Part X

Written on Monday, December 5, 2011 at 1:25pm

At 12,000 feet in the Andes, skin becomes simultaneously burned from the intense sun and chaffed from the cold. A lack of oxygen causes simply walking to seem a huge effort, and a fine reddish-orange dust coats everything in sight...including one’s clothing,  hair, nose etc..   By my last day in Puno, my hands had become dry and cracked, I had callouses under each eye from wiping away wind induced tears, and I had dropped about 15 pounds.  I clearly had not acclimated well.. I had said goodbye the night before to my adorably snot filled students, hugging each one tightly, and was taking my last moments in Peru to walk around, to feel and to memorize.  I walked through the bustling Plaza del Armas to the beautiful Catedral de Puno. Finding relief in the cool interior of the cathedral,  I dipped my hand into the holy water, made a sign of the cross and bid a silent farewell to Puno’s Jesus.  As I headed out of the dark and into the blinding sunlight, I heard the voice of a tiny leather skinned old man asking for money. I responded with an embarrassed “Lo siento, pero tengo nada.” I am sorry but I have nothing.  I had been robbed my very first week in Peru, my accounts cleaned out, and as a result I only had enough soles left in my pocket to pay my airfare tax on the way home. I had nothing to give this man.  

A day later, after countless delays, cancelled flights, and a full 24 hours without food, an american couple in a miami airport handed a five dollar bill to me.  While hunger warred with pride, I humbly accepted. 

Had I faith, I would have given my soles to the man outside the church.

This last week in Uptown has been just horrible.  We have had so many shootings that I can’t even keep them straight to list them. On Friday around 5pm, shots were fired near the incredibly busy Sheridan/Wilson intersection..right next to a McDonalds full of kids excited to start their weekend.  One boy (potentially gang involved) was hit in the shoulder and another girl, merely working in a local shop, had a stray bullet graze her leg. As a result, Friday’s Positive Loitering was advised to loiter a bit less. There have been multiple gunshots since then, with many bullets thankfully missing people.  However, early Sunday morning one bullet found its mark, leaving a 20 year old man lying on the ground as his life quickly poured out of him.  

As normal after an incredibly active weekend, Uptown residents flooded internet blogs and facebook pages with anger and helplessness, in some unfortunate cases, more upset over their own lost sleep than another’s lost life. People are blaming the government, the alderman, CeaseFire, the police, the gangs, the parents, section 8.. and anyone else they can think of. Unfortunately though, no one has any solutions and as usual, most people upon posting their angry comments, will simply go about their lives.  Some have even blasted CAPS and Positive Loitering as pointless efforts.  And while I may agree that Positive Loitering may not magically change the neighborhood as a whole, it has changed the neighborhood for ME. I now know my neighbors and have new friends, I now have a community. I can only hope that this community will expand with more people being pushed to the point of getting involved. 

Despite my minor role with Positive Loitering and in light of the recent violence, I still felt frantically helpless and desperately in need of some form of action.  So I did the only thing I know how to do.. (no, I am not singing on a corner in Uptown...though don’t tempt me..) I turned on the oven and began to bake.  

Last week after a particularly late rehearsal, a friend had driven me home, taking the Wilson exit from Lake Shore Drive.  As he turned on Wilson and drove under Lake Shore, he looked quickly at me in horror, “These people sleep Here?!?”  ..Yes..  I had seen the homeless people bundled up in the underpass before but due to driving by often, they had quite nearly become invisible to me.  They had become my huddled Peruvian man to whom I gave nothing.  So I baked. I filled little sandwich bags with cookies, grabbed a bunch of bananas and am now headed out the door to the underpass.   I will smile and feed and hopefully be gifted with a smile in return.