The Scientist...

I would hope you are familiar with the Italian astronomer Galileo. He was born in 1564 and is known as the Father of science, physics and observational astronomy.  He was a champion of a new theory in those days that the Earth and planets went around the sun instead of the accepted idea of the time that they did not. It got him in trouble with the Catholic Church and he spent the last years of his life until his death in 1642 under house arrest. There are still people around that dispute things discovered through good scientific procedure and there are also some people that may not make a heralded breakthrough but are real good at the observational thing. 

One of these people is a neighbor of some family members in a certain Chicago neighborhood. In fact they have dubbed him Galileo because he observes from his rooftop just as the original Galileo may have and actually sometimes does have a small telescope. It's taken me a couple of years to catch this Galileo in action but this time I got him. 

The station, a small table and chair stays set up year round. This was my first time to see him in position but I have noted over that past couple of years that while I might not see him things are changed around from day to day indicating that he has been observing. In fact I watch, he watches and I wonder what name he has for me. 

Galileo does spend some time at ground level and seems to have a mission to assure others that he is harmless. I might guess mental illness but approaching others with an explanation of your behavior might well mean you realize what you are doing is strange. I do the same thing when I travel. When everyone around me knows I am from Lufkin things just automatically seem to go better. 

Busy as a little beaver. I am usually in Chicago about this time each year and if the weather is pleasant like it was for this visit it is often the first nice day in a while and old Galileo is just like everyone else getting out and shaking off the cabin fever. 

I don't know if the pyramid means anything but the red white and blue is a positive sign in these here parts so maybe old Galileo will be ok. After all it's an all American thing that seems to have fallen out of fashion, getting to know the neighbors.