Tag: escort

A New Life Formular

I’ve changed the way I speak about time and the lack of it. For the longest time, I used to say: “God does not give me more than 24 hours a day, even though I absolutely deserve at least 30!!!” On Friday, when I was talking to one of my fellow escorts, I came up with the follow-up: “However, God does give me 24 hours, and I am determined to use every minute of it!”

The early morning Friday shift was unusually intense; five antis were out, and there were just three of us, so we didn’t have enough bodies to escort patients and shield them. And that was the first time I was the shift lead (why am I taking on more responsibilities – don’t ask!). But while there is a need in the morning shifts, and while it’s warm enough for me to survive these morning shifts, I will be there. That’s one of the meaningful ways to use these minutes :).

And summer in Chicago continues! It was the upper 80s today! I was finally able to meet with my friend Y; we had been trying to meet since June, and had to cancel for either her or my reasons. I was sad that she didn’t have a chance to visit me in the summer, but we got a summer day in October! We went to the beach, and sat there in the lounge chairs, and I swam in the lake (she didn’t). This time, it almost didn’t happen again because she was afraid to be out while the ICE agents were terrorising the city, but then she decided she would make it, and I am glad she did.

I do not know a single person who would be happy with what’s going on in the city these days. My hairstylist came to do my hair on Friday, and with all her being “neutral” and “not wanting to talk about politics,” she couldn’t keep it to herself.

And on the ICE/Trump topic, there was another shooting, although this time not lethal, and also, Trump quietly deployed 300 National Guards, and now the whole city is mad that police is not protecting the citizen from ICE, and they also mad at the Governor, although it’s hard to tell what he could do in the current situation (except for there are multiple lawsuits filed). Also, he froze the Red Line extension money, but to be honest, I had no doubts it would happen.

Keeping fighting, and keeping doing good whenever I can.

Abortion Clinics Under Attack

For the past several weeks, the early morning shifts have been added to the Washington location where I volunteer. That’s because antis started to show up very early in the morning every day of the week.

Since this location is less than tw blocks away from my office, it is relatively easy for me to come out and help; the only problem is that my early mornings are busy because I need to catch up with what had happened in the UK office by that time, and our “sync” meeting overlaps with that one, and also sometimes, I use this time to call Boris, not mentioning that I need to have breakfast at some point:). That all being said, covering this morning shift requires planning, but I am figuring this out and committing to coming at least once a week.

Last Thursday, right before I arrived, the city streets’ services painted the yellow lines by both entrances to the clinic, identifying the border of the bubble zone. I do not know how much this will help, but at least we feel supported by the local authorities

Escorting

I didn’t go to the clinic escorting for over a month (my trip and then the DIno sleepover). Fortunately, it is still relatively warm, so I knew I could survive a shift. And although I could, indeed, survive the temperature, the overall situation there was horrific.

I was told that it was even worse on the previous Saturday when there were several dozen antis. Other escorts told me that the week before, not only did the police arrive, but they also helped to protect the patients from antis. The police made a “human fence” and even pulled one of the active antis away from a patient.

Still, there are way more antis than us, and they are so impudent, so shameless, so loud…

Also, the parking across the clinic is now under the new management, and they increased the parking fees almost twice and made the pricing almost invisible. When motorists exit the highway, it says “Public parking” and nothing else; there is no bar at the entrance, and the cost of parking is hidden behind a brush. Almost all patients whom we asked didn’t pay because they didn’t know they should have paid. We started telling them that they might be better off using street parking.

It was probably the last time I went escorting before the cold weather, and I do not feel good about not being there for the next three months. I just know that I won’t be able to be outside for two and a half hours, but I still feel guilty.

Noise Ordinance

The City Council voted for the Noise Ordinance on June 12. When I was escorting on June 15, we were not sure how soon the sign would appear. It turned out that it was up just a week later! And as other escorts shared, it somewhat helped. They were quiet, even though the number of antis is gianormous.

I went escorting this morning even though I had another million things to do, but after I examined my schedule for the rest of summer, I realized I wouldn’t be able to escort until August 17. One of the fellow escorts took this picture of us under the new sign:

It is, indeed, a win, but we’ll see what will follow. Today, we talked a lot about the case that a Jewish Orthodox woman brought up this week. According to the Old Testament, life begins at birth, not at conception, so the court ruling goes against their believes.

Once again, we’ll see!

P.S. Noise ordinance is indeed against noise, not against anties, and it passed the City Council almost unanimously. The protected area is the whole perimeter of the clinic.

Closing Escorting Season

Most likely, Saturday was my last escorting day in 2023. It became sharply colder overnight, and no matter how much I tried to prepare for the temperature drop, I was still not prepared and barely stayed till the end of the first shift. That, and all of the things that are coming up in November and December (Thanksgiving, Anna’s surgery, my conference, and Christmas:)) does not leave me any options.

Saturday’s highlight was police presence! Not like it used to be before, when they would come to protect the antis, or they would come responding to our call and leave. No, this time, seven (or more?) officers showed up before 7 AM, and they stayed till after 9 AM. They were exceptionally friendly and asked us many questions about how things looked like, and we explained to them all of the details and our fight for the quiet zone, etc. A couple of the female officers asked us about the abortion costs (we do not really know) and who pays for abortion (different options), and then our shift lead talked about the influx of patients after Dobbs. I mentioned that I am a MAC host and that now, most women do not need to travel that far, but it was a nightmare last summer. In the end, we got “Thank you for all you do!” which we often hear from the organization leaders and passers-by, but it was the first time I heard it from police officers!

Clinic Escort, And All Thing Related

I saw this map in Time Magazine, and it’s terrifying: look at Illinois surrounded by states where abortion is banned or restricted. So we are in the center of public interest. I get it.

Last Saturday, a group of reporters from one of the city’s progressive newspapers came to the clinic at the start of our first shift. As I was told, they were asked not to come, but they came anyway. And just so you know – the situation is increasingly bad there. The number of antis is growing; they are loud and intimidating.

I understand that many people are outraged. However, for some reason, they don’t understand the difference between an anti-abortion rally and escorting. For the first event, you want as many people as possible; you want to be loud and visible. But when you are escorting patients to the clinic, you want the opposite. I can’t even start telling you how many bad things happen when counter-protesters start to attack antis by a clinic. Recently, we were asked not to put anything regarding escorting on our social media; that’s how bad things have become.

So, friends – it’s not a field trip.

A Beautiful Day In a Beautiful City

Weather-wise, the day was perfect, and the whole city was outside again! There were at least ten events I wanted to attend, but It has been a month since the last time I was escorting, so making a shift before another long period of absence was a must.

Just to give an idea of how bad was the situation at the clinic:

Somehow, they always get police protecting them, not the other way around!

I had some time between escorting and the next thing on my list, so I decided to take the Riverwalk, to get at least a glimpse of this amazing day!

Continue reading “A Beautiful Day In a Beautiful City” →

Today In The City

(Just realized that my yesterday’s post was left unpublished, so there will be three today :))

I saw on Instagram that the previous two weeks of escorting were brutal. My fellow escorts told me they saw up to fifty antis altogether (in shifts). The clinic requested police presents, but honestly, it was a farce.

Today was relatively quiet; there was only one group of four antis with an amplifier. The shocking part was that the police seemed to protect them, not us.

When a guy on a scooter shouted something in the direction of the amplifier, a police officer gestured for him to stop. When antis were done and packed their equipment, they shook hands with both police officers, and right after this group was gone, police left as well.
But at least it was quiet today, so I can’t complain.

Also, it turned out that today was the 75th anniversary of the CTA celebration, and if I had known in advance, I would plan on taking a ride in the 1920s train car. Unfortunately, I was already on a tight schedule, but I hope it was not the last time in my life.

… and the bridge opening

A Very Eventful Weekend

I had grand plans for the past weekend, which ended up being realized for at most 70%. If was a long weekend, starting with our monthly Wellness Friday. I went for what I hoped would be an enjoyable semi-long ride. On my way back, near Montrose Harbor, an older gentleman decided to cross to the exit from the pedestrian lane right in front of me. I had no time to brake, and I did my best to make a sharp left turn so I won’t knock him off. I still touched him, but slightly, so he didn’t fall. As for me, I ended up falling off, although not very bad.

My chain had fallen off, the handlebar turned sideways, and my knee was scratched pretty seriously, but at least I didn’t get a concussion! 

Still, it was a bad start to the day. I lost a lot of time fixing the chain, straightening the handlebar, getting back on the Trail, and then taking care of my knee at home. 

And then, I could not return to my original plans for most of the weekend. The heavy rain most of Saturday didn’t help either. To be fair, I planned a little bit too much for this weekend, and it is possible that I would have to abandon many of my plans regardless of this bike accident, but I still blame those who do not look to the left and the right before crossing!

The list of good things that happened:

  • I swam in the lake on the only day when it was possible (Friday)
  • Recorded an hour-long podcast with Hasura (should go live tomorrow)
  • Went to the Bridgeport Art Center Open House with Igor
  • Went escorting
  • Saw a part of the Chicago Air and Water show (and figured out how I am going to do it next year)
  • Visited the Glenwood Art Fair
  • Baked a pumpkin pie and a blueberry pie
  • Gave a lengthy interview about MAC hosting
  • Finished one of the five presentations for my fall conferences
Bridgeport Art Center
Bridgeport Art Center
Continue reading “A Very Eventful Weekend” →

Escorting

I already said it once, and I want to say it again: escorting has become even more emotionally exhausting than before. There are no more quiet shifts. I was looking through my journal, and I was shocked to see the entries where I talk about quiet shifts or just do not talk about shifts because there was nothing eventful happening.

Not anymore. Ever. There are two or three, or four groups of antis each time. They bring amplifiers, and patients have to make their way in between these groups, between come and talk to us on the left, to Jesus Christ told us on the right, right into do not murder your baby on the left of the clinic entrance.

There were several heated exchanges of patients with antis. Several heated exchanges of passers-by with antis, as well as the escorts.

And I do not think we have reached the peak of this hatred yet.