And on the third day...

...after our Great Chicago Blizzard, it looks like this:

The bus stop right outside my building

I got out today, thinking the 'going' would be pretty decent. I couldn't climb over the pile at my bus stop, so I walked south to another, which has a shelter and, thankfully, was cleared of snow. You see, I desperately needed to go the library!

Now some might say, "Hey RPFree, get a kindle, read books electronically! Get with the program, old girl!"

I DO read electronically, but I also prefer to read for an hour or so in bed, before I turn out the lights and while I am doing stetching and back exercises so I won't totally stiffen up overnight.

I figured, after reading Ald. Joe Moore's (Incumbent-49th Ward-20 years 'on the job?') e-mail poofs these past few days, that all would be right on Morse Avenue, and I could freely walk down and do some shopping.

I got a block and a half east of Clark Street, and had to negotiate this, which is a huge task when one uses a cane, as I must:

Their house...notice their porch and steps are shovelled

I finished my shopping, and walked the three blocks east to Sheridan Road, where I could catch the bus back home. On the way, I encountered this EXTREME FORM OF CHICAGOAN LAZINESS:

I actually saw an older (than me) woman, walking toward me with a rolling walker, and stopped to watch if anyone would help her.

No one did, so I and my cane walked back up and helped her get the walker over this stupidity.

She is one of the Russians who live in the neighborhood, and does not speak English well at all, but her shock and disgust were very apparent.

You see, this afternoon was the PURR-fect time to go out and clear snow. It was mostly sunny, about 30 degrees, and the snow was softened enough to push around easily.

But, this being 'Super Bowl Saturday', time must be spent planning for tomorrow's game. Chicagoans, I have found during my 12 years of living here, are like that: very LAZY when it comes to clearing snow. They'd rather wait for all this to melt.

An alleyway, which Ald. Joe Moore previously stated were being taken care of by 'one of his guys'

And this treacherous 10 feet or so

So I got off at the same stop where I embarked upon this mini-sojourn and walked into Leone Park-Beach to take a couple of shots.

The huge ice/snow floes are both way out on the lake AND at the snow-filled shoreline

So here I am, back home. I opened a few windows to allow for some fresh are, and sit pondering:

Is Chicago Transit Authority responsible for clearing their bus stops OR does the CTA take the Blanche duBois approach--'depending upon the kindness of strangers'?

Blame it on the heat? Whaaaa? UPDATE

At least 19 injured in Red Line subway fire

Snippet:

The fire involved creosote-soaked railroad ties, said fire officials. What ignited the fire is under investigation, but Langford said the railroad ties do occasionally catch fire during the summer heat.

"It's more common on the elevated trains," Langford said. "It's rare on the subway but it does happen occasionally," he said.

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Asshats! It wasn't too much warmer than 80 degrees today.

That is not HOT!

And...it is a 'SUBWAY', below ground by at least thirty feet, where the temperature is considerably less than above ground.

CTA: Are you so certain this was not an attack?

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UPDATE:

Confusion at Red Line subway fire that injures 19

Snippets:

Andrew Schad was on his way home Sunday, traveling north on the Red Line after a late lunch downtown, when the train began to fill with smoke.

Some seated beside him began to cough and choke, and Schad put up the rim of his collar to cover his mouth. By the time the train reached the next stop at the Clark/Division station, so much smoke had consumed the underground station that passengers were fleeing for the exits.

"We were given no instruction. We didn't really know what was going on," said Schad, 23.

"I never saw flames, but there was a lot of smoke. Visibility was really bad."

"The smoke was so thick you couldn't see across the aisle," said passenger Dillon Johnson, 23. "We all started to sit down on the floor where the smoke wasn't as bad."

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QUESTION: Is the City of Chicago (that would be you, Dick'em Daley!) really PREPARED for any kind of attack? (This incident has 'jihad test' written all over it!).