Rainbow Picnic
The company where Manuel worked part-time held its annual employees and families' picnic in a forest preserve area in the outskirts of Rockford, IL on the day after I arrived in Des Plaines. I went to picnic with Manuel and his family. With us were Antonia's friends, Christy and Boots. I was introduced to them, and soon we became friends.
Manuel and I sang together the songs we used to sing in high school. He was not the best guitar accompanist, but he still had the ability to provide accompaniment to the perennial Everly Bros. favorites, John Denver hits, and our Trailblazers version of "Last Thing on my Mind" and the Badfinger's "Carry on (Till Tomorrow)". We could still sing harmony.
(A picture of Manuel and me singing at the Rainbow picnic appeared in the company's magazine issued in December, 1986)
There were fun games for adults as well as the children. There were parlor games, team sports, and relay games. Prizes were awarded to winners. Manuel and I teamed up with Boots and Christy, respectively, in the couples' egg-throwing contest. Christy and I did not survive the competition when the fresh egg broke as she tried to catch it. Manuel and his partner were eliminated very much earlier when the egg smashed right on Boots' chest. It could be a messy game, but it sure was full of fun.
To the rainbow employees, the most awaited part of the picnic was the auction sale in which they used 'Rainbow' dollars to bid for the many items up for grabs, ranging from sports equipment and kitchen gadgets to fishing paraphernalia and a bicycle. The amount of 'Rainbow dollars' awarded to each employee/salesman was based on their recent sales of the Rainbow brand cleaning equipment.
SIX FLAGS GREAT AMERICA
Located in Gurnee, IL, Six Flags Great America is a family entertainment theme park. Manuel's family and sisters took me there on a Saturday.
At the Carousel Plaza, I felt like a small kid again as we took a ride on the double-decked Columbia Carousel near the entrance to the park. Then we went to the Sky Trek Tower, a seventy-passenger cabin that traveled up to a height of 285 feet. From there we got a breathtaking view of the park's surrounding area and as far away as downtown Chicago with its skyscrapers.
The world's largest cinema screen was at the Pictorium. We watched the short film, "SPEED!". an odyssey of man's attack on speed - chills, thrills, and the experience of the speed of light.
We visited the Orleans Place. Rue le Dodge had 50 bumper cars, each could accommodate two passengers. We raced around an open floor and the distinct possibility of bumping into another cars.
Located in Orleans Place, the Theatre Royale was the home stage for Bugs Bunny and His Looney Tunes pals. We watched the brand new character revue, "Bugs Bunny Goin' Hollywood". The delightful comedy revue featured the Looney Tunes friends in Tinsel Town to receive Golden Carrot Awards for their performances in such movie classics a "Gone with the Wind" and "Singin' in the Rain".
We also watched the amazing preciseness and balance of the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe which was on a limited engagement only.
To get an excellent view of the park, we took a leisurely ride on the train from Hometown Square Railroad Station. We went through over a mile-long track around the park.
With the exception of Jay and Corazon, we took a wonderful relaxing ride on Sky Whirl, a triple-arm ferris wheel which took us 120 feet up into the air.
Yukon Yahoo was a bobsled ride that sped around sharply-banked curves. It was among the thrilling rides in the Yukon Territory. I took the ride together with Manuel and his two kids. We traveled in a circular motion and as the ride picked up speed, we began to lean into the turn, being zipped through the turns.
There were other popular rides in the park. The Demon took riders at high speeds for a breathtaking journey. Logger’s Run was a free-flowing ride where you travel in a five-passenger log through a channel of moving water. The highlight being a 60-foot free fall drop at the end. Yankee Clipper was one of two flume rides in which riders travel through a channel of moving water. The highlight being a free fall drop with a hill and “skip” over a jump at the end of the ride. Tidal Wave, a unique loop-type gravity coaster propelled riders to speeds of 50 miles per hour. The train travels through a 76-foot loop and up a 145-foot incline. The force of gravity then brings the train backwards through the loop so that the rider may experience the ride a second time – only backwards.
A day at Six Flags Great America was not enough to enjoy all the rides and attractions in this sprawling amusement park. We capped the day browsing in the souvenir shop where Puring bought me a Great America coffee mug and a shirt with the park’s logo for my son, Chester.
SWIMMING ON LAKE GENEVA
Lake Geneva was formed by a westward extension of the Lake Michigan glacier. The Potawatomi Indians called it “Kishwauketo”, meaning uncertain, but the early French explorers named it “Grospied” or “Big Foot” after a Potawatomi Indian chief of that name. In September, 1835, John Brink, Frontier surveyor running Township Lines, came to the lake. Born near Geneva, New York, he named the Wisconsin lake ‘Geneva” after his old home, and also noted the location of the town site, which later became the city of Lake Geneva.
Railroad access from Chicago made the area a popular summer retreat for the barons of wealth in lumber, cattle, oil, steel, cement, manufacturing, and durable goods (e.g., Morton Salt, Wrigley Chewing Gum, etc.), with mansions and large homes such as Stone Manor and Black Point built on the lake during the heyday of the Roaring 20s. The city was then known as "The Newport of the West." The city is also known today as "The Hamptons of the Midwest." In the early automobile era, the city's fortunes at first declined, and it soon became a haven for Al Capone and other mobsters. Shortly thereafter, it became the beautiful, natural, amazing small town it remains today. The city has been named one of the "Best Small Towns in America" on numerous lists during the last 50 years.
In 1954, Lake Geneva was named as one of the three finalists for the location of the new United States Air Force Academy, but ultimately lost to Colorado Springs, Colorado
Although the water was chilly, I went swimming. It was the first time I ever swam in months since I arrived in the United States. Manuel waded in the shallow water. Christy and Boots joined us later.
On the way home to Chicago, we stopped to buy fresh corn sold by farmers in makeshift stalls along the roads. We roasted the corn at Manuel’s backyard where the birthday celebration continued.
MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY
The world’s largest and most popular center of contemporary science and technology, the Museum of Science and Industry covers some 14 acres with over 2,000 exhibit units in 75 major exhibit halls.
Manuel’s family and I, together with Mr. and Mrs. Cenon Mamuri, Sr. spent a day touring the museum. Unlike most museums, visitors are encouraged to interact with the exhibits by pushing buttons, turning cranks, lifting levers, and operating computers for a fun-filled learning experience.
The Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood between Lake Michigan and The University of Chicago. It is housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Initially endowed by Julius Rosenwald, the Sears, Roebuck and Company president and philanthropist, it was supported by the Commercial Club of Chicago and opened in 1933 during the Century of Progress Exposition.
It is the largest science museum in the Western Hemisphere. Among its diverse and expansive exhibits, the Museum features a full-size replica coal mine, a German submarine (U-505) captured during World War II, a 3,500-square-foot (330 m2) model railroad, the first diesel-powered streamlined stainless-steel passenger train (Pioneer Zephyr), and the Apollo 8 spacecraft that carried the first humans to the Moon.
The Henry Crown Space Center, the newest museum attraction, houses the latest in space exhibitry including the Omnimax Theatre which takes viewers to the edge of their seats.
After visiting the museum, we dropped by Lincoln Park Zoo which housed more than 2,000 mammals, birds, and reptiles from almost every part of the world. It serves as a refuge for many endangered species.
Lincoln Park Zoo is a free 35-acre (14 ha) zoo located in Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois. The zoo was founded in 1868, making it one of the oldest zoos in the nation. The zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
Lincoln Park Zoo is home to a wide variety of animals. The zoo's exhibits include big cats, polar bears, penguins, gorillas, reptiles, monkeys, and other species totalling nearly 1,250 animals. Also located in Lincoln Park Zoo is a burr oak tree which dates to 1830, three years before the city was founded. Lincoln Park Zoo is one of five zoos in the Chicago area, the others being the Brookfield Zoo, and the minor Phillips Park Zoo, Cosley Zoo and Indian Boundary Park. Lincoln Park Zoo is the largest zoo within the Chicago city limits.
BAHA’I TEMPLE HOUSE OF WORSHIP
Corazon and her friend took me to Baha’i Temple House of Worship. It is a very intricately designed temple in which people of any faith could go to meditate.
The cornerstone for the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois was brought to the site by Nettie Tobin and accepted in 1912 by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during his only visit to the United States and Canada. Construction began in 1921 and was completed in 1953, with a delay of several years during the Great Depression and World War II. The Wilmette House of Worship is the largest and the oldest surviving Bahá'í House of Worship. Known by Baha'is as the "Mother Temple of the West" and formally as the "Bahá'í House of Worship for the North American Continent", it stands in north suburban Cook County, on the shores of Lake Michigan. The cladding is made of white portland cement concrete with both clear and white quartz aggregate. It has received numerous design awards, and is a prominent Chicago-area landmark. In 1978, it was added to the .National Register of Historic Places.
The height of the auditorium is 138 feet (42 m), and the diameter of the dome is 90 feet (27.5 m). The auditorium seats 1,192 visitors. Like some other Bahá'í temples, it has a gallery balcony from which choirs or soloists may perform. No instrumental music is allowed during services in the auditorium, although all kinds of music may be performed in the meeting room below. In general, no videography, photography, or any other activity inconsistent with quiet meditation is allowed in the auditorium. The building is open to visitors every day of the year. Currently, devotional services are held at 9:15 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 5.15 p.m. daily. A Visitor's Center, located underneath the main auditorium, includes restrooms, offices, a bookstore, library and research room, a viewing room for films, and a Foundation Hall, which is used for large meetings and holy day celebrations.
The principal architect was Louis Bourgeois, but the interior cladding was designed by Alfred Shaw of Shaw, Metz, and Dolio. Engineering plans were prepared by Allen McDaniel of The Research Service of Washington, D.C. The general contractor was George A. Fuller, Co. Both the pioneering exterior and interior cladding were fabricated and constructed by John Joseph Earley and the Earley Studio. The Bahá'í House of Worship is a place of worship for all people. The only decorative art inside and out involves shapes and designs made by intersecting lines. There are no images of people or places. The building itself is decorated inside and out with verses from the Baha'i Writings, all of them by Bahá'u'lláh. As there are nine entrances to the building, there are nine verses above the doors and nine inside the buildings above the alcoves.
The rest of the time was spent having dinners at Chinatown, lunch with lechon kawali, dinuguan, pinapaitan, puto, and maja blanca at Little Quiapo, and on my last night, discoing at 1-2-3 Disco.
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