I strapped on my camera backpack and headed out to North Halsted Street and Sidetrack Bar, where the 14th Annual Santa Speedo Run was scheduled to take place. I expected to find spectacle, or at least a lot of shivering runners, but instead I found community and belonging.
It was for me the epiphany that made me spend many other pleasant afternoons and evenings at Chicago cultural performances: the CSO, Lyric Opera, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Grant Park Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Chicago Storefront Theater, and many others too numerous to mention.
The simple solution is to simply unload and carry the drywall up to the third floor by hand—sheer muscle power. Three men showed up for the task which they accomplished in just a few hours and with seemingly little or no effort.
It was one of those chilly April nights when trouble sneaks up silently. As I slept, some inconsiderate rapscallion sideswiped my parked car and the car parked behind me, inflicting considerable damage.
What follows is not a factual report, although it is grounded in reality. It is a dramatization, a ballet of sorts, loosely inspired by a real-life shopping excursion.
![Over 700 [barely] Clad Runners Raise $188K Plus for Center on Halsted](/content/images/size/w960/2025/12/DSC_2924-tinified-1.png)
