I went to Chicago two weeks ago. I had doubts about the trip before I went, but I still packed my bags, boarded the plane, and took off to visit a place I once called home. The last time I visited Chicago I had the odd experience of being struck down by a truck, flung across two lanes of traffic, knocked out, only to be knocked too when I hit my face on the wet pavement where I landed. After a quick jaunt to the hospital by ambulance, I received a head shaving and 11 staples to close the large wound on the back of my head. I was finally set free to be cared for by my old roommate,.I left two weeks later to return to Ireland and to hopefully forget about the experience entirely. Since my last trip to Chicago did not go so well, I had my doubts about my impending "vacation" I was about to take. The reason I went to Chicago this time was multi-purposed, but this time there was a dear friend's wedding to attend. My friend's wedding is the reason I am writing this short story, because two weeks later I am still perplexed as to why I flew more than halfway across the country and I some how missed the wedding.
I got up on Saturday morning (the day of the wedding), with plenty of time to shower, dress, and catch a train to make it to the wedding at 2pm. I took the L-train to downtown and exited at the stop closest to the Metro Train station. I went to buy a ticket and found out the train I had planned on taking doesn't run on the weekends. Not a problem, because I had a plan-B! I walked back to the L and then took it all of the way to the final stop at Midway airport. I found the bus I needed to continue on with my journey and finally nestled into a window seat in the near to middle-back of the bus. I watched the street numbers increase for about 30 minutes and realised I was going to be cutting it close to 2pm. Ten minutes before the wedding started I exited the bus only to find I was not close to the wedding at all, I actually had no idea where I was, and from what the bus driver just told me I was going to need to walk west or find the 384 bus instead.
I crossed the street and went into the mini-mart gas station and quick looked at a map to see where I was and where I needed to go (this is where I should have bought the map and put it in my pocket). Pressed for time and anxious about walking in behind the bride, I started to quickly walk in the direction of the wedding. From the viewpoint of the map I thought it would be at the next light, but it was not at the next light or the light after that, which is when I thought it must be at the next main block, but it was also not there. I kept looking at my watch seeing time pass by and my thoughts moved from "I'm going to miss the wedding," to "Oh. my gosh, where the F*#$ am I? I totally missed the wedding!" I had thoughts of hitchhiking, but people in the suburbs of Chicago barely stop to give directions, let alone give you the right ones. I couldn't get the nerve to ask anyone for a lift to the wedding. So, I walked in flip flops for an hour and a half.
I finally made it to the wedding reception and quickly darted into the bathroom to wash my feet from all of the dirt and street grime, changed my clothes into the dress I had brought to wear, and made myself look somewhat presentable. The first person I saw was my friend in her wedding dress waiting behind the wedding party to be announced as a new wife. We hugged and I told her that I missed her wedding and I she said, "But, you are here!" I was relieved to hear her say that and to finally be there.
This week my journey came back to mind and I mapped out my trip to see how far I had really walked and found out that I had walked for six miles, in the wrong direction, and almost making making a complete circle. If I had slowed down, asked for help, bought a map, called a taxi (believe me I have thought of all the options I should have taken). Yes, all of those things may have helped get me to the wedding, but I would have never learned sometimes life does not make sense, the direction you are walking in feels like a never ending journey in the wrong direction, or that perservance may take longer then you intended, but in the end all that matters is that you finally made it.
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