Attention my fellow China neighbors, please visit the U.S.on a day like today in Chicago and experience what blue skies, green water and clean, clean air feels like. I can’t help myself from constantly gazing at the skies here and giving thanks for the U.S. laws that we impose on cars, industries, etc. that keep it this way for us to live in an environment that isn’t hazardous to our health. You can yap all day about less government in our lives (yes, I’m talking to you Tea Party People) but that oversight keeps us safe. Seriously, people who make it happen in China need to wake up and smell the clean air that is possible. The people of China deserve a healthier environment to raise their families and live their lives. Most citizens don’t ever leave their homeland so they have no idea what is possible and what it feels like. I read in the state newspapers that pollution regulations are a priority so I can only hope that they mean it. I know my body can only take it so much longer and I will need to return to breathe clean air again and renew my lung capacity.

Today, I got up and walked the Chicago waterfront enjoying the beautiful Lake Michigan green waters and clean sandy beaches. Everyone was out early playing beach volleyball and staking their claim to a prime spot on the beach. A non-profit was promoting ice cream for donations so I bought a homeless woman a treat to enjoy on this sunny day.  There are definitely more homeless on the streets in Chicago than you see in China.  I wonder if that is because of the cultural traditions of taking care of family in China.

I’m now sitting outside a Starbucks to enjoy my treat, a Chai Latte. Yummy gingerbread milk on a lovely sunny cool day in the US of A. Doesn’t get any better than this…except when I pick up my beautiful daughter Hannah and Baby Mia today in Chicago and take them for their first visit to GreatGMA Gene and Great Aunt Becky in South Bend. We get to spend some quality time with friends and family before I head off to Atlanta for meetings and Hannah heads to Idaho for a friend’s wedding, Mia’s first. I can only imagine the fancy headband that she will be sporting with her pretty dress. Life is good.