I engaged in what has become for me and maybe most people an unusual activity Saturday night. After attending a concert at Huntington Bank Pavilion on Northerly Island Saturday night, I took a midnight walk north up State Street from 15th all the way to Chestnut (900 N State). I walked from about 11:30 pm to 12:45 am, then I Ubered home.
I had not been out exploring the city at that time of night in a long while. The walk was exhilarating and eye opening in a good way!
Let me paint the picture. There is the nighttime backdrop of the city as a potbellied, middle-aged, dad wearing white sneakers, a baby blue pair of pants and a patterned button down shirt with tiny green penguins moving through the city with relative quickness. Certainly a bit of a fish out of water.
I focused on my sense of sound and smell. And I suppose touch as there was a friendly breeze that carried sounds, smells, and the energy of the city to me.
The breeze and the air smelled fresh and clean and allowed Devil Dawgs to entice me. The clean scent of various groups of young adults a mere 2 or so hours after they readied themselves for the night. The pleasant mustiness of the river. Even blasts from through street grates from the caverns of the blueline smelled sweet.
The sounds I heard were:
Lots of transportation sounds.
People out in the streets enjoying themselves and talking about their everyday travails.
Good tunes being blasted through very effective stereos by various motor vehicles provided a soundtrack for my walk and did not feel obnoxious as it might have at other times.
Jackhammering.
CTA stops being power washed.
The occasional emergency vehicle.
The sights that I saw:
Couples walking hand in hand.
Couples with dogs.
Couples with a baby carriage!
A family of muslims in front of the cultural center packing up everyone into an SUV.
Two college students waiting outside of Devil Dawgs.
People lined up waiting to get into the rooftop club at the Witt hotel.
Two young women looking for a club, any club.
Individuals walking themselves home
Groups of guys finding their next stop of the evening.
I saw the Chicago Theater marquee.
I crossed big streets like Roosevelt. Congress Pkwy. Wacker. Chicago. I crossed the river and watched some boats out for a cruise at midnight.
We transact real estate in this city and beyond. We should be in love with it and we should know it. This walk was a reminder of the good energy that is truly pervasive in Chicago. It is there if you are open to accepting it and not overcome by the bits and baubles that you see or hear on the news and elsewhere.
I think the other takeaway for me is not to be fearful. Be brave. Be bold. Be vigilant though. One can apply this to walks through the city or taking a leap and adding a marketing effort to your business or installing a regular weekly effort that you have been dragging your feet on doing like calling your sphere.
It is remarkable that a simple action can change your perspective and your prospects.
