Day Six, BAD-DENDUM

Well, wow. Day six sucked. Really sucked. We got to Chicago pretty early and parked near the venue. Everything was fine. Joe called up a friend who directed us up Milwaukee Ave. to a trendy coffee shop where we could chill and get online. It was really nice.





While we were at the coffee shop, we checked out a map of the city and decided it might be nice to head down to Humboldt Park and pass the time. We played with ducks. It was pleasant, even if I did have to remove a used syringe from the pond.




Then, we walked back to the van. It was around 5PM, and we figured Ronny’s would be open by now. After all, what bar would choose not to be open at quitting time? Ronny’s, that’s what bar. No time for sitting around bored though, because this is what we found when we returned to the van:





I pride myself on being a good crisis manager. And this was no different. No one freaked out. We called the police, called the rental company, called my insurance company, took care of all the details from that angle. Then, I sat outside a free internet café that was closed, found a Ford dealership in what appeared to be in an area far enough out of the city that we could feel safe parking our injured baby, told them to expect us, and booked a hotel relatively nearby.

We stayed by the van so no one would try to steal it, and when Ronny’s finally opened, we loaded our gear in and proceeded to remove as much glass as possible from in and around the van. We made sure there was someone to guard it all night, and we went about our business. Had a good time at the show and a better time eating 24 hour Mexican food and drinking with our friend Fangs. He made it all better. At 3AM we drove the 30 minutes to our hotel in DOWNER’S GROVE, IL. Yes Downers Grove. Guess who booked it? The plan was to go to bed at 4:00 and get up at 6:30 to get the van to the dealership with the hopes that they can fix it in a day. Then, maybe get a loaner and chill out.

Oh, on the plus side, while we were clearing out the van, I found my keys! Redemption at last, but at what cost?