Midnight on a Mild Night

Eli woke me up with a quick wet kiss just after the stroke of 12. I grabbed a pair of dungarees he grabbed his seemingly eternal rawhide. The jangle of the choke chain sent him right into Wookie mode. All is quiet save for the Griffon doing his Chewbacca impressions over and over again. He goes quiet as soon as I unlock the door. We step outside into the night and I leave my pea coat unbuttoned for the first time in several months. It's a Monday night; actually, it's Tuesday morning and I have to make the pup comfortable for the night. We both stop on the front steps. Eli looks for bunnies while I decide on our route. It's rather pleasant out so I choose my favorite way...

The melting snow has left little patches of ice on the sidewalks. You don't see them but they're there. Even Eli slips out of stride every now and then but he is much more graceful than myself.

It's so quiet out. Eli crunches through the remaining snow banks stopping at every piss stain left by other dogs. Male dogs used to annoy the hell out of me, but now I don't mind stopping. Being forced to stop every once in a while is good for me. While the Mongrel sniffs I take in the world around me, which is really just an academic attempt to say: I love looking in peoples' windows. I could care less about seeing them; I'm more interested in their decor. Who needs a virtual tour when you can take a walk through a quiet neighborhood after midnight.

I have my favorite residence on Menonomee Street. I pass by several desirable addresses to get to the "one." These people usually leave their blinds open so I get a better view of the interior. It's an expansive open floor plan with a huge kitchen space. I would love to sip on a Louis Latour Chardonnay and make lemon-caper chicken in there one night. This morning when I was walking Eli I exchanged pleasantries with the owner of the place. He came out in his bathrobe to fetch his paper right as we passed. More than once I have passed by and the front door has been wide open. The neighborhood is safe and the schnauzer looking thing that stays by the window would definitely not take too kindly to any strangers stepping past the threshold. This dog let's Eli know who's property it is every time we pass.

When I get to Sedgwick I see a nicely-dressed young woman getting dropped off at her apartment. The SUV drives off before she is safely inside. I hope she didn't give up any of the goods to a guy who doesn't finish the job. There is no form of communication once the car door closes. She gets her keys out and taillights fade in the direction of North Avenue. She gets inside then Eli and I move onto the next yellow patch a few doors down.

Most of the houses down Sedgwick are beautifully decorated inside. There is one house that looks abandoned but at night a few lights illuminate the second (sometimes) and third (always) floors. Three doors down one flat screen was on in a second floor flat. It looked like someone was trying to fall asleep to Sportscenter.

Off in the distance I see flashing blue lights. The peace of the night is broken. I take Eli out in the street to see where the trouble is. The bust is pretty far down the street either at the Stop and Rob or the Marshall Fields apartments. Both places can be pretty rough. This summer was really bad around the apartments. I like seeing the blue lights.

Eli finishes up his business across the street from a house that has some beautiful stained-glass windows. I have never noticed this place before. The windows look very nice with the dark-brick exterior. If only I could see further inside!

I consider going straight down Eugenie and checking out the row of houses that display some nice pieces of art but decide against it. I'm craving a cup of tea and the Mongrel is starting to lag. We will check out the art another night. Besides, it's late and the residents have probably already turned out their lights.

Back at the house I am pulling out my keys when Eli snaps into hunt mode. Damn he looks good when he almost points. I look down the street to see what caught his attention and see nothing of note. It is probably one of those bunnies that are starting to scurry around the different gardens in the neighborhood. But you never know with Eli...it could have been a burger wrapper blowing across the sidewalk. The hunting instinct usually found in his breed doesn't really apply to this Mongrel but we love  him very much anyway.

The whole time I am drying Eli paws I am thinking about nighttime walks in just jeans and a t-shirt. Spring isn't too far off or at least I hope it isn't. I am also thinking about what I can do to the inside of the apartment so people will want to walk by our place on their nighttime adventures. Now it's time for that cup of tea...