Despite bright skies and inviting temperatures, it was clear that on the first weekend since the deadly terrorism in New York and Washington, life in Chicago was not entirely ready to return to normal.
At the Field Museum, which has been offering free admission, about 100 people gathered in a theater for a panel discussion on the week’s events. Elsewhere in the museum, crowds increased as the day went on, but the museum appeared less busy than a normal Saturday.
Police Officer Adrienne Agyeman, who controls the switches that manage traffic along Lake Shore Drive at the museum campus, took note of the quiet.
“Last week, this place was booming. You had cars backed up, all of the lots were full,” she said. “Now, it’s almost sad.”
Two museum visitors, Elaine Herrick and her mother, Fannie Tisdel, said they had planned to drive to Chicago from Watseka earlier in the week, but decided to postpone their trip.
“Friday night, we said no, we’ve got to go on,” Herrick said.
“We’ve been stuck to the TV all week,” Tisdel said. “And it’s time we live our lives.”
Mayor Richard M. Daley announced on Saturday some tips to help children cope with the attacks.
“This is especially difficult right now, because many adults, quite frankly, are having a hard time coping with a disaster of this magnitude themselves,” Daley said.
A list on the city’s Web site, www.cityofchicago.org, encourages adults to talk with children about the tragedy. The tips are also available at some city offices.
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At a community forum Saturday sponsored by the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Rev. Jesse Jackson joined the chorus of voices urging Americans not to scapegoat Arabs and Muslims.
“What I fear the most is Americans are turning on Americans,” Jackson said. “In our stress, we say and feel things we live to regret. We’ve heard lots of panic and lots of angry talk.”
Someone shattered the glass doors of the Chicago Islamic Center mosque with bricks early Saturday, leaving about 40 worshipers shaken.
But after National Public Radio broadcast a report about the incident, center president Hatem Fariz said listeners flooded the mosque with pledges of financial and moral support.