Mid-Morning Jog

My living room and balcony both face Lake Michigan and currently, being that it is after November 1st, there are no boats left in the harbor I face. It's always sad when the boats vacate the lake as it means winter weather is officially upon us. Because there's very little movement in that direction right now it more easily caught my eye this past week when I saw a lot of activity at Montrose Harbor. I looked outside and saw probably 16 emergency vehicles on the edge of the lake and then just as I noticed them I heard a rescue helicopter fly in. Within seconds the helicopter was hovering a few feet above the water and two wet suit clad divers jumped in. A few minutes after that, they were pulling a body out at the water. I could tell by the lack of haste on the rescuer's part once they were out of the water that the person was clearly already gone. The temperature outside was cold with periods of sleet. The water temperature that day was around 50 degrees the news said, which means a person would probably have 5 or so minutes before shock set in and then, of course, death.

I couldn't help but wonder how this person got into the water. Maybe it was a suicide? Maybe foul play somewhere else along the lake and the body just washed up here? Either way it was eerie and captivating, so I watched.

I later found out that the man who was recovered from the lake was a jogger. He lived a few blocks north of me and had accidentally fallen into the cold water. Another jogger phoned 911 when he saw him but by the time the rescuers arrived it was too late. The man who called 911 said he couldn't have been in the water more than a few minutes when he spotted him struggling. I started reading the tributes people had left on the comments section of the Chicago Tribune's story and my heart broke. Overwhelming accounts of what a bright spot this man was in people's lives. Educated, accomplished and apparently incredibly likable. Friends, family, neighbors.. people's lives who were touched by his kindness and example of faith. In a split second, gone. And only because he slipped or fell.

When I decide to be ambitious and jog outside rather than in the gym, going through that harbor and in that particular area of the park is always my favorite place to go. You can jog along the edge of the man-made barrier of the harbor; it's almost like a really wide sidewalk at the water's edge. It's probably a 5-7 foot drop off into the water from the edge and I've always thought it would be a pretty bad situation trying to get out if you fell in, there's no real easy way to get out in that area. Not to mention the "gasp effect" that often happens when you fall into water of that temperature - if your head goes under, your body forces a gasp and you potentially take in up to 2 liters of water. Within a few minutes your arms and legs are rendered useless in water temperatures below 55 degrees, not to mention the shock and disorientation that would make it difficult to get yourself to safety. It was cold and icy that day, I'm sure things were slippery. I can't imagine such a scary ending to your life on what started out to be simply a mid-morning jog.

We're sometimes so desensitized. I watched the rescue unfold through my binoculars like watching a story on the news - no real connection to what was going on. There was no attachment to the situation taking place, just an interesting event happening across the way. Possibly a murder, maybe an exciting story of mob activity. Either way it was simply a "wow, you don't see that every day" kind of thing. To later learn the name of the person I watched perish and read personal accounts of his life that disappeared in front of me is so tragically sad. No exciting Sopranos-style hit. No murder mystery like the movies. Rather, a neighbor for all intents and purposes. An architect. A church member. A Harvard graduate. A real person who set out for a mid-morning run and never got to come home.

We start out every day like a mid-morning jog. There's no way of knowing what will happen along the path. Sometimes it's an uneventful outing and other times we stumble or even fall down along the way. Some falls are greater than others and we never know when we're going to trip. We also never know when our last mid-morning jog will be. Sure keeps things in perspective. Make it count.

Rescue vehicles along Montrose Harbor shortly after the body was taken from the water:


May he rest in peace and God bless his soul,
M.db