In public

Or: Why it's weird when you walk around with a tissue sticking out of your nose, but I'm happy you do.

Depending on who you ask, Chicago is either a huge, anonymous, international mecca...or it's a tightly woven network of social groups, where everyone knows everyone and you better keep that in mind when you do a job, go to a party, or buy milk while wearing sweatpants.

But lately it seems that most people don't give a flip about what they do and who sees it when they're not actually at a place of work. I could be wrong, but I'll give you two examples:

I was running on the treadmill at my gym when I noticed there was a noise coming from a guy a few treadmills away. It was a noise that can only be described as....yodeling. I attempted to look sneakily in his direction and yes, he was indeed singing in some way, but maybe the yodeling part of it was just the natural bouncing of his running gait. "Ok," I thought, "Fair enough. We all rock out when we're trying to get through the next five minutes. It's not always flattering, but who cares?" And then I noticed the jazz hands. Yes, jazz hands. He was doing choreography while running on a treadmill and singing. And no one else was looking at him! I was the only one who found this a little weird - the main desk receptionist was serenely folding gym towels, her thoughts miles away, as if there was nothing weird about running while singing AND dancing.

The second example was when I was walking along, on my way to work. After a day of tropical monsoons, the weather swung completely the other way to crisp, wintery sun. I was strolling along when I noticed a pretty girl with long dark hair and nice pink tights...with a giant tissue protruding from her nostril, flapping in the breeze. She wasn't even holding on to it - just walking around with a giant piece of white fluff sticking out of her nose. It wasn't even an appropriately trimmed "I got nose surgery and I have to wear these cotton things" look! Now, I understand, it's cold. We all get dry noses. Sometimes we need to wipe them. Am I wrong in thinking there is a more discrete way of stuffing your nose? Does the entire kleenex need to be thwapping you in the face as you walk? Again, NO ONE else seemed to think this was weird - no sidelong glances from fellow commuters, nothing.

This, in the end, is what I appreciate about the giant, anonymous, random, sprawling nature of this fair city.

You can be as strange as you want to be, and after whatever momentary internal reaction a passerby may experience ("Yodeling?? On a treadmill?? With JAZZ HANDS??") most everyone silently thinks, "Well....to each their own," and moves on with their day.

That Chicago is this way is liberating, and I think it makes it inherently American in its attitude. Ultimately it makes me happy to believe that for every yodeling treadmill man, or nostril-kleenex-wearing student, there are other kindred souls who, though they don't join your yodeling in solidarity, will at least let others pass in peace.