A few weeks ago, Amy and I were vacationing in downtown Chicago — our old stomping grounds. As folks may know, I’m a numbers juggler (3/5/7) from Oak Street Beach (near Michigan Ave) and have been hanging with the juggling group there since ‘93. On our trip, I spent a few evenings juggling on the lakefront enjoying old friends, amazing weather, and a spectacular skyline backdrop.

On one particular evening, a group of tourists stopped in amazement as I was juggling 7. It’s very common to have passer-by’s stop to ask how long we’ve been juggling or even ask to try — of course we let them — it’s a great way to meet people. But this group was unique. All were visiting the US from Baghdad where they are civil engineers. They asked to take some group pictures for their memories and in return, I asked them to send me a copy. Today I received the picture. I also had a few email exchanges with one of the women who described their 3-week US trip studying highway engineering in Washington DC, Florida, Rhode Island, and Chicago. They have since returned back and it’s sad to report that their situation in Baghdad is described as “lifeless.” Remaining apolitical, I wished her well, to be safe, and keep hope that we can all live in peace very soon.