A Day in the Life

Today I spent most of my time out of the office; I just didn't realize how far out it would turn out to be.

Around 11 am I left my neighborhood -- an upper-middle class spot with large single family homes, including a few of historical significance. My first stop of the day was the visitation for a congregant's father. I pointed the car northeast and drove into areas very different from the one I had left. I drove past boarded homes, abandoned businesses and vacant lots. I saw run-down schools and countless storefront churches. I felt like I was in another country. I found the funeral home. The folks at the reception desk stared as I entered, since I was probably one of the few white people they would see all day. I followed the signs to the chapel. I should mention that while I call this a "visitation," the notice called this time at the funeral home a "public viewing." I was a bit surprised to be the only one there. The. Only. One. This viewing happens over two days and the family, it seems, is not always present the entire time. So, there I stood, all alone in the chapel with deceased; a man I had only met once. It felt a bit like a scene out of Lost. I did not stay long.

I got back into the car and onto the expressway. Ten minutes later I was in a university neighborhood, in line at the French bakery where the owner requires the workers to be able to speak French, and the patrons, too, apparently. I said "merci" as I received my food and sat among the local intellectuals to eat my quiche lorraine and study Hebrew flashcards.

Then down the block, where I took my Hebrew final. After which our German professor served us guacamole and chicken souvlaki and we watched a video of young men singing about Hanukkah to the tune of "I Put My Hands Up in the Air Sometimes."

Back in the car and on to Lake Shore Drive. I listened to the Latin pop music on the pre-sets on my radio as I watched the city's gorgeous skyline emerge behind the icy grey water of the lake.

Then it was through the skyscrapers, past the art museum with the lions decked out in red-ornament wreaths, past all the workers and shoppers. Back on the expressway, now headed west. An hour or so later I was in the hilly, forested, mall-dotted suburbs. After my meeting I went the mall to start my holiday shopping. While I ate supper, I watched women in lovely outfits and men in sharp suits waiting for the valet to bring them their Lexus. I shopped. And drove home in the snow. By 9 pm I was back home.

It was a day of wonders. A day that reminds me of the amazing diversity of this city. It's a good thing my new car gets such great gas mileage; because some days it has to take me to many different worlds.