Thursday's Angel

On Thursday I met a most interesting 86 year old woman.  She told me about growing up in the Bridgewater neighborhood of Chicago in the 30's.  She didn't call it Bridgewater, though, she called it "Mayor Daley's neighborhood."  And in the 30's, it was Al Capone's neighborhood.  She described witnessing one of the famous 1930's gangland driveby shootings like it was scene right out of a film, and how she and her mother slipped down the stairway to their apartment after they saw the shots and the man fall to the ground.  She told me that her mother was German-American and her father was Italian-American.  I asked if she speaks either language and she grinned and said, "I only know how to curse in both languages."  Oh, I said, I can curse in Spanish! 

So we bonded over that.

She is, of course, a White Sox fan, growing up in the shadow of Comiskey Park.  And I asked her what she thinks of Ozzie Guillen, the current White Sox manager.  Who, by the way, must be in his 40's or 50's.  Her response was, "Oh, all those guys look like they just got out of high school!"

Somewhere in the course of all this delightful conversation, I was actually working and she was walking and exercising and telling me about her knee pain.  When I got ready to leave, I told her how happy I was to have met her.  I got to the door of her room and she said, "Do you like angels?"

Now, who in their right mind doesn't like angels?  Yes, of course, I said. 

Well, pick out an angel from the shelf and take it with you, she said.

I looked to my right and there sat about a dozen angels, all different sizes, shapes and materials.  I picked this one.

Don't you want a bigger one?  She asked.  No, I answered, this one is perfect.

When I got home, I looked at the bottom of the angel and saw that it's a "Healing Angel" and Sierra saw it and said the angel is holding a sparrow. 

Angels everywhere.