Trainspotting

For the first couple of years of living here, most of my more sentimental thoughts have been of what I miss from home. I am constantly reminded of things I love that are no longer easily accessible. There are foods, people, and places that bring on a bout of homesickness and for which I feel the occasional rush of nostalgia.

Recently, it has occurred to me that there are things I will miss when Chicago is no longer where we live. Unexpectedly, I have grown to love things, food, people and places in this new home. There may be no deep ties holding us here, but I feel as though I have started to put some roots down.

Things that I found ugly and frightening when I first visited are now familiar and even beloved. For the past few weeks, I’ve been waiting for a good day to go out and take photos of one of those ugly, loved things. I went once last week, but took the wrong lens with me. The thing I really wanted to photograph is a view of the rickety old elevated train lines that can be found all around Chicago. It’s become part of our scenery, as we can see one of the stations from our windows and every time I walk home from the gym I walk underneath the tracks.

I still can’t figure out why the El should appeal to anyone. It’s noisy, looks decidedly dangerous, and is an unavoidably ugly part of the urban landscape. However, I think I’ll feel really, really homesick for the old thing when it’s not part of my surroundings any more and finally getting round to taking its photograph seems the least I can do.

This post wishes you Happy Love Thursday, a group feature hosted by ShutterSisters.