CHICAGO - There is no doubt that Chicago is a brutal town. Forget all the glamorous stuff you see on TV and in movies. This is a place that will take your last dollar out of your pocket and stomp you into the pavement. You really have to pay close attention and watch your ass. The bottom of the elevator can drop out at any time. That's the truth about Chicago. This is the home of Al Capone and the doomed Spilotro Brothers. You know, the guys who were murdered, in the movie, CASINO, they were beaten and buried alive. For some insane reason, in the '90s, I decided to make this place my home.
It was another beautiful autumn day in Chicago, and my mind was someplace else, as I deboarded the red line El train, onto Belmont station. I walked across the weathered wooden deck and scurried down the old metal staircase, two stories to reach the street level. The cool crisp air and crystal blue skies had me thinking about fresh apples picked from an orchard. My mind was someplace else, even though I was surrounded by filth, and funky street stench.
I heard the screams as soon as I reached the sidewalk, onto Belmont street. They were coming around the corner, right outside of the train station doorway. It was a woman and she sounded like she was losing an arm-wrestling match. "Oh, good Heavens what now?" I thought as I glanced up, and started walking toward the melee.
A young woman with blonde hair in her 20's was on top of the hood of a moving car. She was pounding on the windshield and screaming violently " Let me in the fucking you car you FUCKING BASTARD!!". The young man driving the car was impatient and was pulling out of a parking spot in front of Ann Sathers. He yelled back 'Fuck off you FUCKING BITCH!". He jerked the car to shake her off and to no avail, she clung like a needy child.
He pumped the gas and put on the brakes again hoping to shake her off the hood but it was no dice. Finally, this woman reached over and grabbed the man's face through the driver's window and started punching him. She fell off the hood and onto the street, right on her back, with her legs kicking up high in the air. She sprung back to her feet, unperturbed, and proceeded to plunge into the driver's window and throw her hands on the steering wheel.
He stepped on the gas with her hanging out the side of the window with her legs dangling. He went from zero to 40 at a startled sprint. That's when I heard cop sirens right behind him and a police car raced up and got on his bumper. The manic driver put on the brakes and the young girl went flying like a rag doll out into the open street. She was trying to land on her feet but stumbled backward with her arms flailing in all directions and finally crash-landed on her rear end.
Then without any warning, the manic drive sped off and zipped around the corner on Halstead street. The cop was in hot pursuit, and he tore after the guy, leaving the girl in the middle of Belmont street. Pedestrians ran over to her to see if she was okay, and she got up and dusted herself off. "I'm okay !!" she yelled at the people "That fucking bastard!" she said while looking over at the corner of Halstead.
The Wild Walk Home Isn't Over Yet
I walked down the Belmont and was headed to my neighborhood, on Broadway. I kept looking over my shoulder because there was now this ugly vibe in the atmosphere. It was making me paranoid, and very tense. While I was thinking about the weirdness of what I had just witnessed I noticed a SWAT van out in the street. The closer I got I noticed there were three of them, and SWAT officers with rifles positioned and aiming for a window on the 5th floor of a building. Even though it was broad daylight they had affixed a big spotlight pointed at the window. This looked like a sniper situation.
The only protection I had was a cheap black leather artist portfolio, the size of a TV tray, and I held it over my head to protect my face. Like that was really going to protect me from an AK-47 bullet. I started to pick up my pace a bit and start to do a trot without looking like I was scared out of my mind. I took comfort in this big blue mailbox and ducked so I was the same height as it and snuck by. Now I could make out walkie talkies and police banter going back and forth and it did not sound friendly.
After that, I got out of harm's way and zipped around the corner. There was some bad juju in the air. Bad luck seemed to be on my heels. You can call it karma, the Universe, or whatever but it was not looking friendly. Now I had the serious heebie-jeebies and couldn't wait to get home
I lived in this old apartment building that was rumored to be a hotel during the Capone era. Some of the locals say that he owned it at one time and even filled up the walls with concrete to contain the loud noise from next door parties. I don't know if that was true or not. All I knew that we had a lot of fucking nuts in my building and it was chock full of cockroaches. No offense to Wexenthaler realty but it was a fucking dump.
I got into the building and crossed the foyer and made my way to the elevator. I got took the ride up to my floor and shook my head. I had a lot of bad energy around me apparently and was perplexed on what to do about it. I walked down the gloomy musky smelling hall back to my studio apartment and put the keys into the door.
As soon as I got inside and closed the door I heard a horrible crash outside my window. It sounded like the end of the world. It was a combination of screeching tires, screams, and metal all crashing into one. Some moron had crashed his car into the side of my building. This was like a 20 MPH zone so I have no idea how fast he was going. Within minutes there were more police sirens, fire trucks, and yelling.
There was no way I was going to leave my fucking house for the rest of the day. I was too nervous and shaken up to do anything. I was sure I had enough food to last the day in my tiny apartment. I closed the window and turned on the AC. I put the television on to find something calm and sensible to watch, you know, like The Sopranos.
The truth, if I can be honest, was that I needed Jesus. But I didn't really know how to reach him and somewhere along the bumpy road of life, I lost him. It was at that moment when I realized I didn't have any protection around me and was destiny football. Anything could happen. But for the moment I was home, I was safe, and I was out of the crazy streets of Chicago for another day.
TRUE ROCK AND ROLL STORIES !!
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