Fall Break… After overcoming the first half of a chaotic semester, this was a much needed vacation (even if it is only one day). With a 3 day weekend to do whatever I wanted, there were just so many choices. What was a guy to do??
How about… CHICAGO!
Ahh Chicago… After a 7 hour red-eye drive, we had finally arrived in the windy city. As the clock rolled around to 5:00am, Austin, Courtney and myself stumbled into our friend Morgan’s apartment to crash for the night. I can’t tell you the last time a half-inflated air mattress looked so good. The next morning we awoke to some delicious cinnamon rolls and embraced the day. Austin and I went our own way to explore the unfamiliar city before meeting up with the rest of our party out in Wheaton (West Chicago).
As a self proclaimed “master navigator” I was excited to gets some hands on experience with the Chicago public transportation system. Basically, we had all day to explore and get out to Wheaton, which seemed like quite a task as this was my first time using the Chicago train system. As we grabbed our tickets and hopped on the Brown Line at Kimball we had our next destination plotted out. It was time to check out the famous Field Museum (made extra famous by “Night at the Museum”). Now it was just a matter of transferring to the red line and reaching the Roosevelt stop. Piece of cake.
To sum things up, the Field Museum was stunning. We made the most of our time, catching “Sue” the T-rex, the man-eating lions of Tsavo, and the world’s only historically discovered pirate treasure. I could have spent all day exploring these enthralling exhibits but, we had a train to catch.
It was just after 6:00pm as we left the Field Museum en route for the Ogilvie Metra Station. We weren’t sure when the next train would leave for Wheaton, but we knew there was a nice 8 block hike separating us from our ride home. We raced through the chilly winds and Friday traffic as quickly as possible we hoped to catch the next train out. As we approached our destination at Madison and Canal we spotted a train station through the mass of people, but there was no way of telling if this was our spot.
Amidst the rush hour turmoil, a large African-American man wearing a big brown athletic coat called for our attention. As we approached, he asked where we were trying to go. “Wheaton, West Chicago” we replied. He quickly led us back to the street explaining that we should “Cross the street and go into that building. Go up to the second floor and you’ll be at Ogilvie. That will get you where you need to go.” We quickly thanked the man and prepared to bolt across the street. He spoke up one last time saying “I’m glad to help you fellas, but I was wondering if you could help me. Me and my daughter are hungry, and we’re hoping to get something nice tonight. Maybe Chinese food. You guys wouldn’t have a few bucks to spare, would ya?” I knew I had a few bucks in my backpack pocket, so I opened it up as Austin gave what he had to spare. I gave the man 2 of the 3 dollars in the pocket. He clearly saw the last dollar, asking “You wouldn’t have one more, would ya?” I sad “Sorry man, we really appreciate your help though.” He understood, thanking us for our help. We had to get to Ogilvie.
As we hit the 2nd floor of the Metra Station, we saw that the next West train was departing in 3 minutes! If we missed this train we would have to wait at least another 30 minutes, crashing our dinner plans. We dashed to get our tickets and sprinted directly to platform 3 to catch the train. With no time to spare we hopped on the train. The doors closed directly behind us. We breathed a huge sigh of relief.
On the ride home we laughed about how giving that guy a few bucks was totally worth catching the train. This got me thinking - would it have been worth giving him all $3? In Luke 6, Jesus says “If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also.” These words kept running through my head during our 45 minute ride. I kept trying to justify holding the last dollar back with notions that “He was probably playing us anyway” and “I gave him 2 - that’s more than I had to give.” Regardless, I realized that the last dollar meant a lot more to the hungry man than it do to me.
The next day we caught the 11:30am train back into the city. As we emptied the train and walked out to the streets of Chicago I did not believe what caught my eye. I immediately saw the guy, wearing the unforgettable brown athletic jacket. He was helping people catch taxis right outside of Ogilvie. Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. I walked over to the street with the dollar in my hand, signaling to the man. As I approached I proclaimed “Brother, you were a life saver yesterday. This is yours, God bless.” The look on his face was priceless as he chuckled and thanked me for the donation. As we said our farewells I rejoined my group (who had the strangest looks on their faces). I told them it was a long story and we embarked on a full day, hitting Millennium Park, Giordano’s for pizza, and the Navy Pier.
I could not have asked for a more enjoyable way to spend my Fall Break. Special thanks to Morgan and the hospitable Pierce family for making it all possible. Best Fall Break Ever.
