Friday, June 14, 2013

I've Got a Pigeon in My Head

Pigeon in My Head -- Prague, May 31, 2013 (JWB Photo)


For the better part of four years now I’ve been trying to figure this blog thing out.  At first, I thought I might use the space as a place of reflection to which I could turn when I came upon something interesting or funny or, occasionally, both. 

The reflective life may be the only one worth living, but it’s hard work coming up with a new piece of wise-assity several times a week.  So I turned the blog over to one of my favorite subjects in the world, the simply complex city that I love, Chicago.

That worked for a long time, but over the months I began to realize that there were many in this city who do a better job at this sort of thing than I do, folks who have the passion, the time, and the inclination to get out there and do the research and take the pictures and write the pieces that capture the spirit of Chicago so well.

Beside which, I found myself becoming pretty one-dimensional.  The title of the blog is Connecting the Windy City, and I began to feel over the months that I wasn’t doing much connecting at all.

So I’ve taken a long time away from the blog, wondering what its next incarnation might be.  I still don’t have the answer . . . but I think I’m close.  I will continue to write about Chicago and its architecture.  It’s an amazing city that has done incredible things in a short amount of time -- it has only been 210 years since the U. S. government erected Fort Dearborn on the swampy ground adjoining Lake Michigan.

On average that means the Cubs have won a World Series championship every 105 years.

I’m going to move beyond the city, though, and try to look at other places.  Some of those places remind me of Chicago.  Many of them don’t.  But all of them are places where I have made a connection, dragged my sorry Chicago rear over their cobblestones or rode on their subways or tasted their ale.

I’ve got a pigeon in my head, and its neck is going up and down like a child’s toy, pecking at scenes and stories and trying to make some sense of them.  That will be the aim of the new Connecting the Windy City.


2 comments:

Jill said...

Looking forward to the return of your blogs!
Your biggest fan.

Unknown said...

I've been scared of pigeons all my life. I have been known to grab complete strangers. My heart beats faster and I feel sick. I saw the ad with them flying about an office last year and also had to leave the room.... even pictures make me start to hyperventilate. My boss thinks it's funny and makes fun and puts pictures of pigeons in presentations - sure he thinks I'm making it up. I've tried to 'make' myself get over it - without success. To get more info just check out plagiarism checker.