Sunday in Chicago

Well, I guess I owe two posts tonight. Got back from the Sox game late and was totally exhausted. So I'll do two tonight.

Woke up in the morning Sunday and started getting ready for church. Checkout time was noon, so I wanted to go to Mass early and then relax a bit before packing up and going to Oak Brook.

I went to Mass at Our Lady of Hope in Rosemont. It was a few blocks down Higgins Rd from the Giordano's I went to last Wednesday night. Had a celebrity priest...Msgr. Kenneth Velo. He is in residence there. Msgr Velo was Joseph Cardinal Bernadin, former Archbishop of Chicago's, confidente and right-hand man. He even gave the homily/eulogy at the Cardinal's funeral in the mid-1990's. He was also the head of the Catholic Extension Society. So I was shocked that he was out in Rosemont.

The church was very modern...ugh! I still wonder where they hid the tabernacle! I never saw one! No pews, just the chairs with the individual kneelers that fold down.

Coming back to the hotel from Mass, I walked into the lobby and almost ran right into another celebrity. Jesse Jackson was standing there talking. His Rainbow Coalition/Operation PUSH group was having their conference at the same hotel starting Sunday morning. I was not thrilled!

I went to breakfast at the hotel...waffles and coffee. There he comes again, glad-handing through the hotel restaurant! He looked over, but didn't come to my table.

Checked out about 11 am and started the trek to the South Side! Took Mannheim Rd to Cermak Rd and headed due west until Spring Rd and the Renaissance. I got a room quickley, eventhough it was 3 hours before check-in. Answered some email and then went for a stroll. The weather was very cool and I was a bit worried about how cold it would be at the ballgame.

I left about 4 pm for the train station. The closest one to here is in Forest Park at Lake St and Des Plaines. This train is still the Blue Line, but it follows the Eisenhower Expressway, whereas the one from Rosemont followed the Kennedy. It was a quick trip and was at the ballpark by 4:45. I decided to go to GrandStand at the corner of 35th & Wallace to do some White Sox shopping. I bought a thermal shirt! Also walked across the street and looked at McClellan Elementary School. Mom went there in the early 1940's. Still in great shape. The I decided to walk to 35th & Lituanica and walk the streets around my grandmothers old house. It hurt my heart. I don't think I can say anymore to describe how that neighborhood looks. Halsted Ave was the major commerce center in Bridgeport. Now, whole blocks of the old stores are torn down and vacant. They are building some condos there...amazingly on the corner of Lituanica where the hot dog stand was. Prices...starting in the mid $300's. Walked back to the park and found my seat.

Since it was cold, there were some open seats. My view was great...upper deck behind third base. There was an Asian sitting next to me. We chatted a bit and he said he was from China. His first baseball game! And he asked if I could explain some of what was happening so he could understand it. So, that gave me carte blanche to have free rein over the whole game and conversation! He thanked me at the end and said that without me, he wouldn't have had any fun! I found out he is a surgeon in China and is spending a year in the US at the University of Chicago learning new techniques. He has been here only 10 days and took the bus to the game. I hope he made it home safely..some of the neighborhoods between Comiskey and UC aren't the greatest.

Well, the Sox jumped to a lead, then lost it. Starting the bottom of the ninth, the Sox were down 10-2. I stuck it out as it would be my last game for awhile. Glad I did! The Sox came back with 6 runs and although they lost 10-8, they didn't just give up! There were two HR's in the game, so I got to see the scoreboard go off. Being a full ninth inning, I finally made it back to the hotel about 11:30.

I sat a minute to plan out Monday's activities, then chucked the paper and pen aside and went to sleep.

It was a great Sunday...and yes, the pattern continued...win win loss, win win loss.

Mark