A Day in Chicago (6/15/24)

    I rarely listen to the radio in the car, as I like to shuffle my liked songs on Spotify through an aux chord. (Aux chords are truly the best.) Back in April I had the radio on in my car and heard an ad I had to take a double take for. A few years ago I realized I could tune into one of Chicago's alternative rock stations while in Kenosha. The ad was for a street festival in Chicago (Taste of Randolph), and Phantom Planet would be one of the artists playing there. When I first heard the words Phantom Planet, I thought I had definitely heard wrong. They hadn't said anything about playing in Chicago, and weren't currently on tour. They also had been born and raised in Los Angeles, so it didn't really make sense they would play a one off show for a street festival in Chicago. I looked it up when I was able, and found out that I had in fact heard correctly. They would be in Chicago in June, and it would be free to get in. I looked up where the street festival was taking place. It turned out that it was a 15 minute walk from the train station, so it was almost a no brainer that I had to go, and man was it a perfect weather day. Sure it did get a little hot at times, but not overly. It wasn't too hot, never got cold even after dark, etc. (The next day it would be in the 90s and storm part of the day so I got extremely lucky.) 

    My roommate Rebecca and I headed to the train station at 11:30 (I had planned to leave at 11:20, but didn't think 11:30 would make too much of a difference),(my phone decided to freeze when looking up directions) with our train leaving at 12:10 in a neighboring town. The drive would be a half hour. I figured we would at least have 10 minutes of wiggle room when we got to the train station. That was not what happened. We ended up getting to the train station at 12:06. We needed to get a parking pass and make a mad dash for the train. The train waits for no one, as I have found out in the past. It leaves at exactly 12:10. There was someone attempting to print their own parking pass at the machine. I looked around to see if there was another one, but there wasn't. The person at the machine eventually gave up and walked away. I quickly went over, and noticed that the person had actually bought a ticket but must have not have known you were supposed to hit print, as the machine is a little confusing. It was now 12:08 and that person was gone from sight, so in a split decision I printed the ticket and sprinted to my car and then to the train. I yelled to my roommate that you could buy train tickets on the train, and we made it onto the train about 15 seconds before it left. (I knew you could buy tickets on the train after doing it many times before.) (The parking pass was $5 so the person who left the ticket only lost out on $5.) We sat in a seat and I felt like I was going to vomit from running so fast. 

    We made it to Chicago around 1:30, and decided to go to the Sears Tower. The Sears Tower was only a 10 minute walk away. Since Rebecca had not really seen much of Chicago yet, I thought going to the Sears Tower would be good place to visit. I also love the glass ledges that are suspended above the city. Online it said that going to the Sears Tower would cost $30, although this was too much in my opinion I thought it still would be okay at that price to visit, however I guess if you buy tickets on the day of at the actual Sears Tower it's $48. (It could also be that it was the weekend vs. a week day, but I was not willing to spend that kind of money.) We left while trying to figure out what to do instead. We figured we would walk to where the festival was being held and explore the area around the festival before making our way in. (Since it was a free festival you could leave and come back in as many times as you wanted.) Taste of Randolph featured various restaurants that are on Randolph Street, therefore it has the name Taste of Randolph. Once we found the festival we decided to go in to see where the show would take place. There was an East Stage and a West Stage with Phantom Planet performing later on the West Stage. We entered the festival on the east side I had figured out, and made our way towards the west entrance. (The festival itself was only about 3-4 blocks long so it didn't take too long to get to one side or the other. The crowds of people were what slowed down the walk. The crowd didn't seem too bad, but the festival did become more and more crowded as the day went on. There ended up being a VooDoo Doughnuts near where we had entered. I had been wanting to go to one, so we did. (VooDoo doughnuts is a donut shop chain located in major cities around the United States that has around 50 different varieties of donuts with fun names. I got a donut called "All That Razz" which was a donut with blue raspberry icing with pink and white stripes and edible glitter that had raspberry jelly inside. Rebecca had a maple bacon donut with eyes and a mustache drawn on the donut. The first bite seemed like a lot, but it was actually pretty good. (After getting home from Chicago I saw a post of Alex and Darren from Phantom Planet sharing a donut from VooDoo doughnuts "Lady and the Tramp" style.)

    

              We sat on the sidewalk to rest a little before looking at the different vendors, and dogs at the fesitval. Taste of Randolph was dog-friendly so there were quite a bit of dogs there. Including a Chihuahua that laid down in the middle of the street while his owner was walking him. The owner sat near us on the sidewalk with her chihuahua while he rested before beginning to walk him again. We found the west stage easily, and then made our way through the food vendors section of the festival. For food Rebecca and I got Chicago-style beef sandwiches. There was also a fruit water and lemonade stand nearby where I got a hibiscus infused water. It tasted fruity for being a flower and was red/pink in color. (When at a food festival you can't have normal everyday things.) After making our way through the festival we decided to sit in a Starbucks for a little over an hour before the show started as a way to get out of the sun for a little bit. (Rebecca did order a drink, so we weren't loitering.) 

        We then made our way back towards the stage. I noticed that if you started towards the back of the crowd, you wouldn't be able to move up very easily. However, if you came in from the side you could easily get closer to the stage, without pushing through people, which I don't believe in. :P Rebecca doesn't like crowds so she stayed off towards the side as I made my way in. I somehow managed to be in the thirdish row but then noticed an open space by the barricade. Not a super small space, but a space to move around in even. A few songs in I asked the person in front of me if it would be okay if I stood there, pointing to the open space. She motioned for me to do so, so I did. Also front and center were two elderly men in their 80s sitting on lawn chairs. One remained sitting the whole show while the other would occasionally get up and dance, sometimes even with the girls in their 20s. It was very wholesome. The stage with the Chicago skyline in the back with trains passing by in the distance was definitely an amazing venue to have a concert, especially with the nice weather. The lead singer, Alex even paused to point out one of the trains passing by during the set, saying "epic!". The band joked about how they had been asked to play a 75 minute set, which they hadn't been expecting at all. (I read a behind the scenes story that the guitarist, Darren had swallowed a pebble that must have been on the top of his sparkling water can, towards the beginning of their set. He was able to get it out quickly but got worried he might have to get rushed to the emergency room. I hadn't even noticed this had happened. He acted like having a pebble/debris on a can is a totally normal thing, and that you should always make sure to wipe off the top of your can before taking a drink. I feel like bees flying into drinks would be a lot more common then that.) To stall Alex gave some details about their song "The Galleria" even though that's probably their most straightforward song. As I always say: seeing a show live, and being able to feel and see the music, and being in the same place as the musicians is so magical. Going to see live music is definitely a top favorite thing of mine, and the sound was so crisp, and energetic like the last time I had seen them. This time I didn't stay after to meet them, and as it turned out they left later that day on a flight back to California anyway. (I think if I had been apart of their Patreon before the show, they might have stayed after to greet me because then they would have known I would have been there. They see all the messages that fans send in the group chats in their Patreon and treat you like their friends which is still so wild to me.) 

    After the show Rebecca and I tried to decide if we should head to the train station or explore more of Chicago. I was more leaning towards exploring Chicago more since the whole Sears Tower incident had been so sad. We ultimately decided to explore more of Chicago since the weather was so nice and I wanted Rebecca to see more of Chicago. We headed back towards the train station where there was a dock for a water taxi. Riding the water taxi had been one of my favorite things in the past about visiting Chicago in the summer. I realized again why I had liked it so much. Seeing the Chicago architecture from the Chicago River is picturesque and just a fun way to get around. The water taxi would be done running around 8pm, and by the time we got there it was around 7:30. We bought one-way tickets to Michigan Avenue. (Michigan Avenue is the main shopping street in Chicago, known as the "Magnificent Mile" for those not familiar with Chicago.) The water taxi dropped us off right next to Trump Tower. I had heard in the past of someone being able to go up in Trump Tower to get a good view of the city, so I decided we should try and go in. As we were heading to a front entrance a tour boat was going by on the river and was saying that you can get a good view of the city skyline from the 16th floor of the Trump Tower, so that is what we did. On the 16th floor there is a terrace bar that overlooks the city on the west side, and a a few buildings and Lake Michigan from the other side. The sun was beginning to set when we got up there, so it really was a picture perfect moment. It really made up for not getting to go to the top of the Sears Tower. Although it was not as high up as the Sears Tower. Seeing scenery like that for free was definitely the right choice, and I'm so glad we had that moment. I will definitely have to do it again, maybe next time with a reservation to the bar/restaurant to thoroughly enjoy it. 

    While walking along Michigan Avenue I saw the Hard Rock Cafe sign. I had yet to visit the Hard Rock Cafe in Chicago and was excited to do so after having been to the one in NYC, Denver, and Myrtle Beach. (I've seen the outside of the one in D.C. but I hope to one day actually visit.) I think it's super neat to see the different memorabilia in each one. This particular Hard Rock Cafe had a handwritten note from John Lennon to a little girl who was a fan. We didn't eat at the Cafe but walked around and looked at the memorabilia. It was a lot of fun to just walk around Michigan Avenue after dark and take in the views of the Chicago skyline at night especially while walking over a bridge of the Chicago River. We realized that the train station was only about a 15 minute walk from where we were currently at so we walked back to the train station when it was around 9:00. (I had thought Michigan Avenue and the train station were further apart.) The temperature at that time was still in the mid 70s. I had checked the weather beforehand in order to decide if I needed to haul around a jacket, and I'm glad I didn't. It was definitely not needed. We caught the train and made it back to our apartment before midnight. (I have since joined Phantom Planet's Patreon. For a monthly fee I get to support Phantom Planet while they share guitar tutorials of their songs, karaoke versions of their songs, songwriting tutorials, behind the scenes footage, behind the scenes stories, etc. The Patreon also has community chats where fans can converse with each other. Darren and Alex are also very active in the chats and check the chats at least once a day and reply to fans. Since there is only a few of us who are active in the chat and it's not flooded with messages, either Alex or Darren will most likely see your particular messages. Both Darren and Alex have replied directly to my messages, and that is definitely something super unique to Phantom Planet. A lot of the time with Patreon the band members will only occasionally pop in to chat with fans, but with Phantom Planet they form a genuine connection with fans, and want to hear our opinions on things, etc, and I love that. Please check out Phantom Planet if you haven't yet. They are super talented musicians and songwriters, and their songs go hard. 

 

Losing Bruno (A Letter to Bruno)

   To my dear friend, Bruno, or Brunyes as I often referred to you as, because Bruno was too negative. My puppy, my buddy, my protector. I'm sorry I let you down. Adopting you was so exciting. I had seen your profile on the humane society website and fell in love. You warmed up to me right away when I met you, and I took you home that same day. A German Shepherd/Corgi Mix. I knew because of how beautiful you looked that you would get adopted super fast so I even had a hold put on you so I could decide for sure if I would adopt you. You ticked all the boxes of what I was looking for in a dog. You were quieter, wanted to be the only dog in the house but could handle other dogs, you would do better in a smaller space, etc. I had waited years to own a dog.  I took you to Petsmart, and bought you a toy, a food and water bowl, and a harness. The toy was a pheasant, you tore it up quickly, and yet I still kept it and am currently looking at it. You would occasionally still play with it even with all the stuffing out of it, and squeaker gone. The staff at PetSmart loved you. People talked about how well behaved you were that first day. You stood quietly while we waited for a staff member to fit you for a harness. Even when I took you to the vet for a checkup and vaccine booster, the vet said you were a 10/10 patient. You sat next to me on the bench as we waited for the vet and weren't aggressive at all towards them. You didn't even notice when you were getting the shots. 

   You warmed up to living in my apartment quickly. You would watch people walk by out the patio door, as well as squirrels and bunnies. You really wanted those bunnies. We could never leave anything on our coffee table, because you liked to sit on it. I remember looking in the patio door as I made my way to the apartment to see you sitting on the coffee table. You would also occasionally sit on one of the chairs at the kitchen table. One of the first things you did when arriving at the apartment was climb right on the couch. You would lay anywhere that was comfy. My faux fur rug, my bed, and even the bath mat in the bathroom when I was getting ready to go somewhere. You ended up finding my volleyball and claimed it as yours, and started ripping it up, and I couldn't even be mad. You were completely relaxed and felt so safe living with me, which is why it makes this even harder. You would often fall asleep on your back, lay your head on my leg, and would occasionally lay in my lap. 

   I took you to the nearest dog park which we would spend a lot of time at. It was the only way I knew for sure you would go poop before I went to work. You didn't like pooping while on a leash, but usually eventually would on longer walks. The first time I took you to the dog park you were terrified of the other dogs. You jumped up against my legs when another dog would approach you, as the hair stood up on your back. You eventually got used to being around the other dogs and even started to play with them. I was so proud. Another dog owner commented that you were warming up at a quicker pace then most rescue dogs. You liked running with the other dogs the most, and man even with short legs you could run so quick. I'm happy that the day before I took you back to the humane society that you had the dog park all to yourself and could run all around freely. You enjoyed pup cups, frozen peanut butter kongs, squeaky toys, and chew toys. You loved chasing the flashlight light when it shone on the ground. You loved going for walks around the neighborhood, and walked good on a harness unless you saw a squirrel, then you would pull. :) In the mornings when I'd first wake up and talk to you, you would lean in closer as if catching every word, or maybe you just liked my morning breath a little too much. 🤪

   You loved my roommate, and would whine at my bedroom door when she got ready for work in the mornings. You were a good sleeper at night. You let me sleep all night without waking me up unreasonably early. The first week I had you, you were comfortable around my friends when they visited the apartment and super calm. My sister in law and brother also visited after a week of owning you, however you barked at my brother and even growled a little. You eventually stopped barking after he gave you a treat, and I remained calm. After like 15 minutes you started barking again, and were able to be redirected again. That was one of my main reasons for having to bring you back.

     You were really calm around most people while on leash and out on walks, but then you started barking more and more at people. If I was talking to one of my apartment neighbors outside, you barked at them and wouldn't stop barking. If I walked you in the hallway of the apartment building and someone was standing outside the door or came outside of their apartment you would lunge and bark at them. I was able to hold you back, but started taking you in situations where I could avoid as much human interaction as possible. I think a lot of my neighbors became afraid of you, and I couldn't blame them. I don't know what you would have done, had you been off leash. If you would have just barked at them or actually attacked. The vet hadn't been afraid of this behavior and told me to try and distract you before you would notice the people around. Which worked somewhat, except for the people close by. I had a dog trainer come to do a free evaluation, and you couldn't even be in the same room with him because you wouldn't stop barking at him, and even growled as he left. 

    The 2nd main issue which lead to me bringing you back didn't occur until almost three weeks of having you. We were at the dog park, and you attacked another dog. In your file at the humane society it said you had attacked another dog, but it was because they were after your dog food, which made sense. The dog at the dog park had just been curious, and was coming to greet you. I had never seen you act this way so I was confused. The other dog owner was gracious and didn't get mad, thankfully, but a few days later I went to my parent's house for Mother's Day weekend for the first time since owning you. Everything was great at first. You were afraid at first, but then you began warming up to my parents and their dog Drake. You explored the yard and even played with Drake, but then while inside you attacked Drake and it was unprovoked. I had walked into another room to get something and both you and Drake followed. You must have not had liked that Drake was also following me, because you attacked him. The fight was broken up, and nothing else happened that evening. Both you and Drake relaxed, although Drake was definitely more afraid of you now and kept his distance. Attack 2 and then 3 happened the next day. Again unprovoked you attacked Drake, Drake who was almost twice your size. The fight was again pulled apart and my dad tried to scare you into not doing it again, but you did. You both were outside playing and getting along well and playing fetch with each other. After playing you were both just walking around the yard when the final attack came. This one was the worst. I got to the fight first, but was unable to pull the dogs apart. My dad was finally able to, but said if I had been alone and this happened there would have been no way I would have been able to pull them apart and he probably would have killed Drake. My dad got mad, and I thought for sure had definitely scared you into not even thinking about ever attacking Drake again, but even so I didn't want to risk it, and bought you a muzzle. While you were in the room together you had to be muzzled to prevent other attacks. You looked so sad with the muzzle on, but I couldn't even be sorry for you. You continued to growl at Drake 2 other times even while muzzled which makes me think there would have definitely been more attacks. 

    I planned to surrender you to the humane society the day after Mother's Day, but when it came to the actual day I just couldn't do it, and kept you for 2.5 more weeks, and I'm actually glad that I did, because that means I prolonged your life for that much longer. I made the decision to surrender you and set up the appointment which occurred on Friday, May 31st. Since it took over a week to get you in for the appointment so the behavioral team I thought I had gotten used to the idea of surrendering you, and acceptance with it. While setting up the appointment they had said over the phone that there was a chance of euthanasia. I knew you were a good boy with a few issues so I wasn't worried, and then yesterday came, and man was that one of the hardest moments of my life. 

   I came home early from work and let you out to go to the bathroom for the last time at the apartments. You were so excited to see me home early, and greeted me at the door like you always did. With so much excitement. I decided to bring along your favorite toy and your dog bed that you frequently used. You pulled on the leash towards the car. We drove to the humane society and I left you in the car when I went inside to tell them that you were out in the car. I second guessed my decision as I brought you in. Then the worst moment. The last time I saw you, the last time that I didn't know would be the last time ever. They had me walk you into the kennel. You were cautious when you got to the room of kennels, probably due to deja vu of having done this before. You came right into the kennel when I stepped in there. I pet you and unclipped your harness, and then the worker closed the kennel. You jumped up against the kennel while crying, maybe you realized what was happening at that point. I walked away as I heard you cry, and continued to hear your cries from the front room. I had broken down and was crying as well, man it felt so heartbreaking to leave you there in that small kennel, as you pleaded for me to come back, and that having to be my last memory of you. I thought about how beautiful of a dog you were. (And now my heart breaks even more as I think about how your last moments will be spent in that kennel wondering where I went instead of being with me, and I'm so sorry about that. I honestly didn't know you wouldnt be adopted out again. ) 

   I talked to the behavioral staff for awhile giving details of what had happened, so the next owner could have specific details, and know what they were getting into. I even made a document for the next owners highlighting your likes/dislikes and other things I had noticed from being your owner. I included my personal information so the next owners could let me know how you were doing. While talking to the behavioral staff I realized that you might not be going to a new owner afterall, and that was confirmed an hour after coming home. You were set to be euthanized, and I couldn't stop crying. You weren't "bad" enough to be euthanized, and I was letting them take your life. You didn't deserve that. You deserved an owner that could get you properly trained. You were only 2.5 years old. Those sad puppy eyes and jumping up against the kennel suddenly meant so much more. They put your dog bed and favorite toy in the kennel, and I hope that it brought you some comfort. I am so sorry Bruno, and I love you so much. In my head I liken it to abortion. I know they're way different from each other, but the staff telling me it was the best option for you and convincing me made me think that. They both end a life prematurely. I thought about coming to rescue you and trying to rehome you myself. Maybe the last owner had purposely left out information about you so you could have another chance. It did prolong your life a little longer if that were the case, and I am thankful that we met and for the time we got to spend together.

   Today I went to a party, and afterwards wondered if they had taken your life yet. I called the humane society to ask. They told me you were still alive, and I asked if I could be there for your last moments, but they said it wouldn't be allowed. I wanted so badly to see you so I asked if I could at least give you a proper goodbye, but after discussing it with your other staff I was told that also wouldn't be allowed, due to it being too stressful for you. God I wish I could see you one last time, to tell you how much I loved you and how much of a good boy you were. I'm honored and blessed and thank God that I got to spend 1.5 months with you, and that your last days were so happy, and that you'll have happy memories of our times together, and I hope you can forgive me. I am so heartbroken, the apartment seems emptier, I see all your toys around the house, your food bowl with one piece of dog food left in the bowl, your white fur all over my black sweater. The spot in my bed where you used to lay, and all the other things that remind me of you. I thank you for making me laugh by being your goofy self, for providing me comfort, for adventurous walks around the neighborhood, and for making sure I was safe. Thank you for following me everywhere.

  I hope that this is what God wanted me to do. I keep telling myself that it was the right decision so you no longer have to be stressed when seeing strangers. You could have really hurt someone, and I hope this was the best way of making sure that you wouldn't. I know if I hadn't brought you in on Friday, you'd still be alive. Although I feel like I didn't give you enough of a chance to not have to be euthanized. Maybe you could have been rehomed, but maybe you would have severely hurt someone maybe a child. I guess I'll never know for sure, and continue to wonder if this was the best option for you, but I hope you know how loved you were while you were with me, and I hope we get to meet again someday. I know that whatever happens that God is good, and worthy to be praised in all situations even when it hurts. 

    Again, I'm so sorry, and I love you so much. You were such a good boy. 

             -Alex 

   Update and PS: 

   It looks like you left the Earth on 6/03/2024. But they told me everything went smoothly. You were with the staff that adored you, and that you loved too, and they fed you treats in your last moments. I'm sorry you had to spend Saturday and Sunday in the small kennel but I hope that they had visited you to give you extra comfort, and that you found comfort in your dog bed and toy from home. I think I'll let them keep the dog bed and toy in that kennel to bring comfort to another dog in the future who comes to the shelter. The Bible doesn't say what happens to animals after they die, so I can only hope to see you again one day, but I am at peace knowing that in your last moments you weren't alone. You weren't alone with just you and the vet, you were surrounded by love, even when they wouldn't allow me to be there. It seemed like you were a 10/10 patient even to the end. I ordered a keychain with your face on it to look at daily in memory of you. You will not be forgotten.