Chicago just keeps getting better, IMHO

I had a really good "Chicago" day today. I spent the first half of the day volunteering at a Chicago 2016 event in Millenium Park. As luck would have it, the weather was incredible - blue skies, 85 degrees, and just enough breeze off the lake to keep me from sweating profusely in my Olympic bid T-shirt. The event celebrated about 150 Chicago Public School students who participated in Conservation Corps, a program of the mayor's office that requires the students to set up environmentally friendly activities in their schools (recycling, composting, encouraging teachers to bike to work, etc.).

Mayor Daley spoke during the program, which seemed to impress the kids. I was impressed that he looked so calm - I'm used to seeing him on TV, red faced and yelling at reporters. I thought it was a nice event, but a fellow volunteer's comment really made me appreciate the day. He said, "Isn't it cool that this whole younger generation will think of recycling and conservation as second nature? It's just a part of their lives." Let's hope so. Someone's got to make up for all the one-gallon plastic milk jugs my family went through in the 70s and 80s. After the program, the kids got lunch from an organic food caterer, which they ate on the lawn of the Pritzker Pavillion, my favorite part of the park, while a concert for senior citizens took place in the theater. It was quite a vast representation of ages and neighborhoods, set to ... Big Band music.

After the event, I crossed the new pedestrian bridge over Monroe Street to check out the new Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago. Because admission is free this week, it was fairly crowded. Okay, it was really crowded. But it's good to know that many people are interested in the museum, and maybe some of them - myself included - will come back again when they have to pay, or buy a membership, or support it in some other way. Like the man who seemed to be following me into every gallery, commenting to his friend on every photograph and painting with great authority. He wore a white linen suit (really) and had a ponytail (really). His companion said nothing in reply to all of his comments on Matisse, Picasso and Dali, and I can only assume it's because any kind of reply would encourage FURTHER COMMENTARY.

Aside from that guy, it was a nice visit.