Ya Gonna Swim With Da Fishes

 

Well, I have walked past, over, around and have even gone on a boat tour on the Chicago River. I have never been in the river. This coming Sunday 400 brave souls will compete in a one or two mile race to raise awareness and money for ALS. Lots of things have been dumped into the river. This was Al Capone's territory. There must be gangster bones being used as housing for the fishes. I just saw a blip where around 140 cars have been pulled out in an investigation regarding a missing couple. And we used to have the biggest slaughterhouse in the country right in the middle of the city. They called the part of the river where they got rid of the waste, "bubbly creek." Nice. I remember when I was a very young lass I knew we were in the city by the Magikist lips sign and the smell from the animal pens. The Dave Matthews Band also used the river to expell poop- all 800 pounds of it dumped from their house on wheels. I doubt it was all Dave's but that is a lot of poop. Now people will swim in it for the first time, officially and voluntarily, since a century ago when Lars Johansen took his daily plunge and came out Pepe Lopez. That's when authorities knew the water was a might filthy. For the race, the water is being tested every day in various areas along the river just to be sure it's safe. Supposedly, it's clean enough to dive into. It's not germ free but apparently, good enough. Yeah, good enough is never a good thing to hear. I would never take the risk these days. I don't even swim in the lake anymore and that's three blocks away. The last time I swam in the lake in the city was when I was a teenager. I was the only one willing to go in. Of course it was in late September which might have turned people off, but, I loved it. It was cold, very cold. I thrive in cold weather. Perhaps it's my Scandinavian genes. I hate the Summer. The hot, the humidity, the flies, and sweat. Nope. Give me snow, ice and frigid temperatures. 

Apparently it's safe to visit the city. The orange man's threats to rid the city of violence was met with much pushback. That's one thing about Trump - if you push hard enough he will back down. Then he'll have someone else do the dirty deed. But, I digress. 

Let's get back to the other human waste. I just read somewhere that the Campbell's soup company had been dumping waste into the Maumee River in Ohio for years. They have destroyed and poisoned plants and fish, but they will get off with a mere fine. Yet another river to clean and another company to boycott. It's a growing list. 

I don't believe the trains run on Sundays so I shall not be witnessing the swim. I tend to avoid social events anyway and go into the city when nothing is happening. 

Good luck, swimmers. I hope you make loads of money for a good cause and keep your mouths closed. Watch out for foot bones wearing spats.