Cycling from Davenport to Chicago

 

 Cycling from Davenport to Chicago

     There is a network of canals connecting Chicago to the Mississippi River which make it possible to take a boat from the Great Lakes to New Orleans. Though this waterway is no longer used to transport cargo, the tow paths which remain are wonderful bike trails.  The canals often widen into lovely large lakes with pleasant beaches.  There several rivers which provide wonderful kayaking and access to the diverse ecosystem found in that part of the world.

      The paths also pass through a number of state and county parks which invite cyclists and hikers to rest or to spend the night.  I was particularly impressed by Starved Rock state park which has a series of hiking trails and waterfalls.  Illinois has surprised me with the diverse natural beauty which can found there. 

     When I reached Joliet the transition between rural and urban biking became evident.  The drivers were impatient with cyclists and would blow their horns in the hopes that I might disappear.  I attended a local Church of Christ that Sunday morning and was impressed with the welcome I received.  This denomination has embraced the tradition that all singing should be acapella.  The worship leader would give us a do re mi at the beginning of the song and the entire congregation would sing robustly in harmony.  It was wonderful and I wondered where they all learned to do this.  I was reminded of the observation by Walter Brueggemann

“The passion of church singing is inversely related to the affluence of a congregation.  The rural Pentecostal churches can sing their hearts out.  Suburban Presbyterian churches sing acceptably out of a sense of duty.  Downtown Episcopal Churches pay people to sing for them.” 

   It was a strange and glorious feeling to be surrounded by this mutli-racial, intergenerational group delighting the harmonic sounds of their own voices.  In singing together in harmony I experienced that our lives are linked in ways that are sometimes mysterious and miraculous.  Perhaps we could require congress to sing before the beginning of each session.