Random Thought for Thursday 6/10/10

"Hawks Win!", (another) super-short sTROYie:

"In this corner ... the constant hum and whirr of the air conditioner, providing a white noise of sorts allowing me to slide into slumber. And, in the other corner, dressed in red or purple, the opponent to my good night's sleep each night, the el tracks just less than five feet away from my bed, rumbling at all hours, with a frequency seemingly designed to make sure that I never stay in deep REM sleep for too long. But this moment, 2:22 in the early hours of this new day, was different -- the el noises I regularly absorbed into my dreams as a coping mechanism were not the perpetrators of this jolt to my consciousness.

Instead, it was the rapid fire of gunshots. With my accelerated ascension to a state of awakeness, I wasn't sure exactly how many I had heard. Was that seven? eight? nine? Regardless, by the final shot I was hyper aware that I had exited dreamland. I lay there, expecting the next wave of disquiet to wash over me -- expecting the wail of the wounded, the nattering of neighbors gathered to inspect the shoot-out's outcome, the squeal of the sirens as Chicago's finest descended on the violence.

I waited. And waited. And heard only the hum and whirr of the air conditioner.

Curiosity piqued, I headed directly for the doors of my apartment. Back door -- all three locks in place. Front door -- also locked and only silence spilling from the hallway outside. Safety assured, I peeked through the blinds of the kitchen window, allowing me a view to the alley from whence the noises came. Nothing. No scurrying shadows. No nosy neighbors. No reflecting red lights. Nothing. Then, finally, my detective diligence was rewarded. Another round of "pops" -- from the same alley but this time across the street.

I ran to the front window, debating whether I was really prepared to become state's witness were I to see anything specific. Then, off in the distance, the true source of my evening's adventure came into view. The cascading colorful sparks of the fireworks were still visible in the night's sky above the alley.

Suddenly -- clarity! It was shortly after 2:22. The bars had closed. The revelers had spilled out to the neighborhood. Wrigley was awash with drunken hockey fans. I was not awakened by a shoot-out in Wrigley's alley. I was awakened by the ongoing celebration -- Hawks Win!"

AT LEAST A DOZEN ARRESTED AT WRIGELY AS HAWKS-WIN CELEBRATIONS GO ON:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2377600,wrigleyville-hawks-celebration-0610.article

CAUTIONARY TALE - RESEARCH YOUR SEARCH RESULTS CAREFULLY:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2006/12/27/why_hawks_win