Happy Taskgiving extravaganza! I decided to combine this task with No Jaywalking on Thanksgiving. I started out waiting on my chosen corner. After either something fantastic happened or half an hour had passed, I followed the walk signal as indicated in this task. When I came to an intersection with a don't walk signal, I stopped on that corner and waited again. I repeated this pattern until I was finished tasking. There will be links in the praxis below to take you to the related praxis at the appropriate times.

I started at the corner of Belmont and Clark because this can be a very exciting corner, and I have a lot of history there. Back in the late eighties, all kinds of alternative kids used to hang out there after the teen club closed at four in the morning - the Dunkin' Donuts on that corner is still nicknamed "Punkin' Donuts" because of this. I had some really good times there. Most recently - about two weeks ago - I saw a jaw-dropping brawl among a large group of about thirty transvestites, which included a whole lot of pulling hair and tearing off of clothing, accompanied by screeching and name-calling. You never know what's going to happen at that intersection. As fate would have it, nothing really spectacular did.

I have to interject here and say that I am a very bad judge of what may or may not be fantastic. My amazement threshold is pretty low - I am frequently amazed by things other people would not be. For instance, on this corner - a woman in a bright pink Santa hat, an ad on a passing CTA bus that read "We don't throw pudding because we can, we do it because it's important", and a woman walking around in 40 degree weather wearing a tiny butt ruffle miniskirt and no hose or tights. I decided that none of these things were fantastic enough for the praxis, and mostly just me being my easily amused self. So, following the rules of No Jaywalking, I headed off to try another corner.

switch now!

I ended up one block away at Belmont and Halsted, which was in the sun and much warmer than the previous corner. Tasking outside in Chicago during the winter(ish) seasons sucks. This corner is on the edge of the gay neighborhood, and during my half hour here I saw many gay men heading off to various Thanksgiving celebrations - two men with an old lady in a babushka going into a nice restaraunt, a lone man carrying two board games and a six pack of beer, a full SUV-load of laughing men, and two men holding hands, with their other hands full of groceries. A large African-American gay man passes me and trills, "Hey, Sweetie! I LOVE your shoes!" I begin to think that all of this is pretty fantastic, watching these obviously happy men bustling around on a holiday afternoon, full of peace and joy. Maybe the fantastic can be subtle, maybe it's hiding in everyday life.

switch now!

Next I ended up at the three-way intersection of Halsted, Clark, and Barry. While I waited here, many families with kids either in strollers or holding grownups' hands passed by. Definitely more traditional groups than the previous corner, but still peaceful and happy.

switch now!

I found myself at the corner of Clark, Diversey, and Broadway next. As I observed, two separate pairs of people called to each other across the street, simeltaneously. One set were two obese men, the other were elderly ladies. It took a few tries apiece for the caller to get the attention of their respective callee. Upon meeting up, the elderly ladies embraced and kissed cheeks, the obese men talked briefly and parted company. The ladies stood next to me, waiting for the bus. They talked about where they had gotten their winter coats and gossiped about mutual friends until the bus arrived.

switch now!

Then I ended up at Diversey and Sheffield. During my time here, I received a Happy Thanksgiving text from Kassitastrophe. Across the street from me, two men were setting up a Christmas tree lot. A couple in an SUV stopped and purchased a plastic tree stand - I guessed this meant they were putting up their tree, which seems a bit early, but a nice thing to do with family and friends around.

switch now!

Lastly, I waited on the corner of Lincoln and Webster. It was getting pretty late in the day, after everyone has usually eaten on Thanksgiving. There was much less traffic in the streets, and places that had been open during the morning and afternoon were closing up. Most of the people around either had dogs on leashes or babies in strollers, taking strolls after the big meal, perhaps. I could smell fragrant woodsmoke from someone's fireplace. It was cold and quiet, and I spent the half hour thinking about all the different people I'd observed through the day, and how they all seemed filled with contentment and pleasure.

I left my tasking to go and meet Molotov at her job so we could have Thanksgiving dinner together. I almost missed my bus, but the fortuitous combination of good timing of a red light and a responsible bus driver allowed me to catch it. I was cold and tired from wandering around all day, so this in itself was pretty fantastic.

I like the results of this task. It's not big and flashy and full of spectacle - as I had hoped it would be when I decided to do it - but it's got a lovely quiet sense of joy and dignity that I appreciate. Pretty appropriate for Everyday Life, actually.