Hello. Welcome to my website. It started while I was in Europe for a semester, and I've kept it up since then. I'm now at the University of Chicago Law School, living in Hyde Park, and the story continues. If you want to say hi or visit me, email cfloyd at uchicago dot edu.
"Life is nothing if not the sum of your anecdotes." -Scotty The Body, on storytelling "But it ain't that bad, man. Just figure out the system before the system figures out you." -T. Matthew Smith, on the 1L year "The beer just doesn't taste as good when you're not drinking it with your buddies." -Anon., on being away from good friends "Somebody has to pay the rent around here. Why the hell not us?" -Cotton, on studying for exams
5/22/2004
I was walking home from the grocery store this morning and I saw them. People. In my alley. I didn't like seeing the people in my alley because they're not usually there. My neighborhood may be crazy, but it's at least become somewhat predictable. I know that the courtly homeless guy with the fedora really appreciates just a quarter when he opens the door for you at bagel place. I know that the best burrito is at Maravilla's Mexican. Which makes sense. But the best gyro is not at Hyde Park Gyro, but in fact at Nathan's Taste of Jamaica. Which doesn't necessarily make sense.
The people in the alley aren't part of the pattern. So rather than going into my building I went to see what the people in the alley behind my building were doing. I like my alley behind my building. It's not too scary of an alley and it's a quicker way to get certain places like the grocery store and the bank. My building's back door opens up to the alley and I ride my bike through the alley on my way to school after I unlock my bike from the bike room in my building and push it through the back door. One time I was walking behind a large woman doing a little shuffle-scoot through the alley who suddenly ducked into an alcove. As I continuted through the alley, past the alcove, I saw her relieving her bowels in the alcove and staring at me. In broad daylight. That was creepy. But I guess it wouldn't be a proper alley in Chicago without some poo. I felt bad for the people whose back door is in the alcove.
But it's mostly a clean alley. Except for the graffiti. I think that the graffiti really adds to the alley. The graffiti isn't malicious graffiti. It's the kind that really is closer to art. There's a wall along one side of the alley that separates the alley from a Mobil gas station. All the graffiti is along the wall. As I got closer I saw people painting over the graffiti at the far end of the alley. My suspicicions were confirmed! It was some "community group" doing a "cleanup!" Why were they in my alley painting over my graffiti with bland light-gray paint?
Then I got closer to the people. I noticed it was a diverse group, including small children. They were all listening to a large black man. He was explaining the graffiti on the sections of the wall that were closer to me. All these different people were walking through my alley looking at the various scenes and designs made of spray paint as though they were in a museum and Big Black Man was their tour guide. And the people who were painting over their graffiti were in fact the graffiti artists themselves, creating a blank canvas for fresh new graffiti. So it wasn't a community cleanup, it was a celebration of creative vandalism at noon on a Saturday!
I'm going back down to my alley now to watch the artists work. I'll take some pictures. Then I'll read Contracts for about five hours. Awesome.
5/22/2004 10:26:00 AM
