I had found a nice boxcar in the middle of boxcar graveyard. The graveyard lay below Soldier Field in a maze of tracks that stretched forever.
I understand that the area has been gentrified and that the Mayor lives on my old turf now - strange how it goes.
But it was a nice boxcar with a door that worked and nice new wood inside. I could lock the car/home in the day and unlock it at night - a very sweet deal.
Because there was no water near, I had to cross the freeway on the overpass for the rail line to get water at Solder Field. Not that I drank too much water in those days but occasionally.
Normally I would stop at the corner and pick up a six pack and a chicken wing dinner and head thru the yard to home.
As I threw my chicken wings out the door there started to be a regular zoo of critters stopping by at night to see what was on the menu.
One night I had a couple of gallons of water so I put out a small bowl of water and changed the world.
From then on it was a family of possums, a pair of pheasants, numerous critters and the largest raccoon I had ever seen visiting the local watering hole.
It makes sense - there was no other water available and it was apparent that they could smell the (now large) pan outside my door.
The raccoon would crunch the chicken bones with the most frightening sound I can describe. It was clear that he could eat your hand with no problem whatsoever.
On day on my trip back from soldier field I saw the raccoon dead in the freeway. Why he would cross that road is beyond me.
But the winter ended and I had proved to myself that I could live outside in the winter by the edge of the lake and live. I am not certain that I cared which way the experiment ended in those days. It did not seem important.
Winter - Chicago Rail yards
The Lost Years
I had found a nice boxcar in the middle of the boxcar graveyard. The graveyard lay below Soldier Field in a maze of tracks that stretched forever.
I understand that the area has been gentrified and that the Mayor now lives on my old turf - strange how it goes.
But it was a nice boxcar with a door that worked and new wood inside. I could lock the car/home in the day and unlock it at night - a very sweet deal.
Because there was no water near, I had to cross the freeway on the overpass for the rail line to get water at Soldier Field. Not that I drank too much water in those days but occasionally.
Normally I would stop at the corner, pick up a six pack and a chicken wing dinner then head thru the yard to home.
Because I threw my chicken wing bones out the door there started to be a regular zoo of critters stopping by at night to see what was on the menu.
One night I had a couple of gallons of water so I put out a small bowl of water and changed the world.
From then on it was a family of possums, a pair of pheasants, numerous critters and the largest raccoon I had ever seen visiting the local watering hole.
The raccoon would crunch the chicken bones with the most frightening sound I can describe. It was clear that he could eat your hand with no problem whatsoever.
One day on my trip back from soldier field I saw the raccoon dead in the freeway. It was both sad and foreboding.
But the winter ended and I survived. One day the weeds were covered with spider webs and then in a remarkable dance of timing, a few days later the insects appeared.
I moved on - but the memory of the animals visiting the watering bowl at night in the rail yard will always remain.
As will the number $19.10. That is what you earned for a day’s labor from the labor pool. You got a $3.00 draw in the morning for bus fare or lunch or perhaps a nice 16oz. cold beverage.
And it was plenty.