Hardly a day goes by in Chicago without a new law "forbidding" its
inhabitants from doing something. Yesterday, a new law was passed. This one in regards to smoking. "Thou shall not smoke".
Starting in January, 2006, smoking illegally in Chicago will land you with a big fine or perhaps something worst.
It is going to be "illegal" to smoke within any building with the exception of your own home. No smoking in restaurants, work places or on a public street within 15 feet of an entrance into a building...which means everywhere.
Every law has a hidden purpose. More than likely, one of the reasons for this new law is to prevent another Chicago fire like the one we had during the 1870's. It would be too costly to rebuilt the city once again.
To be fair, this time around I happen to agree with this new law. The "shack" in which I "squat" was built not too long after the last Chicago fire. In fact the Chicago fire started within a walking distance from where I take "shelter" from the authorities.
Oh well, even in Chicago, sometimes life can be fair. No smoking anywhere in public...GREAT.

The danger of freezing to death in Chicago is just a degree or two away. At the moment, the temperature outdoors is hovering around zero degrees. The quest for survival has compelled me to venture outdoors. Need to purchase food etc;.
This current deep freeze brought back to my mind something our thoughtful city fathers (aldermen) were proposing to enact a few years back. As is their usual custom, they are always coming up with another law to "forbid" us from doing something.
Awhile back there were (and still is) many bank holdups in Chicago.The individuals doing the robberies wore ski masks very often.
Naturally, our aldermen, wise as they are, wanted to prohibit anyone from wearing a ski mask. The aldermen, in their wisdom, perhaps never had Geography while in school. Had they had Geography, they would have noted that Chicago is located near the Artic Circle. So being, the temperature gets very cold in winter.
Fortunately, the proposed law against wearing a ski mask never passed. No doubt, the thought of a voter freezing to death, would be one last vote cast to keep the aldermen in office at election time.
Of course, dead voters have never been a problem in the past history of Chicago elections. Dead voters have been known to vote from the grave.

What a day! Peace and quiet. Nothing of interest taking place at the moment. Light snow is falling. As far as I can determine,I have not broken any rules that I know of since most of everything is forbidden in Chicago.
I am still in "shock" from taking a "forbidden picture of a Christmas tree the other day. Fear grips me every time I hear a knock on the door. I ask myself, "Is this the PICTURE POLICE coming to arrest me"?
Perhaps it is best to seek the safety within the four walls of my shack within the city of Chicago.
Hopefully I may attempt to wander once again on Wednesday of this week. One must not let "fear" dictate the future of our delicate life.

I am a fugitive. I took a picture of a Christmas tree. This could only happen in Chicago where it is forbidden to do most anything.
Once a year I take my Christmas walk around downtown Chicago. Around Christmas, the bleak scenery in this city takes on colorful look that is absent the rest of the year. Lights, yule time decorations everywhere. The otherwise bleak atmosphere abounds in new life.
To capture this rare sight, I wander the streets with my camera. Have been doing this for years. As usual, I began taking pictures of the festive sights. Street scenes, store windows, etc.;. Just as my dark life was starting to to brighten up, I became a potential law-breaker, and now a fugitive from the law.
Inside one of the commercial retail centers, I came within eyesight of a pretty Christmas tree, all decorated. With my ever present digital camera, I took a picture of the Christmas tree. Lo & behold, a security person pursued me. "You are "forbidden" to take pictures of that tree," I was informed.
Fear overcame me. Never, so much, have I ever gotten so much as a traffic violation ticket. It dawned on my that I have committed a "capital" crime, subject to years of hard labor behind bars.
Rather than face an uncertain future behind some hight security prison, I jolted out of the building before I could be tackled by this security person.
In my haste to seek safety in the crowded streets of downtown Chicago, I then realized that there were cameras everywhere in the building. No doubt, my retreating body is being posted on the "Most Wanted" fugitives everywhere.
My crime: taking a picture of a Christmas tree in Chicago. Very serious, especially during the Christmas season.

If I were granted one wish for the HOLIDAYS, that would be not to be so "stupid".
Traveling through the dark alleys and "mean" streets of Chicago, I find comfort in taking pictures with my digital camera. In my collection I have hundreds of pictures. My wish is to share them with others on the internet. Being "stupid" I keep getting "rejection" messages when trying to post them. Something to the effect that the pictures with my camera (SONY) are not compatible with the "BLOGSTREAM" system. Some kind of technical problem.
Well, that's the story of my life, "rejection", "rejection". Will I ever find happiness?
How will I be able to communicate to the outside world of the unseen side of Chicago? Going through the alleys of Chicago, I have taken pictures of "alley art". Pictures not to be found in any of our great Art Museums. Pictures whose canvas is the walls of otherwise dull buildings. Probably the best way to describe these pictures would be "folk art". Myself, being "stupid", and lacking the ability to be an art critic , I find a certain type of beauty in these paintings.
Other pictures of interest would be the "characters" to be found on the "mean" streets of Chicago. There are so many stories to be found and photographed. Some sad, some humorous.