Day 70-75 Chicago
It was a
delight to meet up with my son, Jeremy, and to enjoy the hospitality of Tom
Crittenden, who is now the interim priest at Grace Church Hinsdale. It was also a relief to get off of my bicycle
for a few days.
The transition from rural to urban on a
bicycle is striking. Cycling through
South Dakota and Nebraska one observes people valiantly and adjusting the
environment. In the west, it is
necessary to demonstrate strength, creativity, loyalty, generosity, and
humility to survive in an often hostile place.
In an urban setting you find that our large brains have made it possible
to stop adjusting the environment and to force the environment to adjust to us. In the city, transportation is more accommodating
of vehicles. They are well paved and
offer few obstacles to wheeled transport.
They are also very crowded. One
can live out one’s days in a climate controlled environment oblivious to
weather. In the city, you experience the
outside world only on sidewalk cafes and manicured parks. In the city, we try to conquer those natural
forces which cause anxiety and discomfort.
In the process, we have convinced ourselves that we are in control of the
world and our lives.
Kurt
Vonnegut in his brilliant and disturbing novel “Galapagos” writes about the
danger of our “big brains” which can so manipulate the external world that we
begin to think of it as our servant rather than our creator. This is can be seen in the city.
I was,
however, grateful for our ability to live in a climate controlled environment
at that particular time because the heat wave which has been bouncing around
the country had just settled into Chicago.
The triple digit temperatures caused me to conclude that this would be a
good time to visit museums. Jeremy and I
visited the wonderful Museum of Natural History (which I had last visited when
I was 14) as well as the Museum of Science and Industry.
What was
of particular interest in this second museum was the actual German U Boat which
had been brought to Chicago. There was a
fascinating video of how it was towed from storage of the coast of New England
down the St. Lawrence Seaway and to Chicago.
It was hauled across the highway from Lake Michigan to the plot of land
adjacent to Museum. The highway was
closed for 24 hours to make this possible and I was particularly impressed with
a sign donated by a local sign maker “Caution, Submarine Crossing”. A building was constructed around the
submarine to protect it from the elements and the public is invited to tour the
vessel.
This
Submarine (a U505) is the only submarine which had been captured over the
course of World War II. On the tour the
guide was able to graphically describe what it was like to serve on such a
ship. There were 55 men, and 30 beds
which required they all sleep in ships.
Fresh water was scarce so washing was not possible. Only the cook and the captain were allowed to
wash their hands every day. With a
little imagination, one can evoke the odor which would grow over the course of
the journey. When confronted with depth
charges which threatened the vessel, the men would all squeeze into the bow of
the craft and submerge quickly. It was
necessary remain absolutely silent as the terror and the stench overwhelmed
you. The lights were turned out and one
could hear over the overhead speakers the sound of approaching depth
charges. When all was lost, the vessel
surfaced and surrendered. None of the
crew perished and the surrender likely saved their lives. 70 per cent of all U-boat sailors did not
survive the war.
The most
striking image was of the torpedoes stored between the bunks. It evoked the line by Woody Allen’s take on
the book of Isaiah “The day will come when the lion will lie down with
lamb. However, neither will get much
sleep.”
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