Week Six: October 16-22

	LaGuardia

Boarding a plane at LaGuardia feels like I’m flying for the first time—not scary, just exciting. Maybe it’s the black-bereted guards with M16s standing guard.

I’m patted down and scanned twice before I board. The attendant apologizes for the “random wanding.”

I can tell that the metal detection has been turned up because the rivets in my jeans beep.

	Big John

Mugshots

The Sears Tower, tallest building in the country, is closed for security reasons, so we try the John Hancock Tower instead.

No you didn’t

Downtown Chicago—Sears Tower at right

Lakeshore Drive

	Lunch break

At 94 stories, the observation deck is 1,000 feet above the streets of Chicago.

Like most observation decks, pretty much everything but the view is cheesy.

Squeegee

Spot the dead salmon

The weather is perfect, and there’s no smell of burning.

... and above the Bahá’í temple

In the Cartier window ...

But I still notice flags. And planes; I think many people now pay attention to the sound of jets overhead.

Not drawn to scale

Monkeys have tails, apes don’t

Previous trips to Chicago have been more about observing life as a graduate student. This time around I’m fine being a tourist.

Downtown

Queens
Police check point

Back in New York, the memorials feel like home.

Canal Street Station