall into with your friend or neighbor when you end up walking your dog together.

Jimmy’s first guest (the only one I managed to stay awake for) was Ricky Gervais, who of course also “guested in” from where else – his home. Typically when I watch a talk show like this and I see famous people, they’re telling stories of movies or shows they’re working on, talking about their famous friends or big news they have to share. There was a little of that. But mostly, Ricky talked about basic things, like not getting a real haircut and only cutting off parts of his hair in the back as long as he could see them from the front when he looks in the mirror.

When talking about his latest preferences, Ricky summed up what he values most: alcohol like beer or wine – and toilet paper. He summed it by saying that there really WAS no replacement for beer or wine, but if you just looked around, you could find lots of things to replace toilet paper with – books, grass, etc. So you might say, fun beverages win out for Ricky…hands down.

They also talked about how the Pandemic makes the simplest things we take for granted important – like family and dogs. They are silly guys – and so they digress when they talk – a lot. But that makes me laugh, so I’m good with it. And they played a good game of “Hey Robot” by trying to get Alexa to guess word on a note by giving Alexa clues. People just being creative with what’s around them to pass the time. They could be your hilarious brother-in-laws.

I obviously know the Pandemic is affecting all the people of this earth, but I keep feeling astounded by how alike we all are when simple conversations like this come up. “Normal” life typically puts a chasm between the every day person and famous people – but it doesn’t matter if you’re the Pope, a Hollywood celebrity, a sports star, a politician or someone who has experienced momentous history like Jim Lovell – who basically said it doesn’t matter if it’s the Apollo 13 mission or Coronavirus – you have to have the attitude that there’s a problem and it’s going to be solved. Who would know better than him?

And what about the “One World: Together At Home” concert staged by Lady Gaga and featuring a bunch of A-List performed to honor front-line communities and other workers – not for some distant tragedy as in years past for similar concerts – but for the disease that is hitting home for every human being on this planet. The concert was same idea of bringing funds and recognition to an important plight, but this time it’s an entirely different spin as viewers saw performers in a virtual setting, not on the grand stage together. It’s uplifting and eerie at the same time.

This past weekend, I also learned that a group of men that can clearly be described as some of the most iconic people to ever walk this planet – The Rolling Stones – released a song called “Ghost Town.” It speaks of being locked down and the video shows the all-encompassing emptiness of the world. As one of the important 1960s bands that came through “The British Invasion” and created some of the most important music for decades on some of the world’s largest stages – it’s shocking to think that they are now in the most vulnerable age group for getting seriously ill with Covid-19. Once again, our humanity comes back to us.

What’s the tie in for parenting teens and my blog? This is a time of history. It’s a time they’ll never forget. My kids are already saying how they know that their kids or grandkids will be studying this in history, and they suspect their kids will have no ability to relate to what it was like, and will likely be a bit indifferent. Because it didn’t happen to them.

Let’s hope they’re right. Let’s hope that someday, we can look back on this as “that time we were all locked down” as an event of the past, never to be repeated. Except, I hope we don’t forget our shared, simple, beautiful humanity. That would be tragic.

For now, enjoy this trip with the Rolling Stones – with the images a reviewer describes as “all-encompassing yet claustrophobic.” It’s eerie, relatable and historic – just like this time of life.

Subscribe by email here to make sure you don’t miss a post. It’s spam-free and you can opt out whenever you like.

I’d love to stay connected to you. Type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

There are now over one million cases of Covid-19 in the United States. 1,000,000!!
More than 60,000 have died from Covid-19 in the United States. 60,000!!
Over thirty million U.S. workers have lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic. 30,000,000!!

Those are the facts. Today we heard from Donald Trump’s special advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Here’s the response that he gave to Fox & Friends:

“The federal government rose to the challenge and this is a great success story and I think that that’s the story that’s really what needs to be told. 

Really? Sixty thousand dead is a success story? Thirty million lost jobs is a success story? Really? What would be considered a disaster?

Kushner, whose only qualification for his job is that he sleeps with Don’s daughter, doubled down with this:

“May will be a transition month … I think you will see by June, a lot of the country should be back to normal, and the hope is that by July the country is really rocking again.”

It’s a transition month for the states that will going against the administrations own guidelines for reopening. Hopefully, the transition won’t be an increase in Covid-19 cases and deaths.

Jared, you keep showing how unqualified you are to be serving the public. If I were you, I’d make sure that you keep princess Trump happy! But, I’ll make you a promise. If this actually does come true…and if it does, it won’t be because you had anything to do with it…I’ll write a piece saying that you were right and I was wrong. Deal?!

In the meantime, more Americans are losing jobs. More Americans are becoming ill. More Americans are dying. Keep thinking this is a success.

Related Post– Georgia: Bowling or death…you’re free to make that choice

Type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

A sign of the times

The Art Institute of Chicago’s iconic lions who have been known to don wreaths during the holiday season and Chicago Bears helmets during the kick off to the pro football season are getting a new look.

Following local protocol,”Chicago Together! Make a Mask, Give a Mask, Wear a Mask,” the lions have followed suit.

Early this morning workers were spotted installing the masks.

Photo: Chicago Tribune

Part two of the public art initiative will take place today at 11:00 am at the Picasso on Daley Plaza.

The media are welcome to attend but must be dressed appropriately with masks and practice social distancing.

It is requested that the public save gas and lives by staying home. There will be coverage both online and TV news.

The initiative, a partnership of local designers and the city, uses creative vision to promote public health in a uniquely Chicago way:

• While we all stay home, designers at Dimension Design reimagined what they might see if local landmarks followed the recommendation to wear face coverings in public. Mayor Lightfoot recognized that putting masks on landmarks would be an opportunity to remind Chicagoans that we are all in this together—and that we should all be taking necessary steps to protect each other as we navigate this difficult time.

• The materials used in the creation of these masks had no impact on supplies that could be used as PPE for those fighting on the front lines of the pandemic. The masks were installed by Chicago Flyhouse.

• “Chicago is made up of dreamers, thinkers and doers. I’m proud to support everyone who finds fun and creative ways to drive awareness among Chicagoans for these important public health initiatives,” Mayor Lightfoot said.

Subscribe to Show Me Chicago by email

If you would like to keep in touch with what’s happening in Chicago, like us on Facebook or subscribe to Show Me Chicago by email. To subscribe, type your email address in the box below and click the “create subscription” button. Our list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

Hold the titters and unroll your eyes, I am not hallucinating about having a conversation with a ghost-like apparition who said ‘hi’ to me in the check-out line at Mariano’s. But I promise you, I have encountered… a force… that is real and speaks to all of us in an undeniable way.

I have suspected its existence for many years. There were too many times when lost in meditation I found myself… floating… in what I would have to describe as “the beginning of time.” I had no form, nor did the… void… of which I was part. In my reverie I had the sense of having an identity and at the same time being inseparable from the whole – a single pixel imbedded in a giant television screen with hundreds of millions of pixels making the picture, so vast it couldn’t be seen unless you were on Icarus, your perspective magnified by the gravity of a massive galaxy cluster located about 5 billion light-years from Earth.

Stay with me; here is where it gets mysterioso. Since every one of these “pixels” is part of the same beyond-imagination vastness, it can be said we are “connected,” each one of us uniquely “one” and at the same time, part of “the all.” Hold that image and think of the familiar metaphorical example of a tornado in Texas being influenced by minor perturbations such as the flapping of the wings of a distant butterfly several weeks earlier in Japan. Now here is the giant leap: when any one of us speaks, feels or thinks, all of us – i.e., the Universe – are speaking, feeling and thinking.

All this sounds like delusion as very few among us can “hear” the voice when the universe speaks, because very few of us believe it even exists!

I know enough about the subconscious to understand how a Ouija Board moves, so I do retain a healthy skepticism about messages from outer space, but I am open to the possibility! See above: decades of meditation practice. And see below: a recent experience.

Earlier this week I felt compelled to call an old friend from high school days. We were extremely close during our formulative years, sharing teenage angst and triumphs, but life’s currents had pulled us in separate directions. Now, after a dozen years gone by without connecting, something unexplainable drew me to make the call.

We talked for some time; eventful happenstances exchanged; pilot light reigniting our friendship. Then, before saying goodbye, his question, “How did you remember my birthday?” My stunned reply, “I had no idea.” Imagine, after years apart, without realizing it, I called him on his birthday!

Coincidence? Could be. The odds are 365 to one, but yes, could be. Or maybe…

Here’s another of my ‘what are the odds’ experiences. Last Sunday I was leafing through the obituary pages of the New York Times, feeling good that a picture of me taken in 1972 was not among the dead, when an obit of a woman who passed at age 107 caught my eye. I had no idea who she was, but I started reading. Buried in the text was the name of her daughter, an unusual spelling that I recognized! I had not talked with this woman for ever so long, and there I was later that afternoon, writing her a note of condolence.

Coincidence? Could be, absolutely could be… but maybe, just maybe, after so many years practicing how to shut out the external world and drifting into another orbit of time, I can hear the voice, the unspoken voice of the universe itself.

She speaks softly. She is amazing.