It seems whenever the temperature in Chicago goes up, so does everything else. In one of the ugliest 40 hours of the year, the City has endured rioting, looting, and of course, the never-ending murder and mayhem, which lately it seems only a Polar Vortex could disrupt. After all, there are people to be killed and territories to be gained and drugs to be sold.

Back in the day before computers, every Chicago police station had what they called a station log. All detectives and crime car officers shared the up to date events before every tour of duty. It listed all the crimes and particulars of the ongoing 24-48 hour criminal activity in the city, such as killings, shootings, burglaries, thefts robberies, large gatherings, etc.

So it was of particular interest to me when I perused one of Chicago’s daily newspapers this morning, I felt like I was back in time reading the Station Log. One media outlet called the 3 Photo’s below and the feature photo UNREST. It has the look of a POST RIOT to me. But to the usual slaughter first.

The list is endless but I will try and give you an example of what I read. We begin at 3:pm Friday afternoon.

Man shot in Humboldt Park shooting

2 shot on 1-57

Man killed and 4 wounded in Lawndale shooting

Man killed in Little Village shooting

Teen shot at Belmont Central Gas Station

Man fatally shot in Austin walking down the sidewalk

3 wounded in Roseland shooting

Man shot dead, another wounded in the same Chatham block as an earlier triple shooting.

Teen found fatally shot on east 8th ave.

Boy 14 shot in Albany Park.

I promise I am not consulting with Quentin Tarantino. This is real stuff in a real City.

The list did not contain any more shootings but at 6:15 am the final total was 6 murdered and 36 wounded. 48 more hours to go until the weekend ends. That said, we continue on.

As about 1,000 demonstrators gathered in Grant Park at around 7 PM after an Indigenous People Demonstration and rally, several in the crowd attempted to topple the statue of Christopher Columbus using a large rope to try and capsize the huge statue of the beleaguered Christopher Columbus Legacy. As the Police surrounded the statue they were pelted with a barrage of rocks, frozen water bottles, bicycles, bats, fireworks mortars, and other objects. In all 18 Cops were injured, and at least 12 were arrested. So we went from peaceful demonstrations and a rally to out and out riotous behavior.  At this point, the action was still deemed UNREST by one press release.

Trust me, I’ve seen the video, I know riotous behavior when I see it. I was a veteran Cop in the mid to late 60s. So I  know what it’s like to be a cop in those situations. Cops do not have the luxury to flee, and unless you are completely stupid, defending yourself from serious harm is called for. There is no doubt in my mind that when the press wakes up, most of what you will see is the cops in defense of their well being. It goes with the territory these trying times of demonizing the police. Now we leave the scene of the Chaos in Grant park and I could continue on with the litany of violence, but I will skip to later in the evening and early morning. Not that the mayhem has ceased. Below is an example of the Mayhem the Police faced. Now we get all the brutality crap. Some day those who remain silent will be sorry.

Yep! See photo below, the demonizing has started, less than 12 hours later. Remember those are human beings who have a right to protect themselves. You throw Rocks, bicycles, bats, frozen Water bottles, and fireworks mortars at people, expect a reaction. The cops are not out there for you to heap injury and abuse on. Professionalism and restraint lines get drawn when the violence against us starts. Brutality is not just a word reserved for Cops. So far 18 Cops have been injured, several with burns, one officer has a fractured eye socket, one a broken knee cap. Unrest indeed. Moving along.

At approximately 11:30 pm a large group of about 50 to 80  young adults began smashing windows on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile in the 900 North Block of Michigan Avenue. They broke out the windows at Bloomingdales and looted as much merchandise as they could before the Cops and private security arrived on the scene.  This behavior has been an ongoing problem in Chicago for several weeks and indeed just picked up where it left off the last 3 or 4 years. Packs of Young adults swarming into stores and looting as much as they can carry. Hey! when there are no Cops around, Loot, Rob, and have at it. That’s why folks want to DEFUND THE POLICE.DUH!

The only difference here is the stores were closed. But hey, it’s hot outside and why waste a good opportunity when the cops are mostly occupied with the “UNREST” ( THERE IS THAT WORD) IN GRANT PARK FURTHER SOUTH. We are at midnight now into Saturday so I’m going to stop writing this and at 6:30 am Sunday I will finish off the rest of the early morning. A city out of control never sleeps.

So far we are at the 40th hour in yet another weekend of unprecedented violence and mayhem. It’s 8 am and the murder and wounded count stand at 9 murdered and 50 wounded. Imagine another 24 hours to go until the weekend is over. How many more will be added to the list? Chicago a City out of control, leadership that talks and looks for excuses will once again haul out the usual bullshit to try and explain how the City of big shoulders lost its head.

I’m a huge Lacoste fan, but I’m wondering if paying $50 for three masks is exploitation? I mean we’ve paid around $7-10 for a nice mask here in Chicago, but this price feels a little exorbitant.

As I did research I realized a lot of people are charging $15-20 per mask, so I don’t want to come down too hard on the alligator company.

That alligator on the mask is what you’re paying for though, so, as a fan, I knew as soon as I saw the email, they were going to be more pricey than normal. I just wonder how good they really work?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I don’t think, “Are they worth it?” is really a fair question. Maybe the problem here is that I like them, and selfishly want them, but can’t see spending the money on something like this. It seems a bit too bougie for me, maybe even impractical?

I did notice they are donating $3.50 from every mask sold to “support solidarity and social actions.” That makes me feel a bit better, but where would you draw the line?

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Check the Monday list, and we see that some of the places that had to close down when it appeared employees had been exposed to COVID-19, have finished sanitizing and will be reopening.

It’s Saturday night as I prepare this article, and the AC in the Beeronaut Lair has conked out. We’re all kind of miserable, but I did get the kids out for their first taste of Rainbow Cones today. I have got all the events I could find listed here, but I’m going to post this and try to sleep, either in bed or in the basement.

Monday, July 20

Tuesday, July 21

Wednesday, July 22

Thursday, July 23

Usually in the summer we can live a healthier lifestyle. COVOID-19 has made this summer different. Do not let COVOID-19 stop you from taking care of your overall health. You can take precautions to reduce your risk of contracting COVOID-19 and still live healthy.

Most of us have more time available to us now than in the past. We can use that time to create healthy meals. We can experiment with healthy recipes. I used cauliflower rice instead of brown rice in one of my recipes. I am not saying that I will never eat brown rice again; however, I now know I can switch to a healthier option.

This time of the year there are several fruits in season. Instead of eating a surgery dessert, you can eat a peach, nectarine, plum, or watermelon and cantaloupe slices. You can try making different types of salads incorporating fruit.

Since we are limited in the restaurants we can patronize, now is the time to try recipes at home. You can add spices to your meals. I add cumin, allspice, garlic and turmeric to skinless chicken. I add rosemary to my veggie pasta. Not only will the spices give your food extra flavor they also have health benefits. For instance, cumin helps with indigestion, rosemary boosts memory and turmeric helps reduce inflammation.

Now is the time to load up on vegetables. Corn, cucumber, zucchini, eggplant, squash are all in season during the summer. If you can buy local. Search the Internet for recipes that incorporate summer vegetables.

Do not let COVOID-19 make you inactive. Although gyms have reopened in a lot of places, I am not ready to go back yet. I have an elliptical and a bicycle at home that I ride. I also use free weights and go outside to walk. I set fitness goals and track them for the week.

My determination is that on the other side of the COVOID-19 pandemic I will be better than I was before it started. I know it will take effort on my part. I will need to adjust and be flexible. Things are different now; however, each of us have control over our lives to pursue our goals and be our best selves.

Welcome back,
Your dreams were your ticket out.
Welcome back,
To that same old place that you laughed about.

Hi kids! I’m back! Did you miss me? Did you even know I was gone?

My brain was working on blog overload, so I needed to take a short break. I decided to try to shut things down for a week. It worked out okay. Not once did I hear the guy who lives in the White House say something bizarre and head immediately to my computer to write words about the lunacy.  Sure, I screamed at my television a few times, but not once did my fingers hit the keyboard in response. I think that’s progress. My therapist, if I had a current one, would be so proud.

So maybe…hopefully…you’re wondering what did he do during his sabbatical? Well folks, let me inform you that there is life outside of writing. Who knew? Even in a pandemic, you can find activities to keep yourself occupied which are safe and somewhat sane…although that sane thing depends on who you ask.

There were four things I wanted to accomplish during my vacation. Let’s take a quick peek at how it went:

Day trip:
A couple of weeks ago, I read a Tribune story about how you can find the best grilled cheese in a small Wisconsin town. The article made it sound fairly romantic. It was only a three hour car ride. To quote the guys from Animal House, “ROAD TRIP!!” Well, the romance was a little overrated, as was the grilled cheese, but it did kill a day.

Reading:
I’m a voracious reader. I set a goal of each year to read between seventy-five to one hundred books. I was well on my way to reaching the goal when the country shut down. I’m not sure what happened, but I quit reading. I went from reading one hundred or so pages each day to struggling to pick up a book. Twenty pages was a lot. It took me more than two months to finish a book about the women’s tennis tour.

My goal was to knock off two books this week. First up was “The Last Trial” by Scott Turow. The follow-up was the latest by John Grisham, “Camino Winds.” I made it through both of them…YEAH! They’re easy reads taking just a couple of days of reading each. I recommend the Turow book….the Grisham one, not so much.

Btw…just so you don’t think I only read legal thrillers, I’m now working on a new autobiography of baseball legend Willie Mays.

Television:
I already admit to watching plenty of the tube, so why would this be on my list? Because I found a program that isn’t MSNBC, ESPN or the Gameshow Network. My new cell phone came with a free year of Apple TV, so I finally got the chance to watch “The Morning Show.” Jennifer Anniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carrel all on one show has to be a lot laughs, right? Well, not so much, but it’s excellent television. Ten episodes of an hour each took three days. Well worth the time!

Music:
If you’re from my generation, chances are Bob Dylan is one of your go-to musicians. To be honest, I’m in the minority about him. I love his songs, but I like them better when they’re done by other artists. Still, when Dylan puts out new music, you have to give it a listen. His latest work is Dylan’s first album of new music in eight years. At age seventy-nine, Bob still has plenty to say. It’s worth the seventy-five minutes of your time to hear him out. (Teaser alert: a longer review is in the works!)

So those are the highlights from a pandemic staycation. It can be done! But, now that it’s over, I’m ready to start reporting making snarky comments again. Has Trump or any of his flunkies done anything strange lately? OY!!!!

Who’d have thought they’d lead ya 
Back here where we need ya 
Yeah we tease him a lot cause we’ve got him on the spot, welcome back,
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.

*Song lyrics from “Welcome Back” by John Sebastian

Related Post: Can you have a staycation during a pandemic?

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