The First Sunday of June in Oak Park is Day in Our Village in Oak Park, IL. It was started 40 years ago as a way for businesses and services in the Village to raise awareness about what they have to offer village residents. The two main festivity areas are at Rehm Park on the south side of the Village, with carnival games and other such amusements, and Scoville Park, in the downtown area.
At Scoville Park, booths line the sidewalks providing information about resources and services they provide, representing organizations from throughout the village. I had a great time when I went there, meeting so many people and learning about things going on with various groups. I was particularly pleased to have the opportunity to personally interact with the new Village Board President, Anan Abu-Taleb.
A few days later, on Wednesday, June 5, I spent an evening with my Grandma Vel. She had seen this Jewish singer named Dudu Fisher on PBS, and really enjoyed him. So she was excited when she heard he was going to be having a concert at the Harris Theater. I accepted her invitation to accompany her.
It was a nice concert. Dudu Fisher sang a great repertoire of pieces. He sang a few popular Broadway musical selections in Yiddish. Some songs he sang were clearly well-known to the predominantly Jewish audience. I for one enjoyed the concert, because of the Jewish culture on full display.
I felt that this concert was aptly timed: There are a few days that I observe with special regard every year because it represents something significant in my life, and June 8 is one of those days. On Wednesday, June 8, 2005, I spent my last day as a student at Percy Julian Middle School. (I observe June 8, as well as the Wednesday closest to it, which was June 5 this year.) In my three years there, my character was shaped in important ways, and June 8 was sort of a point at which these character developments were finalized. That is why, to the surprise of many, I regard my middle school years as the best of my life before going to college.
And the Jewish people played a large part in the character developments I underwent during that time. Before going to middle school, I knew only one Jewish person. That number skyrocketed upon arriving at Julian. (It's interesting to note the many parallels between my great experiences at Julian and ValpU, as I knew very few Lutherans before going to ValpU.) Julian students came from all areas of Oak Park, and so I came to interact with many Jews who lived in other areas. There were so open about their identity, particularly my 6th grade language arts teacher Mr. Brachman. Being exposed to the identity of Judaism through them led me to ponder my own identity even more, and consequently, I came to appreciate who I was even more. So I remain in a debt of gratitude to the Jewish people.
In the middle of the month, I went out on two separate days for a really long bike ride, each topping 20 miles, and lasting over 3 1/2 hours. On June 13, I rode along the Salt Creek Trail. I started out this ride by heading through the lovely suburbs of Riverside, Brookfield, and LaGrange Park, where I picked up the trailhead. I then rode the trail all the way to Oak Brook, to York Road, before turning around and following its path all the way over to Brookfield Zoo. It was a delightful path through a quiet, wooded area, save for the points at which I had to cross major streets. I was impressed that such quietude was present in the midst of Chicago suburbs.
A few days later, on June 18, I went south, meandering around in the suburb of Summit, and then in the Chicago city neighborhoods of Clearing and Garfield Ridge. I made it all the way to the intersection of Oak Park Avenue and 65th Street, right across the street from the suburb of Bedford Park, a point which is approximately 6 miles south of where I live in Oak Park. I don't know what it is, but there's something that really fascinates me about Summit, Garfield Ridge, and Clearing. Maybe it's the lovely housing stock in these overall residential areas. I look forward to returning to these areas again to just meander around.
The last week of June brought a weather pattern with constant storminess to the Chicagoland area. It seemed that nearly every day brought storms in the evening that popped up after a warm, sunny afternoon. It seemed appropriate the atmosphere would kick up that way, especially right after the summer solstice at 12:04 AM CDT (or 504Z) on June 21, marking the beginning of a time of happiness, sunniness, mugginess, and even stormy skies.
This weather pattern was shaped in large part by what's known in the meteorology community as a "ring of fire" pattern. This is when a hot air mass covers a large portion of the United States, west of the Rockies. On the northern edge of the hot air mass is the jet stream, a corridor of strong winds found 30000 feet above ground level. These strong upper-level winds blow in such a way as to steer systems that cause storms. Usually, this ring of fire pattern remains stationary for a number of days, instead of progressing steadily toward the Atlantic Ocean as typical midlatitude weather systems do that travel across the United States. So the hot air remains in place, and small atmospheric "disturbances" ride along the upper-level wind corridor and trigger thunderstorms.
Some of the storms that came through Oak Park brought sudden, heavy rainfall, and strong winds. I was particularly surprised that one such storm came through on Thursday, as when it first formed, I thought it would head straight east toward Lake Michigan, instead of heading southeast toward Oak Park. (I was also intrigued that my Dad decided to cook hamburgers on the grill outside while this storm was bearing down.)
As it departed, with rain still coming down, the sun broke out of the clouds to the west, and I correctly surmised there would be a rainbow. In fact, it was double rainbow!!!
This "ring of fire" pattern was certainly a meteorologist's delight!
As a final note, I've had the delight of interacting with a variety of animals. Most notable of them all was on Saturday the 29th, when I went to the Oak Park Conservatory for a presentation on bats. You know, bats have unfairly gotten a bad reputation for being menacing creatures. They are actually very sophisticated in their ability to use echolocation and other means to survive. They are also such gentle creatures. At the end of the presentation, the presenters brought out four bats they had brought with them, and I had opportunity to touch them. They had soft, furry bellies, and thin, fragile wings. So I can add that to my interactions with creatures such as when, at the Field Museum Members' Night, I held a tarantula and a cockroach.
Indeed, animals are amazing. They may not talk like humans, but they can so strongly express a personality and their feelings, using body language, which is really cool.
I notice this especially when interacting with Ludwig, the cat who lives across the alley, who I have taken care of from time to time when the owners are away.
I end with a note about my Grandma's dog Buddy. He spent a few days at our house during the middle of the month. Just seeing him always feels me with glee. I hope it is the same for you.
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