Wild Onion Land Rave

Hey, gang.

Good to see all of you.

Don’t look now, but we now find ourselves in the middle of week #2! Slow and steady wins the race. (-:

Back in October of this year (coincidentally, less than one week before my daughter, Sam’s, 21st birthday), I attended a wedding in the Chicago area. (For all my fellow nerds, who tend to enjoy this sort of minutia, though it’s not all that widely used, Chicago is sometimes called “Wild Onion Land,” derived from the Algonquin word meaning “wild onion” or “wild garlic.”)

Native Americans from the Algonquin tribe, living in that territory during the mid-18th century, began calling it “shikaakwa” which loosely translated means “striped skunk” or “onion,” referring to the abundance of those plants that grew in the area.

Anyway, driving through suburban Chicago last month, we drove past a local fair, with some familiar music playing just off the crowded street. Then suddenly, traffic came to a halt.

As we began to slowly inch along, though, I could see a sign that read “Welcome to the Battle of the Bands” scrawled on a cardboard placard, hanging from the front of a makeshift stage. An all-girl group comprised of what looked to be three high school-age kids played a not-so-melodic rendition of Group Love’s “Tongue Tied.”

Thinking of my two daughter’s and their shared fascination with that tune, I did my best to sing along. (On a side note, Group Love, formed back in 2009 in Los Angeles, CA, released an album on July 7, 2023 called I Want It All Right Now. So, it looks like they’ve got some legs and could be around for a while.)

As for the roadside battle of the bands, nothing like a fun little slice of life to pass the time during an unexpected traffic jam, huh?

Have a great night, all.

JFish
@Copyright 2024 by John L. Fischer