Chuckles, Fulton and 20 years

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10/1/21 | 37/52

Summer warmth hasn't left us completely. You can still get a good sweat going pushing down the street. I'm not complaining. I know I'll miss it when it's just a memory.

Kyle is having a conversation with Bing for the Chicago Humanities Fest. Grab a ticket if your free on Sunday the 10th.

Over here I've been keeping my head down and trying to be efficient and productive. Over here I've been working hard at making the most of this beautiful day.

friends called him Chuckles

down by Fulton

My friend Dan first took me to skate Fulton Market after Jason worked on my octopus sock tattoo. I think we just skated the low angle iron ledge and we didn't stay for long. My shin was already sore and bleeding and I wasn't really up for too much rolling around. Later on we spent a lot of time at the two tier curbs right off of Halsted in front of the fish market. Then after a couple boardslides on the jumbo parking lot we'd head over to the metal ledge by the meat market. If it rained in the last couple days there would be a puddle with an oily film you had to watch out for.

At one point we'd head down there most Sundays. Warm up at Wilson and then, "Wanna go down by Fulton?" When it was at its most popular there'd always be a bunch of crews down that way. Some would be filming or shooting photos. You'd run into old friends or someone from the suburbs. It was pretty desolate and except for the box trucks, it was mostly free of traffic. Spots would go through phases. We skated the top of the parking garage with its curbs, the doublesided drop and the awful ground. There was the bump to bump with the metal garage door that was a struggle. Other people skated the weird concrete roll down to ledge drop but I never had anything for it.

As we pushed around further we found new things. The tiny hill to bomb. The ledge with a corner that was there and then gone. The red curbs at Coyne. We skated those for hours. One of the last times I was there a construction worker who was on the clock came over to kick me out, saw how old I was and told me to be careful and not to get hurt. Here's a simple truth for anyone who wants to tell me not get hurt skateboarding. I'm with you. I don't want to get hurt skateboarding or in general. Getting hurt is something to avoid.

Over time more restaurants opened on Fulton. Sometimes they actually made new spots like the ledge off the stairs or the new upledge. I'm not mad at new restaurants, especially when they have delicious food, but that was the start of the end.

We used to go down by Fulton but the Fulton we used to go down to is not there anymore. It's been replaced by Google and condos and hotels. Now it's called a "District." I'm not complaining. I understand. The city needs to keep evolving. But I do miss having it as a reliable destination even if we all got burned out from skating there too much. Now if I find myself down there I look at all the new buildings and marvel at all the traffic. I thought I'd end this week with an old Fulton Clip. Full vignette, jeans, no hat, no mustache. It was a different world back then.

Friend of the Week

This week's friend is my best friend and on Monday we celebrate 20 years of being married. We had a bunch of travel plans and adventures but for right now that's simmering on the stove until its ready to be served. It's weird, I remember fun times and laughing and late nights and dancing and amazing dinners and getting back into bed for lazy Sundays. I even fondly remember winters on the couch with cats on laps wearing extra sweatshirts and warm wool socks. I remember good things. The unusual thing is I really remember the hard times, the funerals, the phone calls from doctors, the long drives, the quiet sad times. I'm so thankful and glad to have spent all of those times with her. Of course we will have more of those times, the joys and the arguments, the miscommunication and the support. I hope we have at least another 20 years together but I want to do my best to focus on enjoying the time we spend together today.

It looks like I have drawn all of my friends pets so this section will probably change or fade away in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you would like your best friend, handiest tool or dearest animal associate to be featured email me 3 pictures of them and I will do my best to try and capture their essence.

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Solid,
Tim