“And the bridges smell like chocolate … “

Today I drove to a random location in Chicago, parked the car, got out and started walking. I didn’t have my camera with me, so here are other people’s pictures of things I saw:

I walked up and down these bridges. For hours. At one point a bus went down one really fast and the whole bridge started trembling and I thought, Oh God, this is it.

A man on one of these bridges said, “I just want to tell you that you look awesome! Don’t be ashamed!” Naturally, this freaked me out.

People outside the Blommer Chocolate Factory were wearing masks. To protect themselves from the clouds of cocoa.

I kept winding up in places like this. Scared of being electrocuted.

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As I went back to my car I saw something unexpected. 4 grown geese and 15 tiny goslings decided to cross the street. All the traffic stopped. A cab driver actually parked and acted like a traffic cop, standing in the street and ushering the geese across. A lady called to them from one sidewalk while a lady on the sidewalk opposite yelled at them to run.

All the while the grown up geese were hissing, like cats, at the cab driver, the ladies, and the trucks.

After 5 minutes it was over, and then I went home, feeling like I had just been in another city. The chocolate flavored, sparkling city where kind public servants help feathered friends is the NPR version of Chicago. It’s not really mine, but it’s nice to know that sometimes it can be.