[Note from the proprietor: This post is an entry for the What I Learned From... groupwrite project. Our topic this month is community, and we'd love for you to join us! Just click on that link for details.]

I just returned from a fabulous weekend conference in Chicago: SOBCon09. (If you’d like to get serious about your blogging and/or writing, you should seriously consider joining us next year. Just sayin’.

This year it lasted from Friday thru Sunday, although I had some obligations such that I had to leave on Saturday afternoon. Oh sure, I’ve been to Chicago many times before (although I must admit it’s usually just passing through O’Hare). In fact, I’ve even been to downtown Chicago at least twice. The problem is, on previous occasions I never took the time to just, y’know, look around.

But it seemed a cryin’ shame to waste this opportunity, since I knew I would be leaving early. So I decided to spend an hour or so Saturday morning wandering around downtown Chicago and enjoying the early morning sunshine. Hey – why don’t you join me as I mosey around for a while?

[NOTE: To view the photos, just click on 'em. Totally worth it, in my humble opinion.]

It should come as no surprise to know the first thing I wanted to check out is that big, shiny gizmo officially called the Cloud Gate (but which everyone affectionately calls “The Bean”). I knew Millennium Park (where the Bean resides – or maybe landed, depending on which theory you currently hold to) was just around the corner from the hotel (I stayed at Hotel 71 on Wacker Drive downtown), so I headed that way.

While moseying down Michigan Avenue, though, at one point I happened to glance up at the windows in a building that turned out to be the Chicago Public Library. Every window had these nice cast-iron, flower-filled window boxes. Although the display of Spring flowers was pretty enough, what really caught my eye was the reflection in the glass of this particular one. Very Gothic, don’cha think? Hey, I wonder what it looks like in black-and-white…

Anyhoo – entering the Park from the West side, I was amazed by the sight of all the apple trees, covered by about a bazillion white blooms! I’m tellin’ ya; it looked like the park was growing its own snow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many bloomin’ apple trees in one place!

The early-morning light and delicate scent of the surrounding blossoms made this picnic table particularly inviting. I could easily imagine a young tourist family eating their lunch here, or possibly a couple of old codgers playing their 5,298^th game of checkers.

Of course, the centerpiece of the park is the Bean itself. I mean, this thing is literally out of this world! I love the lines of it, from certain angles almost forming a sortof infinity sign – which rather neatly complements the remarkable reflections one sees within its polished bulk.

Reflecting back (Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! Er, sorry), it occurrs to me that of all the sculptures I’ve seen in my travels (and I’ve run across a few), the ones that always manage to impress me most are usually of relatively simple form coupled with elegant execution. That describes the Bean to a “T”. You can tell it fascinates a lot of other folks, too.

Now, I’ve seen photos of this thing before. Heck, with very little effort you can probably find countless herds of ‘em over on Flickr. But I never knew there was a surprise hidden underneath! It turns out there’s a sculpted hollow cavity underneath, and that moment I gazed upwards into infinity… well, it’s what I imagined looking into a time warp might be like. (For the best effect, view it in its largest size.)

It felt almost as if I’d somehow fallen into one of M. C. Escher’s prints or something. It was mind-bending, to say the least! Take a close look at this photo on the right. Once I started counting, I found at least 17 images of yours truly reflected within the curves of this photo. I mean, even without SOBCon, this one sight practically made the whole trip worthwhile!

After returning to Earth, I had a seat in one of the many park benches, just to spend a few minutes soaking in all the amazing beauty provided by countless flowering redbud trees and, of course, the apple trees. Nothin’ like settin’ a spell to give the ol’ dogs a rest, y’know? I’ll tell ya; I don’t think I could have imagined a more beautiful spot in Chicago to take a load off.

Early-morning light just happened to create a play of shadows on the ground in front of me, producing a nice little self-portrait I couldn’t help but capture. I really love the way those shadows all sorta lead upwards. Kinda symbolic, that.

And just to prove somebody around here has a sense of humor I can appreciate, here’s one little thing that – had I not looked in exactly the right direction – I would have completely missed! You really must click on the photo for a larger view to see what I mean, but I’ll give you a hint: look right next to the trunk…

Since I still had a little time, I wandered over to Wacker Drive (does anyone else bust out laughing when they say that out loud?) to check out the river. What the hey, right? And again, just by accident, I happened to glance in the right direction and spotted this street sign. Ironic, huh? Maybe this explains why I feel so much at home in downtown Chicago!

Heading south on Michigan Avenue, on my way back to the Summit, I almost missed this one. It’s an alley stuffed in between a couple of the big buildings that line the street on both sides. The graffiti is what originally caught my eye; although I’ve never been able to read that stuff, this one seems to clearly say “CEEP” – or maybe “DEEP”. Anyone?

But after absorbing the scene a little bit longer, I began to notice a few nuances. For instance, check out the way the soft morning light plays on the bare branches of that tree – it almost resembles spider-web silk, doesn’t it? Nice.

Anyhoo – it was about time to for the conference to start, and finally I was back at The Summit for our first session. Time to get to work, y’know?

But I’ll tell ya what, y’all; this ol’ Texas boy will never forget that early May mosey in the downtown area of the remarkable city of Chicago!

So What Does This Have to Do With Community?

Now at first, this post was just gonna be a nice little trip around the block, you know? But as I began to write it, it hit me (sound of dull thud) – there’s more than one interesting lesson to be drawn here. So let’s throw some of ‘em up against the wall, why don’t we, and see what sticks.

First of all, the most obvious thing was, the only reason I was even in Chicago was because of SOBCon09! I mean, if that ain’t a community influence, I don’t know what is! After all, with thanks to Liz Strauss, Terry Starbucker – and all the rest of the SOBCon bunch – I wouldn’t have had any reason to go.

And bein’ a part of that particular community has taught me, oh, about a million wonderful lessons – not the least of which was the realization that I was, indeed, a writer. (Hey, it sounds kinda obvious now, but believe me, at the time, I was struggling mightily with that idea. Tip o’ the hat, Liz!)

Another thing I’ve learned from community is how so many different kinds of folks can still have fun together! All weekend, we had a blast sharing news, hopes, dreams, and plans with each other. It was exhilarating, to say the least!

In addition to that, this progression of photos yields lots of simple little parallels with community. Just one example: the whacky reflections of myself in the Bean are a lot like how folks that get to know me reflect who I am back to me – helping, in a way, to shape where I’m going and what I’m doing. I mean, I keep writing stories because folks tell me they enjoy ‘em, right? But how would I know if I never heard from anyone? It’s not that it’s all about me, mind you; but it is an excellent feedback mechanism to help me keep on track.

Finally – and quite possibly this is the most valuable benefit of all – community taught me to actually see what’s around me. Before my writing took hold, I rarely even gave two scrubs to my surroundings, y’know? Well, maybe if something came up and bit me on the, er, nether regions – but otherwise, I simply wasn’t all that observant.

Nowadays, I’m just glad I carry a camera on me at all times! Hey, you never know what you’ll find – right under your nose.

[Further note from the Proprietor: As I mentioned at the top, this is an entry for this month's What I Learned From... groupwrite project. The topic is community, and if you've learned something from your community, then we'd love to have ya join us! You have until Sunday night at midnight to get your entry in, so hurry! Just follow this link for all the details.]

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All photos by Robert Hruzek

1. Dawn’s Early Light
2. Window Box
3. Snow Trees
4. The Bean 4
5. Inside Escher’s House
6. Just settin’ for a spell
7. Keep Off the Lawn!
8. I’m home!
9. Alley
10. The Summit

If you’d like to see the rest of the photos from the trip, click here for the Flickr set.

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