Playing It Safe
Formerly Employee Owned
Re: “Clout on the Calumet River: Marina owner Mike Olsen has reason to fear the city will force him out of business to the benefit of his competition,” by Ben Joravsky, October 29
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Windjammers is one of the few reasonably priced marinas left in the Chicago area. The article failed to mention that the wood out in back is for the fireplace in the bar, one of the biggest in the area. It makes “Jammers” a cozy winter hangout, unlike the “corporate” marinas trying to bring the north side to the river.
Damski’s point, at the end of “Chic Tolerance”—wasn’t only that “gay life” should be judged and lived on its own terms—but that each individual’s life must afforded that freedom. An iconoclast to the end, he celebrated diversity at many levels—even diversity in how one related to one’s “in group”—the self-selected family of folks with whom one spent the most face time. Yet one must, on Damski’s way of thinking, be able to freely go in and out of any community one chose. This was, perhaps, a unique gift of his—as not everyone has or gives herself such mobility. Those left in one group wonder where you went; those newly met wonder where you came from—and why you don’t go back; or why you weren’t here before (or why you don’t move on fast!). Yet for Damski & this editor of his, the joy is in the journey, not the snapshots in the mirror, looking backwards—or even the ever-dashed hopes one has, looking forward. Regret, self-deceptive hope, joy & pain—all cease to matter when one finds the peace of living in the moment. When I got stuck in the mud on a byway to Wahoo, NE (outside Lincoln), I laughed so hard I scared the cats. How often does one face in such concrete terms that point where art, life and writing become one? Life’s warnings (stuck in the mud, end up in a ditch, out of range, etc. etc.) no longer signs along the way, but reality. Damski taught me to realize how funny it all can be.
Anyway,
It’s estimated that the Chicago News Cooperative has enough foundation funding to hang on for about 4 months. If that’s typical, then this is indeed the future—about 4 months’ worth. After that, who knows?
