Part IX

Written on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 5:06pm

“You could cook your breakfast in the morning with that knife and still bring it back tomorrow if you don’t like it,”  the sales clerk informed me.  I stood in the middle of the aisle, perpetually indecisive, surrounded by pocket knives and their larger samurai-like counterparts. I held a small knife in my hand, becoming familiar with the cool steel bite against my skin while reconciling it’s weight with durability.  ‘I’ll have this one,” I said, instantly becoming the proud owner of a tiny lethal 3 inch blade made by Gerber, (no known relation to Gerber baby food..) Up until this point, I had been carrying an extremely sharp serrated steak knife in my purse. I had often amused myself with thoughts of getting mugged. An unfortunate thief would sprite away with a purse full of wonders; broken pencils, approx. 39 cents, Jewel and Dominicks member cards, a crappy 6 year old phone without internet access or ease of texting, tampons, a stolen dessert spoon from Julius Meinl and chapstick.  If said thief happened to be overly eager, he, with a girlish shriek, would quickly retrieve his newly bloodied hand from my purse after encountering the unexpected open knife. (much like my husband did...) While in Uptown, I truly doubt that I am in danger.  However, arriving home nightly between 10pm and 11pm, and boasting a towering height of nearly 5 feet, I have chosen to refuse to be an easy target. I park my car each night and before opening the door, I retrieve my trusty little knife with my right hand, allowing it’s comforting weight to accompany me safely home. 

Throughout my days’ lessons in the north shore, I leave my sharp little sidekick in the car. However, I have often thought it would be truly fitting were I to be accosted someplace seemingly safe, like Wilmette or Winnetka. Ironically enough, just two days after my knife purchase, I showed up at a students lovely Wilmette home, situated directly across the street from a school, only to hear how this pretty house had just fallen victim to burglary.  The thieves, in their haste, disarmed the security alarm, yanked pillowcases off the bed of the youngest daughter, and proceeded to fill them with Ipods, jewelry, laptops and other pricy goods, before likely patting the peaceful friendly dog on the head and escaping back to where they came from.  The mom, in relaying the story, shook her head at the fact that they had just moved from Chicago to Wilmette just a few short months before.  She momentarily lamented the loss of her engagement ring..  However, her true despair was focused on her hard earned stolen marathon medals. (If any of you come across a Boston Marathon Medal, please let me know!!) Luckily, no one was home at the time of the robbery, rendering all loses merely material. 

There have been a few reports of Uptown shootings in the past couple weeks, though things have calmed considerably since the chaotic Halloween days. (which thankfully, only resulted in minor injuries..)  Amidst the shootings, people angrily and frantically posted to the neighborhood website ‘UptownUpdate,’  stating that things should be done and people need to get involved. However, a few days later, my husband reported that merely a handful of concerned citizens showed up at the neighborhood CAPS meeting. There are clearly many people in this neighborhood who demand things to magically change, yet see no correlation between their own efforts and the healing of a neighborhood. I find it prudent to mention that their efforts or lack thereof will be reflected in their drooping property value..  However, there have been many positive going ons in Uptown, the greatest of which has to be a planned 135 million dollar rehab/rebuild of the local dilapidated Wilson redline stop. This weekend, Uptown is also playing host to Chicago’s 2011 book expo (I am SO there!!) And recently there have been many endorsements from Chicago’s new mayor, referring to Uptown as Chicago’s musical center.  Perhaps things are looking up?

 My husband and I have made fantastic friends through our neighborhood networking. We have taken part in a tequila tasting event with Amy (Clarendon Park coordinator and glee club singer) and her expert event planner boyfriend.  This activity would have been much more entertaining had I not been needed to sing for a funeral the next morning.  We have made pizzas with Jan and his pretty and brilliant wife Laura, both Ph.d students at University of Chicago.  We met Jan at our weekly positive loitering and discovered that his doctorate in sociology involves observing peacemaking efforts in the Uptown and Rogers Park neighborhoods.  A couple of weeks ago, a new face showed up at our Friday night positive loitering. JW Hughs, a well spoken attractive black man shared bits of his story as a young gang member, who despite having been shot was left with his life.  Years later, he has returned to his neighborhood as the Uptown face of CeaseFire, with a mission to change a horrible ingrained cycle of disfunction, drugs and violence ..or at the very least, change one simple life.  CeaseFire is a slightly controversial group, comprised almost exclusively of ex gang members with horrifying stories who have risked their lives to turn themselves around. Once they gain back control of their own lives, they then seek to step in between gang conflicts, allowing time for tempers to cool and guns to be put aside.  They are also instrumental in setting up other activities to get kids off the streets, such as sports, arts and tutoring. Uptown’s branch has only recently been implemented this past summer which saw quite a spike in violence.  Critics of CeaseFire quickly point out the correlation between the start of Uptown CeaseFire and the flare up of summer violence. However as Jan, our resident sociologist pointed out to me.. There is no way to know how much worse the violence could have been had CeaseFire NOT opened shop.  There are also rumors and criticism that CeaseFire is anti police and will withhold important information, but as this is just hearsay, I will reserve judgment and simply add, “Where do I sign up?!”