STEALING CABLE

L and I have cable. We have sort of low level cable, but it is digital, and we do get like 80 or 90 channels. Thus, I can see the allure of cable. That’s why I can sort of understand the two guys I saw the other day.

L and I were in the Old Irving Park neighborhood because L saw a sign for the Korean Martyrs’ Catholic Church and wanted to find out who the Korean martyrs were. While there we saw the Tridentine Catholic Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. Don’t even ask what that is. All I know is that they can be liberal or conservative, but they reject Vatican II. Therefore, the cathedral had the motto “The Understanding Church” but also advertises its Latin High Mass. I have no idea.

Surprisingly enough, neither the Korean martyrs nor the Tridentine Catholics were the most entertaining thing we saw in the Old Irving Park neighborhood. Two Latin men were in the alley. They had a ladder and about 60 feet of cable. As I watched them, they raised the ladder up toward the electrical lines. One of them eyeballed it for the perfect place to prop the ladder, the other gathered cable. Then the first one laid the ladder against the electrical wire (!) smack dab between (but not touching) two utility poles and started to climb the ladder. We left when he was at the top of the ladder. The other guy was smiling and holding the bottom of the ladder. The electrical cables for two blocks were swaying with his movements. Ah, the allure of cable.