From A Family Album

I know which side of the family this child is from; likely the toddler is one of the siblings or half-siblings of my Mother's Mother. I can't tell whether it is a boy or girl: a little Indian brave or princess?

I'm a History Buff...

Lately I finished reading a historical novel about the settlement of Northwest Territory from the 1770's through the period of the War of 1812. It's an older book, published in the 1960's called "The Frontiersman-A Narrative by Allan W. Eckert". This author made a regular career of telling the detailed story of the westward migration of European and American settlers to the areas east of the Mississippi River including Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. By selecting two real-life main characters of the era, the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh and the Frontiersman, Simon Kenton, then tracing their true life adventures, he tells the story. The book is long, nearly 700 pages, with a rich supporting cast of characters from Kenton's friend, Daniel Boone; the renegade Blue-Jacket, William Henry Harrison, governor, frontier general and eventual President of the US. Even Chicago's Very Own Billy Caldwell makes a cameo appearance at the end of the book. The author took pains to stick to the historic facts, while creating dialog to make the story flow. The book portrays "the Indians" in a sympathetic light; a note, it was written before the era of political correctness, so no one is called "native American" or "Afro-American. In the photo below, looking east along Wacker Drive in Chicago, at the end of the sidewalk where the buildings now stand to the right of the bridge was the site of Fort Dearborn. It was destroyed and most of the inhabitants killed in August of 1812; this incident is one of many detailed in the book.

Random Chicago Views

From our outing a few weeks ago with our visiting CA-Kids.

"Smoking Break"

Finding people standing outside their office buildings on cigarette breaks is a photo genre all it's own. I'll have to play around with it.

"Hot Time in the City"

it reminded me of Chicago in the 1960's for some reason.

Wonderful! X 2

Our L'il Pearl, Blonde Guy and FlowerGirl after a week showing her the sights of Southern California! A trip to DisneyLand, various parks to play, the beach at Santa Monica, a Japanese festival in Little Tokyo, a look at the shopping ops on Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills and so much more. Our son, BG and niece FG are 1st cousins, with 20 year age difference. BG and L'il Pearl are so photogenic!

Dressing Up the Dumpsters

...in an alley beside the Chicago Motor Club Building.

Red #2

A couple of weeks ago at the Federal Plaza in Chicago.

PlayDate...

Grandsons of my friend, Lady R joined us all at FlowerGirl's house so the kids could get reacqauinted; they hadn't visited since last summer. Then we all had a family and friends dinner party. Currently, FlowerGirl and her Mom are visiting our California Kids--pictures will follow in due time.

Classic Candid Photo of a Son and Hubsy...

...caught during an afternoon walk in Chicago a couple of weeks back; at a downtown branch of MB Financial.

Clearing in the West: an autobiography ....

Who was Nellie MClung and why did she write this book? That was the question that drew me into this memoir. Turns out, she was a Canadian writer and politician of the late 19th and early 20th century: one of their suffragettes. Born in 1873, she and her family left there around 1880 to pioneer a new wheat farm in the area of Brandon near Winnipeg. If you loved "Little House on the Prairie" or "Little Women" or "Caddie Woodlawn", you might enjoy this book. The lady was in her 60's when she wrote the book in the early 1930's, yet it seems crisp and young and sprightly with good humor. She explains some of the circumstances that caused many women to support temperance organizations. Somehow it feels as if written by a younger women, closer to our own time. Along with political and social rights for women, Mrs. McClung also supported the idea of Eugenics, which was popular at the time but not so much any more, especially after the actions of the despots of the WWII era. I learned the inspiration for "The Phantom of the Opera" and that men who harvested wheat in late summer preferred raisin pie over all other desserts.

Please Don't Ask....

...where I found this little fellow. (I don't call the Orkin Man; as much possible, I stay away from all chemical pesticides and fertilizers). Seasonally, we get little visitors. I don't let them stay, but I photographed this one as he tried to wrestle a crumb toward his exit point. The "edit" was fun, too. He was a very little ant, in reality.