Who says everyone loves the Rockies in Cole?

Kudos to a resident of Cole for passing this photo along. Apparently there are some Chicago gang member transplants out here in Cole, reminiscing about their home in the Windy City.

I'd provide her credit for it but I tend to get in trouble for mentioning names/handles/initials so I'll wait for her to let me know if she wants props for it. This is of course the vacant lot at Bruce Randolph and Humboldt (where a mixed-income housing development is supposed to be going in). These dumpsters, with their eastward-facing exposure along BR are prime real estate for the taggers. Hmm.... with that in mind someone should put a billboard there. Perhaps advertising birth control, GED programs, or perhaps one of the bail bondsmen on Downing? Heck, who am I kidding. At this point NPR, Starbucks, Heineken, Kendall Jackson Winery, and Golf TV should be advertising in Cole.

Gotta give these thugs some props for at least putting a little artistic effort in. Wonder if they're Juan Uribe fans, or perhaps Mark Buehrle? Go Sox!

RIP George Nissen, The Inventor Of Trampolines

Did anyone else catch that George Nissen, the inventor of the trampoline died last week? I've always wondered what legacy I'll leave when I'm gone. What was George Nissen's legacy? Well, for starters, eighty years and thousands of kids with head injuries, broken arms and broken legs. E.R. docs and orthopedic surgeons owe so much of their livelihood to Mr. Nissen.

George Nissen's invention has even more meaning in Cole. I mean, what else would Colians put in their ten-by-ten yard other than a ten-foot diameter trampoline? It serves so many purposes: First of all, it just looks bitchin' in your front yard. Second, it keeps the ninos busy for hours in between visits from the paleta cart. But it also gives you something to tie your chihuahua to. Not to mention providing him a little shade when you leave him out in your front yard for 10 hours on a hot summer day.

But the trampoline is most important to Cole in being the precursor to the jumping castle, an integral part of any child's or family's fiesta in Cole. Yes, spring and summer are coming, and it won't be long before the melodic chirping of birds will be accompanied by the pleasing machine-gun cadence of air compressors and blaring, distorted latin music. I can picture the skyline of Cole now, being sporadically and briefly altered this summer by slowly-inflating jumping castles, rising like a phoenix over back fences all across the neighborhood. The only thing better than a jumping castle or a trampoline? Both, of course.

And we truly have one man to thank: George Nissan. God rest in peace.