Annmarie Throckmorton, M.A.
- May 8, 2018

Especially Old Men

Last week I made the long drive to Chicago on court business again. At my hotel the parking attendant directed me to park as usual in the “can’t walk” or “too-wealthy-to-walk” area near the door, putting me right next to an impressive car with a camouflage paint job. It was hand-drawn in a thumbprint motif by an artist with a lot of skill.

Later, in the underground passage below the commercial complex, Block 37, another woman and I were trying to go through the handicapped passage to bypass the revolving doors across from the subway station because we were pulling our case files on wheeled carts, but the door was stuck. Going into the Daley Center, this underground passage is dark and scary, jammed with people in a hurry and officers of the law in a worry about security. It is not somewhere any normal person would want to linger. A crazy man (if you had seen him that is how you would describe him) had plopped a large garbage bag next to the handicapped passage door and then ran off. The door sensors would not let it close. We called a police officer over to check out the suspicious bag, he was familiar with the crazy, called him back, and made him tote his bag of stuff somewhere else. A cranky old subway attendant came over to help with the door. He put one large hand on the top of the sliding door, one large hand below the middle of the sliding door, and unstuck it with an easy couple of tugs. He stayed with us until we were on our way again. In my humble old opinion, men especially old men, are impressive.