To Michael and Astro’s House
Michael and I began talking on this website. I gathered he was a bit of a gearhead. He offered to let me stay on his couch relatively early on. I had declined early on because I was suffering from a bout of insomnia and wouldn’t have been able to sleep anyway.
The night after I was robbed, for the second time, there was a big storm. There was rain, wind, and a little lightning. I was limping from an injury during the robbery, and I did not want to spend the night in the rain. Once you’re wet, there’s no getting dry for several hours; being soaked and trying to use the train with its overpowered air-conditioner is misery. I took the easy way out and asked if Michael’s offer was still open; he said yes and even offered to pick me up once I got closer.
Standing under the shelter, waiting for the train, the wind seemed to be blowing from all directions. I was wet, but I didn’t care because I knew that I’d be able change into something dry before the night was through.
On the train, I was shivering and simply couldn’t get warm. The train was going slower than usual, but the wind was shaking it from side to side. As we entered a tunnel, the lights went out and we came to a stop.
Having warmed up since the air-conditioner cut off, I noticed the people around me for the first time. Illuminated by phones, I saw fifteen to twenty drag queens. After a few minutes they began vamping, singing, and performing standup. I assume they were rehearsing their acts. Most of them were quite good, a very few leaned too heavily into cringe humor. On the whole, it was a pleasant way to spend an hour in the dark.
Meeting Michael
After another, much shorter delay, I arrived at the station where I was to meet Michael. He had practice and was volunteering with inmates earlier.
I was expecting a middle-aged car guy. However, I found Michael waiting near the rear of the station, a tall, good-looking young man. We made small talk as he drove to his apartment. He drove like he was in an urban race: cycling through gear, quick stops, hard down on the accelerator. I’ve only rode with him once, so I can’t say how much of this was how he usually drives and how much for my benefit. He told me the story of his first car crash. The only time he seemed shaken was when we shot past a cop; I felt Michael tap on his brakes, the cop wasn’t bothered enough to do anything.
As we drove into his neighborhood, I saw a fire hydrant that had been illicitly opened. I had seen this before in movies, but I didn’t know people actually did it. Michael said it was mostly kids trying to beat the heat. The fire hydrant wasn’t closed until the afternoon of the next day.
Meeting Astro
We arrived at Michael’s apartment a little after midnight and were greeted by his cat Astro. Astro is a large-eyed, black and white cat. He was not at all skittish; he came right up and headbutted me (in a friendly way).
According to Michael, Astro’s eyes are bigger than his stomach; from what I’ve seen, this is completely true. He likes to sit in one of his window perches and chirp or chatter at the rats he sees in the street. The rats are usually about half as big as Astro—they would make a fine feast or two. His hunting instinct does not extend to small prey as he refuses to go after flies and other insects that make their way into the apartment; he simply doesn’t think something so small is worth the effort.
House Rules and Order
Their apartment is clean and very well ordered; there’s no clutter and everything has its place. Even though he said it’s okay, I’m afraid to use anything in his kitchen because everything is so well organized, I think he could cook while blindfolded.
Michael, being a vegan, had only one rule, that being: should I cook meat, I would clean anything I had used. He did not wish to police what I was eating; he just didn’t want to deal with animal products.
Since I didn’t plan on being there during mealtimes, I endeavored to simply avoid animal products during my stay. I blew it almost immediately, when I used the generous bonus from my first temp job to buy French fries and coffee. I didn’t know that McDonald’s fries contain animal products. But I didn’t use any utensils to eat them and Michael didn’t seem to be upset.
Michael Points-out Segregation in Chicago
Michael is from Chicago; I’m not sure if he was born here, but he’s been here since he was a child. He’s had a lot more time than me to observe this city.
Chicago is almost laughably segregated. I hadn’t really noticed it until he pointed out. As you ride the Red Line between the Loop and its terminus, the skin tone of the riders gets darker and darker; ride in the opposite direction and the reverse is true.
There are unofficial ethnic enclaves dotted throughout the city’s various neighborhoods; this is even true of the suburbs, where various ethnic minorities seemed to have concentrated themselves in a limited number of towns. For instance: Schaumburg seems to have a comparatively large South Asian population whereas Cicero seems to have a larger Spanish speaking population. In city though, this segregation seems to go street-by-street or block-by-block: there is one example of strip mall with places meant to appeal to a mostly East Asian demographic and on the opposite side of the road are stores, almost mirrored one for one, meant to appeal to a Black clientele.
Michael’s Volunteer Work
Michael works with an organization that helps people who have been released from Cook County Jail; from what I understand most were released after being arraigned or having a bail hearing.
He has been helping a man named Ramón, pronounced “Raymond” for some reason. Originally from Colombia, Ramón is an elderly man suffering from some form of cognitive decline or clinically diagnosable dementia. He is/was effectively homeless after his release. Due to his dementia, he may have some difficulty complying with his conditions of release.
Michael has been helping him to attend doctor’s appointments, by facilitating communication with family members outside of Chicago, and by securing shelter space after his release. Michael was disgusted that a man of such declining faculties was released onto the streets instead of to some responsible party. Michael has gone above and beyond by connecting Ramón to a case worker and even trying to find out whether or not his medical condition had some bearing on his alleged offense.
Michael at Work
I’m not exactly sure what Michael does, but he works mostly from home doing computer stuff. I don’t think he likes the company he works for (for ethical reasons), but he does seem to like the work, at the very least he finds it interesting.
One day he worked for about 6 hours straight, had a meal, the worked a further 6 hours; the entire time he was tapping and clicking away at his computer.
He seems to be even more enthusiastic about his hobbies. He either spends hours or has some sort of alert system in order to find parts, accessories, and tools for his car. He can perform repairs that would typically require a professional in his spare time. Sometimes he’ll forget to eat or work into the early hours of the morning.
Update on My Situation
I had been limping recently due to an injury from the robbery; I further injured the same foot through a series of other screw ups, which led to the development of several small blisters. Unbeknownst to me, one of these blisters became infected. Unfortunately, I did not realize this until it was too late as my foot was already sore and my sense of smell has been substandard since I started chemo. In any event I ended up excising some of the flesh from my foot. After making the first cut, I could easily smell it. I’m surprised Michael didn’t say anything, I think he was being too polite; the smell of necrotic flesh is distinct and unpleasant.
I had to attend another series of courses to maintain my status within the program—I’m mostly hedging my bets in case the other thing falls through. I also go to the center to look for temp jobs; I’ve found out that sometimes I can manage to get two fairly simple data entry-type jobs in one day if I’m registered with more than one temp agency. The only downside to this place is that the dispatcher likes to watch old Fox animated shows: King of the Hill, The Simpsons, and Family Guy; sometimes she watches a new one called Bob’s Burgers; on Fridays she watches Ancient Aliens. My gripe isn’t her choice of programs, it’s the volume; she’s not hard of hearing but she sets the television to its beverage-rippling maximum, I believe in an attempt to let the entire building in on the fun.
I’ve kept up my illicit doctoring, which I should be able to do until their regular guy gets back from vacation on Friday. Things have been fairly tranquil, so I haven’t been getting the number of callouts that I had estimated. Between my temp work and this, I’ve managed to earn about $1800; this means I’m about $850 from securing an apartment.
I want to thank you all for everything you’ve been doing for me: for helping out, for donating, for reading. It really does mean much more than I’m capable of putting into words.
This is beautiful.