As I write this I am sitting in a hotel room in downtown Chicago. I just returned from sitting in the lobby. As I looked around I could see 25 people with their unhappy faces buried into their electronic gadgets, countless others look to be running around as if they are late for wherever the hell they need to be. Nobody saying hi to each other, all acting as if they are the only people in this concrete jungle. Are they all miserable, or do they just appear to be??

I wonder how many of them have ever been out in the woods where they did not see another person for 14 days ? I wonder if they ever look out over Lake Michigan just to take in all the beauty that is directly to the East ?

As I walked up to the bar to buy a fricken $8.00 beer, nobody said hi, or seemed to want any conservation at all. Just two days ago I was in Ely. Almost everybody I saw from business owners to people on the sidewalks, were always cordial and friendly. I was in the Kwazy Wabbit for only ten minutes before I struck up a conversation with some friendly locals that were happy to share some tips on their favorite fishing spots, and we spent the rest of the night solving all the worlds problems.

Business brought me to Chicago so I am stuck for another day, but I sure am looking forward to the third week of Sept. when I can head back to the Northwoods.

What you wrote just about sums it up, well put.

You just drove too far! You could have stopped on your way in. We could have had coffee and shared stories! I am just west of you! In Elgin. Oh well. Next time.

best fishes mike

quote Miketheflyguy1: "You just drove too far! You could have stopped on your way in. We could have had coffee and shared stories! I am just west of you! In Elgin. Oh well. Next time.

best fishes mike"

I sure will next time Mike!!

Wallee you should have come to my house. I live in Chicago. We could have taken my canoe on the DesPlaines river and caught some pike,seen some deer maybe a fox or a coyote,definitely all kinds of birds. It is a concrete jungle but it has slices of the outdoors. ~JOE~

Something to be said for the business travel experience and how it heightens the Ely experience even more.

quote Savage Voyageur: "What you wrote just about sums it up, well put."

++++++1

I see that a lot in my travels too. Lot's of people caught in a rut.

Reminds me of my favorite quote;

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.

William Shakespeare

"....And good in everything"

I have this pasted above my desk (where I can see it but no one else can) and just have to stop a few times a day and read it. I've got a similar quote on my "electronic gadget" as the background and often find myself closing an email and staring at the quote for a while. It's a good way to calm yourself and remember what YOU deem important.

I lived in an Indiana suburb my entire life and commuted downtown daily for 18 years before I was required to move to Oklahoma or lose my job. I now get back for a couple of days every 3 months or so and see the exact same thing Wallee. Glad I'm out of it.

quote Basspro69: "

quote Savage Voyageur: "What you wrote just about sums it up, well put."

++++++1"

Me too!

How do you know they are unhappy? They might be really happy they have a cell phone to look at so they don't have to talk to strangers instead.

quote 2old4U: "How do you know they are unhappy? They might be really happy they have a cell phone to look at so they don't have to talk to strangers instead. "

No, I think it was because I was wearing a B.W.C.A tee shirt and not Polo or Armani.

Maybe they would have been friendlier if you hadn't just come from BWCAW and not showered yet.

quote billconner: "Maybe they would have been friendlier if you hadn't just come from BWCAW and not showered yet. "

Hmmmm...could have a point )

I don't know...

The rat race isn't fun, but just because in the city I'm not interested in interacting with strangers who likely don't share my interests doesn't mean I'm unhappy. I'm an introvert and have no interest in making small talk or saying hi to hundreds or thousands of strangers on the street. I like looking at my phone and may even be posting on here, which is much more enjoyable to me than chatting up strangers.

In the wilderness, it's a completely different story.

Hope to see you up there! Go in on the 20th! EP 37!

quote walllee: "As I looked around I could see 25 people with their unhappy faces buried into their electronic gadgets, countless others look to be running around as if they are late for wherever the hell they need to be. Nobody saying hi to each other, all acting as if they are the only people in this concrete jungle."

Walk through that crowd with a smile on your face and they'll all think you are crazy.