from Chicago

I wish I had a camera today, one that would capture the light from the view out my window. I'm staying at the Swiss this time, "where the river meets the lake" and the view is amazing. Navy Pier, snow covered and flanked by lake cruise ships docked for the winter frames the left, tall luxury condos on the right. In the center of the view, the lighthouse out in the water, marking the levy that protects this bit of shoreline. Farther down the beach, which I can see if I stand at the window, the waves are frozen in quiet fear, as though the wind and cold came at just the right moment to scare them to death, their curls and tendrils turned white with the fright of it.

Yet there isn't the silence that I know from the west side of the lake. Around me the city is awake and vibrant as always, despite ten inches of snow last night. Cars along Lake Shore Drive are moving at a healthy clip and even the construction crews on the 27 floor (I just counted) frame of a new building between the lake and me have kept working.

My daughter's college in Austin cancelled classes yesterday due to ice on the ground, yet here in Chicago, life goes on. "Ice on the ground." she laughs. "Texans."

And for her, it explains it all.