Post-blizzard Absurdity!

After my walk along the lake yesterday, I turned west at Greenleaf Avenue to head back up Sheridan Road. When I reached the corner, this was what I saw:

Plow damage to the Loyola Park Fieldhouse planter

In the clean-up after the Groundhog Day blizzard, this walk was closed to foot traffic, as up to nine-foot high piles of snow had been dumped along most of this two-block western boundary of Loyola Park.

Though I'm not certain when this plow came through to clear the walk, I am dismayed at the destruction!

Bench #1

Bench #2

Bench #3

Bench #4

Bench #5

Toward the back of this snow pile is a metal trash container, which was attached to the sidewalk a half-block away. The mangled black shape in the foreground is the heavy-duty plastic liner.

An example of what the benches used to look like (on an interior park path)

These benches have been in place since, at least, the late 1950s. Seats and backs were replaced by Chicago Park District as necessary.

To have these five benches destroyed in one fell swoop is ABSURD!

Was the plow driver drunk, or on drugs?

I also wonder...what did the plow blade look like after this total debacle?

STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!

Sunday's Surprises in Rogers Park

This gorgeous magnolia on Sheridan Road, near Greenleaf Avenue, looks fragile...kind of like Poland right now. But it is durable and strong, as are the Polish people!

My favorite Hosta bed on Sheridan Road just south of Chase Avenue shows no sign of damage from the recent hail storm. The Hosta is also durable and strong, much like the Poles, and keeps 'coming back', even when it looks as though it has been beaten to the proverbial pulp!

Then, as I looked down at the sidewalk (always have to watch my step!), I found this little gem on Morse Avenue, just east of Sheridan Road.

It's a tiny copper bit of Rogers Park history, embedded into the concrete. I've Googled and Googled, but can find no mention of "Simpson Bros. Co.", nor can I figure why the term "Chamber of Commerce" applies, as to my knowledge, there was no chamber in Rogers Park during the 1910s or 1920s, which I assume is the period during which this sidewalk was 'laid'.

Perhaps, someday, I'll find the answer?