God Bless This Man

That incredibly ordinary-looking man is Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley. And I say, with all sincerity and no irony whatsoever, that he is in my prayers.

I am watching the news coverage of the Scotland airport "incident." An expert on domestic terrorism said that we -- major cities in the United States -- are "overdue" for a similar attack.

While this bombing, and the one attempted in London yesterday, could have killed hundreds, maimed hundreds more, and broken thousands of hearts, they are not on a scale of the 9/11 attacks. It's a different terrorist tactic altogether, and preventing it depends a great deal on police work. For a variety of reasons (not the least of which is the drain the Iraq war continues to place on our resources), the federal government leaves major cities largely on their own when it comes to protecting "soft targets."

That's why this pudgy, ruddy-faced man is my superhero. Mayor Daley loves this city and will do, has done, and is doing whatever it takes to keeps us safe. Every morning when I get on public transportation and go into the Loop, I place my safety in his hands. Considering the size of Chicago and the state of our world, that is not an exaggeration. The thousands of people at Wrigley Field today, at the Taste of the Chicago, on the lakefront, anywhere that the public congregates in large numbers this weekend, is doing the same. There is no one on earth I trust more with that daunting task than this man.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. People have received high-paying city jobs to drive salt trucks and have never shown up for work. Major no-bid contracts for municipal projects have gone to buddies of buddies of the Mayor. I've lived in Cook County all my life and I've heard all the stories about this mayor and his late (and, by the way, completely unlamented by me) father, King Richard I. Whatever. Maybe corruption is part of their DNA. Maybe it's in our Lake Michigan water. Not interested in the reason why. I don't care.

If something horrific happens in my beloved city, it will be made smaller by this man. If we are spared, it will be because of providence, and luck, and this man.

I know this the same way as I know the sun sets in the West.

I have seen the Chicago police boats in the River, under the bridges that the el travels over. I have seen the police dogs, heartbreaking in their focus and dedication, guarding public trash containers, lest anyone tosses a bomb in. I have seen extra cops patrolling parks and museum entrances in larger numbers. They are there one day, gone the next. No one talks about it, but we all know what it is. Post 9/ll, if the City hears whispers or rumors, the police come out in greater force. We don't change the way we live, we don't do anything different, but we can't help but see those out there to protect us, and wonder about the unseen steps being taken to protect us.

Nothing happens in this city, and very little happens in this state, without the approval of the man you see here.

God bless him.