Cooper's Hawk on Marshfield Avenue

This photo was taken on the 4900 block of South Marshfield less than an hour ago.

I was walking home from church and checking my phone for some reason when I heard the thump of something hitting the ground. I put away the phone and looked up to see a dead pigeon on the sidewalk under a tree. Seconds later, the bird of prey you see above swooped down and stood on it possessively. While watching, I had no idea what kind of bird it was. I just started looking around on line and now think this bird is a Cooper's hawk.

Whoda thunk Wild Kingdom would make it to Marshfield Avenue? A van pulled up and double-parked. I walked around the van and when I looked back, the birds weren't on the sidewalk anymore. The hawk had taken the pigeon over into a neighbor's yard. It started pecking at the pigeon, sending feathers flying every which way. I went home to see if I could find any young friends with whom to share the sight.

Just as I was getting home I saw Oldest Brady Boy and Brady Bughunter coming out of their house. I called to them to come see the birds and we ran up the street. They were pretty impressed. Oldest Brady had the finals of his indoor soccer season at Davis Square Park this afternoon, so he was in uniform. His mom and other brother caught up to us and we all watched the bird eat.

"Aguilar?" Mom Brady asked. "Eagle?"

Neither Oldest Brady nor I knew the word for hawk in Spanish. If any of you recognize the bird in this photo, let me know. I'd like to know what it is.

Death Comes to Marshfield Avenue

It is with great sorrow that I report the death of 26-year-old Jason Gill, who was shot on his front porch around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night. For the basics, here is a link to the Chicago Sun-Times story. Here's the Tribune story.

Here's what the articles won't tell you. Jason was the kind of young man who would wish you a blessed day. He was a short guy with a sparkly stud in each ear and the big smile he inherited from his mother. In a neighborhood where most kids don't make it through high school, he had graduated from Perspectives Charter Schools South Loop campus. The last I heard he was working for UPS.

Just last week I was bragging about him to somebody in a fancy downtown restaurant. His little sister was just admitted to the new Perspectives Math & Science Academy.

Yes, his family isn't perfect. I've seen some other young man on that porch with a can of malt liquor mighty early in the morning. I'm told one of his nephews got into a scrap last week with the young man who came back with a gun Saturday night.

Tio Hardiman from CeaseFire has it right: it's the small arguments that escalate and turn deadly, especially when young men have access to guns.

I'll post again to talk about a new effort in the neighborhood to promote peace.

Three Shot Today

...on the 4900 block of South Marshfield, less than an hour ago. Not our block, thank God, but close enough for us to hear the police helicopters, etc. Lots of people went to look. The cops cordoned off the south end of the block. I personally did not see anything--I thought I heard two shots, but then when I went out people were saying three people had been hurt and were being taken to Holy Cross Hospital. As far as I know no one is dead.

From what some of the young guys were saying, this may be the latest in the current gang wars. I think that means the LaRazas came across Ashland, but the thing I don't get is that last week's shooting was about Saints vs. LaRaza and Saints territory ends at 47th. South of 47th it's Latin Souls, and I don't know what is going on between them and LaRaza. I will have to see if any of my younger friends are willing to explain this to me.

Two young men I didn't know came walking from the east, saw the police cars everywhere and started hollering, "I just want to get high! I just want to get high!" I was standing with some other teenagers on the sidewalk and we all kind of smiled at each other, sort of a signal that those guys are crazy to be saying that stuff so close to a bunch of cops.

Sandy and Ms. Ribs took the opportunity to complain about the privacy fence and how difficult it is to see anything around it. We were also talking about the graffiti on it last week. "He's lucky they didn't burn it down," Ms. Ribs noted.

A couple of officers known in the community arrived later and one came over to talk with the young people I was with, so I got out of the way and went back in the house. I can still hear plenty of people on the street.