Look Who Else Has Been Noticing the Warm Weather....

  Chicago's flowers!

 These bulbs on Wacker Drive were sticking their heads out to see why it was so warm!

These little guys on Michigan Avenue didn't want to wait for April showers, they wanted to come out now!

Last Monday was Pulaski Day...

  Pulaski Day is unique to the city of Chicago.  In honor of Chicago and Pulaski Day, rapper/singer, Kidd Russell, wrote a song about Chicago and Pulaski Day.  The music video has beautiful shots of Chicago and I always love to hear songs that boast about our city.  Check out the song and music video on Youtube.  I've included the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PehRPYbhCg

Warning; May Contain Graphic Content

  In the 12 years that I've been riding the Metra, thankfully I have never witnessed first-hand a person getting hit by a train.  Yesterday morning was the first time that I did witness an extremely close-call.  Every morning there are the usual few people that quickly dart across the tracks as the train is approaching.  Yesterday was no exception.  Three people ran across as the train approached the station with a fourth person slowly walking towards the tracks.  I thought the lagging person was going to stop but instead he started to walk across.  I almost thought he was wearing headphones, but couldn't be sure, which may have been what was distracting him.  The train started blowing its whistle like crazy and I saw the person look up and then take a couple quick steps to make it to the platform as the train almost took his life.  It was such a close call that the conductor used the emergency brake and stopped the train before its normal stopping place for passengers.  I overheard someone say that the conductor probably thought he had hit the person. 
  Now even though I have never witnessed someone getting hit by a train first-hand, I have heard about it and I have witnessed the aftermath.  I've heard stories of people getting hit at a station and how nearby passengers have gotten sprayed with blood or hit with body parts.  About 8 years ago, I was on a train into Chicago with a couple of friends.  A train before our train had hit a person and all trains going through the "scene of the accident" were moving at a slow pace.  I was surprised that our train was actually allowed to go through the accident area because most of the time they stop all other trains.  As our train was slowly going through the accident area, we looked out the window and to our surprise, we saw the person splattered across the tracks that were sitting next to the tracks our own train was on.  However, you wouldn't have known it was a person because it no longer resembled a human being.  The best way I could describe it was that what I saw looked like bloody, raw chicken sitting on the tracks.  Again, I was surprised that we were allowed to see the "accident scene" but maybe in a way it served as a warning to people.  All over the station and on the train, Metra uses the phrase "Look, Listen, Live!"  Some people need to take this phrase more seriously.

G8 Summit No Longer Being Held In Chicago

  "Occupy" protesters are happy to hear that the G8 Summit will no longer be held in Chicago mid-May but will instead be held at Camp David near Washington.  President Obama decided to move the G8 Summit to Camp David because he wanted a more "intimate" setting.  However some are saying that it was moved because it was expected to bring violent protesting and riots.  Many believed that Chicago did not have the type of training and security needed to control violent protests.  NATO will still be held in Chicago in May and Chicago's leaders are hoping to show the world that Chicago can live up to international standards.