3 Days 3 Ways

1. Car

My primary means of getting around in the city. I really like driving. I appreciate the luxury of getting places quickly. Furthermore, my car feels like a private place for me. It was very nice driving spot to spot and just watching from the security of my shell.

*Erie and Broadway. The slow crawl of cars on the 43 south. That bridge is massive. Third Ward flowers (I like them).

*North on Milwaukee St. A woman wearing all black passes my sight (she looks wealthy). I make a bad five second drawing (she is walking faster than most people jog). Got places to be. I wonder if she sees me—I can’t tell. She’s wearing black sunglasses.

*Chicago and Broadway. There are a lot of brick buildings in the Third Ward. Basically all of them are brick. I see a tree. Huh.

*Water and Buffalo. I’m really appreciating the few trees that exist in the city. I see trees by the riverwalk. A flag soars above our city (wind is traveling south).

*Downtown. Cars zipping through our city. Funny to think this was all marshlands once.

*St Paul Bridge. Plankton and Buffalo. Past the Pritzloft to the train tracks. I like it back here. No sound, except the wind and rush of cars on the distant 784. A train comes. The timing is almost too good. Amtrak. Faces look out the windows—some asleep, others are bored (probably too many train rides). I’ve never been on a long train ride. I wonder if it’s like the bus. The whistle blows. It’s gone. A fancy condo rises above the Plankinton Bridge.

*Go through downtown. I spent a while at the tracks. There is something really appealing about the isolation of that area. No cars. No people. But I’m only a few blocks from Downtown Milwaukee.

*McCormack-Brady Street Park. Never seen this park. But it is really nice. Wish I came under the bridge more.

2. City Bus

Today I resorted to public transit. It’s night. The city bus only has a few people on it.

*Water and Chicago. Just waiting here is significant to me. There are many places in the city that are linked with memories. I spent many days and nights waiting for the bus as a Foundations student. I had a car then. But a lot of times it was really nice to just take the bus. I didn’t really know the city, and often didn’t know where I was going. Riding the bus was almost always with friends. Waiting at the stop reminded me off the frigid winter nights we would stand at the stop.

*As I get on the bus I feel more vulnerable. You’re not in control of who gets on the bus, or what may happen on the bus. Everyone is quiet and minding their own business. Riding public transportation gives me a stronger feeling of unity, as dumb as that may sound. I mean, none of us are talking to each other or sharing our day, everyone probably just wants to get where they’re going. I don’t know. It’s cool knowing that at any one time the bus can represent a plethora of Milwaukee’s diversity. And in a city so divided, that’s kind of cool.

*The bus ride goes quick on the 15. At night now the city looks amazing. With building lights shining I feel pride in my city.

*Water and Cherry Street. I look to my right and see a vacant lot. It has just been a pile of dirt for three years, probably more. If there’s gonna be a dirt mound, I hope it can be used for something. Maybe kids could sled off it. Then again you don’t see many kids in Milwaukee.

3. Walking

Decided to only walk to Downtown. I figured that that was far enough for me. Day to day I experience the city in a much different way. Because I am physically disabled, I don’t go on voluntary walks that much. I usually drive as much as I can. I enjoy walking, but only in shorter periods of time. If I walk too much then I’m in pain. But it feels good to slow down and take in everything slowly. It really changes the city. I am used to moving through the city at a faster rate. Walking is the essential means of human transportation. But in Milwaukee it is secondary to me. I was aware of the sky more without a roof over my head—the city is immense when seen entirely rather than through a windshield.

*I go back to the train tracks. I love this spot. Maybe pleasant memories of throwing rocks at trains with Steve makes it better. A lot of dirt patches. I look south. I see old brick buildings rise above the tree line. And by tree line I guess I mean a bunch of tall bushes poking over a long haggard fence.

*Flags on all the bridges. September Eleventh. The number of flags varies from bridge to bridge. Hmm. I doubt it was intentional. Water and Clybourn. Water and Michigan.

*Water and Wisconsin. 4-way intersection. People wait on each corner. It’s the middle of a workday. A roller-blader zips by. That’s funny. I wish it were roller skates, though. This is as far as I go.