Happy Chicago Reopening Day!
Celebrate at a weekend farmers market — it's like a block party with great food!
Reunited and It Feels So Good
Just a few weeks ago we were still deeply in the throes of the COVID-19 crisis and could only hope against hope that our lives would return to something resembling normal this summer. But then people did the responsible thing and got vaccinated and the infection numbers dropped, then plummeted.
And here we are, nine days before spring becomes summer, and the city of Chicago is fully reopened for the first time since the dark clouds descended 15 months ago. A photo I took of Wednesday’s weekly fireworks at Navy Pier just feels right to mark the occasion.
Last summer, when we were dug in with our work-from-home routines and making great efforts to avoid other humans, the farmers market (Green City Market, specifically) was a touchpoint for me. We were all masked and socially distanced and had to ask sellers at the farmstands to pick out our food for us, but being able to see friends and buy delicious local food was a truly endearing relic of the old normal.
I will show my gratitude by making some market visits this weekend. Hope you will too. It’s so nice to be back together again.
Amen to that, Bob. Working at the market last year taught me how to be cautious without giving into fear. Hanging out at the market this year gives me joy in being able to observe how resilient most people have been.
One thing I want to observe is that many people may still choose to mask themselves in public, and I hope other folks won't act surprised, offended, or indignant. I'm gonna be a "still-masker" for a while, both to be prudent during what's likely to be a hug-fest, and because I've learned to enjoy not coming down with my inevitable change of season hideous common cold. I'm always sick in early June, but not this year.
So let's all enjoy the freedom to choose when to protect others and ourselves, and support all the farmers and growers who fed us and provided all the beautiful flowers and plants that made sheltering tolerable.
Great column, sir!