Images of Chicago

Stretching hands on a long bus ride. That was my view of the person sitting in front of me.

On June 3rd, I arrived in Chicago, after riding on buses all night. Oh, that was one wild adventure. The bus to Cleveland was an easy ride but the bus from Cleveland to Chicago? Well, that was like traveling in a refrigerator on wheels. It was so cold that everyone complained to the bus driver about the chill that they were experiencing when they were attempting unsuccessfully to sleep. At long last, the air conditioner was turned off and we all got a few hours of sleep before arriving at the bus terminal in Chicago.

Energy and excitement abounds at the beginning of the walk.

This is downtown Chicago, far from where the drones strike, killing far more civilians than "militants" and "terrorists."

We start walking through the streets, attracting much attention.

After meeting up at the bus terminal with Buddy Bell (Voices for Creative Nonviolence's Logistics Genius), I got into a van to ride to the starting point for the walk, which was Boeing headquarters in downtown Chicago. Boeing manufactures drones. We had a media moment or two at Boeing headquarters. Since I am generally not a Media Magnet, I spent my time working on staying awake and on photographing the people who were media magnets. After our first fifteen minutes of fame had expired, we began walking very slowly.

That Segway really did look like a fun way to travel... 

We were accompanied by police. There was at least one cop car. There was a walking police officer and a police officer on a Segway. The police were very pleasant. Our walking pace felt glacial. Eventually, we picked up the pace.

Theater is magic... and there does seem to be something theatrical about our march...

Beauty abounds everywhere...

This is Senji, a Japanese Buddhist monk who now lives in Washington state. When he's not walking and chanting, he likes to sing with a beautifully operatic bass voice!

Most of our route was on a bike path that ran alongside Lake Michigan. We were headed south. It was interesting to watch the character of the city change, from gleaming office buildings to lakeside resort to boaters dream and finally to decrepit and run down. In the southern part of the city, our group appeared as a curiosity. One man in a van told us, "Thank you for walking in my neighborhood."

Sometimes the signs are bigger than the people...

Don enjoys chatting with the Segway cop.

This is one of a number of colorful murals that we saw along the way to Battle Creek.

A dragonfly alights on Senji's drumstick.

Stop war drones.

I liked this building.

It was a beautiful, sunny day. Unfortunately, Ginger Bear and I became separated, and I never saw her again. I hope that she has a good home... somewhere.

Floral arrangement in front of a door.

Large statue silhouetted against the clear sky.

This fountain is a great display of the joy of water.

Little kid plays among the large colorful people.

After the day's walk was finished, we went to stay with the Priests of the Sacred Heart in Hyde Park. Our accommodations were wonderful! After a long day's walk, it was very pleasurable to soak in a bathtub.

Another mural, this one on a small building.

This gentleman, age 89, walked with us through the city of Chicago before heading back home.

A view of the boats in the clear water.

Another view of the world of boats.