life can be such a picnic

My family had picnics in strange places

     Maybe it was the age in which I was raised.  Pops wasn't much of a family guy, at least for me.  He was 48 when I was born.  That means by the time I was 10, he was tired.  He worked hard at a pretty menial job.  He was a mail boy in a large office, Curt Teich, world's largest post card manufacturer.
     Their offices were on Irving Park, just a few blocks from our house.
     Dad did not have a high school education.  At various points he owned a small grocery store, then worked for Belknap and Thompson, a huge mail order business.  When they announced plans to move to Ohio he opted to find new work.  So he went to work for Curt Teich.
      I firmly believe that Mr. Teich hired him out of compassion   Dad was in his mid 50s, lacked a high school education, had three kids.  Not a lot of opportunity.
      But we did go on picnics.  And we visited family on these picnics.
     One of the parks we used to picnic in was at the corner of Clark and Irving.  If you have ever gone to a Cubs game, you probably walked past it.
     You may not have noticed it was a park, because on the outside it clearly states:  Graceland Cemetery.
     But for us it was a park.
     We would pack a lunch, walk the two blocks over, then wander down to where my mom's clan was gathered, spread a blanket and have lunch.
     I remember a little island near in a small pond near the Kohler family plot.  I would cross the bridge and play there.
     There were some drawbacks.  One huge copper statue on the way in gave me nightmares.  It was a green shade and featured a man in a robe, partially hiding his face.  Later in life, I would learn it was done by Lorado Taft.  Some of the other memorials were frightening, bizarre, and even funny to a little kid.
     But it was quiet.  Peaceful.  Not a lot of picnicking people around.
     After I was married, and we had Julia, we were at my folks house and someone (me) suggested we go on a picnic.  We made plans, I would go to the store and get lunch meat and bread, Jackie could make sandwiches, Mom had an old blanket we could use.
     Jackie said, "Terry, you said we were going to walk.  But I have never seen a park around here."
     "Park?" I laughed.  "No, we are going to the cemetery!"
     Needless to say, we didn't.
     Turns out, some people are a little squeamish about picnics in cemeteries.
     I argued the good points:  quiet, peaceful, plenty of trees, no body around (they were all underground!).   Plus there were plenty of places to sit, so we didn't need to bring lawn chairs.
     She didn't buy the argument.
     By the way, my dad's side also had a special place.   I remember passing it on IL 20 coming out of Elgin.  It too was a cemetery, but it had windmills.  We have family photos showing his side picnicking there.
     I drove past it, saw the windmills and had a brief flashback.  That had to be 20 years ago.....and now I even wonder if the windmills are still there.