Unsettled Debt

Why I love Chicago:

Unsolicited acts of kindness. I am on my way to Miami. I am on the El, Blue Line. Running with my rolling brief case and leather duffle. I put in my fare card. $.25 left. Can't do it.

I go to the vending machine reach down to get my purse and a kid who is younger than me says "here, use my fair card" I say, "oh no, really-- it's ok." I say, "thanks, here have my $.25 card." "No, it only gets charged as a transfer anyway."

I kind of think it doesn't only count as a transfer. I have a feeling that he paid the full $2.50. Here's why: People from Chicago love to understate their very kind ways. I've seen my a man I know give Bears tickets to a homeless man, and then so as to not make the man feel stupid-- he told him that he got them for free.

People from Chicago, as a rule, don't want to come across soft and overly giving... they don't want to run charities, but rather to live charitably.

So this is a huge generalization. Sure. it isn't always this way-- but I'd say as a general rule, I find it to be true.

This is why I hate Seattle. Not because people are mean there but rather because every nice thing they do has to be some demonstration to the world of their very benevolent nature. I hate that. I hate the show of kindness. I much prefer the Chicago way-- the act of downplaying your good deeds. Because really, doing good deeds has nothing to do with people knowing them. But being kind without some big fat show- that's a whole new game.

Our religion teacher in high school challenged us to do this once- do something nice and not tell anyone. It's hard. I want to talk about it. Dan, remember that?


When it's downplayed it's like an unsettled debt that you don't know how much you owe-- and rather than cut it too close-- you feel the need to repay society with common sense, courtesy, and respect.

I still don't know what love means. But I am pretty sure I know how it feels. It feels like a sixteen your old boy at the blue line stop at Jackson and Dearborn giving me his El pass. It feels like knowing I will make my flight. It feels safe, unconditional, and without want of anything in return. It makes me want to be a better person and to give my el ticket to someone next time I see them need it.