Haley and I have spent the whole weekend having so much fun, we’ve seen tons of bands which would have taken over a year to see were we not at a festival.  We saw Wilco, Ting Tings, Flogging Molly, Rage Against The Machine, Toadies, Okkerville River, Office, DeVotchKa and so many more.  It was a fun weekend and it was filled with a lot of great experiences, but it is funny sometimes how after all the money is spent going to an event such as this, after you’ve experienced it all something right at the end makes you realize how money can take you places but experiences are what matter; experiences are free.

Haley and I decided to go down to Chinatown to get White Castle because I hadn’t had it before and Haley said that while it’s the most disgusting food ever it is also the best food ever.  So we picked up the el at Monroe and rode it down to Cermak / Chinatown.  Got there, got 10 sliders, walked back to the el.  When we were riding back from Chinatown, we were on a train that was densely populated with trash leftover from who knows who.  There was a large Vitamin Water bottle on the floor and it rolled toward a man sitting near the doors where Haley and I were standing, he tapped it with his toe and kicked it away, toward Haley.

The bottle started flirting with Haley’s feet, pulled in partially by the slant of the train but I am sure at least partially because she’s quite magnetic.  She kept lightly kicking it and it would move away from her foot, only to return a few seconds later like a faithful pet.  Finally she gave it a little better kick and it spun away quite quickly to her left and my right (we were standing opposing one another).  It slid in front of a lovely little african american girl with beautiful, dark hair in weaved pig-tails which were tied with pink ties.  She smiled and kicked it with her tiny little foot.  She kicked it back to Haley and Haley back to her and then The Girl kicked it to me.

This went on from a little past North of Cermak all the way to Lake on the Red Line.  Occasionally one of us would kick it a little too far and someone from the outside of this sport would momentarily join in and kick the bottle back to a point where Haley, The Girl or I could reach it and we would again pick back up, pushing it around.  A little boy (possibly her brother) got involved too and he was kicking it from the back of the vehicle to The Girl or Me.  We were having so much fun kicking it around that I had us get off at Lake (one stop down) instead of Monroe just so we could continue.

It is moments like that, experiences such as this one which I live for.  Those moments where everyone (or just three people) are completely human.  Moments where time could stop and you would be completely happy.  Moments where people simply connect and live.  I was a wonderful experience and while the weekend was already wonderful that experience was exactly what I’ve been needing, one 10 minute soccer game on a train ride in Chicago reminded me why I continue breathing, why I continue loving.

Thank you Haley.  Thank you little girl.  Thank you world, my heart is full again.