Back to thinking about the streets of Chicago… The longest street in Chicago is Western Avenue; I have plenty of history on that street. I only lived 4 blocks off Western growing up; there were plenty of trips to Western to our local McDonalds or to rent VHS movies at Classic Movies before Blockbuster ate everybody up. This older kid I knew got shot in the head on Western Ave… one of the firefighters that arrived on the call said his brains were oozing out. Lots of early memories of Western, but as I got older, these memories would multiply.
I took the 49 Western Bus south to the end of the line every day for 3 years going to high school; I drove senior year… down Western Avenue. Both the walks to the bus stop and rides on the bus were full of adventure. I’d walk with a couple of my friends to the bus stop on 21st right outside the Salvation Army store, which is no longer there btw. It was great that I didn’t have to go to school by myself. Those walks strengthened friendships that would grow over the years, until they didn’t. One walk in particular didn’t go so well for us, well, for me specifically. There were some guys on the corner, still “feeling good” from the evening’s festivities no doubt. One of them I knew; he stood in the background, as another approached me. He walked up to me and told me something about losing a bet, then proceeded to punch me in the face. I stood there, stunned no doubt. What next? Was this to turn into an all-out brawl? It would have been an even 3v3 matchup with fists. Yet, even back then, we knew it was very possible that these guys were holding heat; that would not have ended well. So, I just stood there; the guy walked back to his friends, laughing. We continued our walk to the bus stop; my face was a bit red.
Yes, the bus rides down Western… ooh boy, some goodies. There were hustlers, looking to make a buck, playing the shell and/or card game on the bus. There were hookers, who would board the bus along the route from time to time. There were those “fun” rides through the hood on the way to school during the Rodney King trial; at one point, thought our bus may get tipped over. Me, well, I’d talk with my buddies or have my headphones on, minding my business. We did get sneak attacked one time when a passerby on a bike snatched my friend’s Starter hat off his head through the window; no need to get out and chase him where we were. The bus would drop us off right in front of the school, the last stop before hitting the bus depot, at 77th and Western. Four years of going to school on Western Avenue…
This trip down Western Ave has really only just begun. So much history along that 23.5 mile long street that runs north and south, slicing Chicago into two at 2400 west. Most of my early memories were south; many later memories would take me north. I’ve been all over Western from start to end; I still use this street very much so to this day. If there was one street that I had the most history, other than the one I grew up on, it would be this one.
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