Heads or Tails #126 -- chain

In this morning's Heads or Tails, we are bound, per the directive of our meme-mistress Barb, to write about "chain." Chains: The ties that really bind? I've been working on the chain gang? Chain-chain-chain, chain of fools?

Don't fence me in.

You are no doubt familiar -- if you don't live in Chicago, at least -- with the chain link fence.

This photo, stolen, er, lifted from the Internet, is a rather artistic rendering of the weave of the chain link fence. There is a certain zen-like beauty, as well as comfort in the repetition of the shape, and in the interlocking of the pieces. From the pattern, we learn strength in unity and cooperation.

But, in Chicago, chain link fences are all but obsolete. New construction or rehabbed structures are decorated with wrought iron now:

No new construction, no rehab job, no building of any kind, public or private, seems to go up in the City of Chicago these days without some length of wrought iron fencing.

When our parish built a new parish center, the City decreed that the parking area would be surrounded by wrought iron. Chain link fencing would not do.

If you're not the contemplative type, wrought iron may be considered more aesthetically pleasing. It certainly costs more than chain link fencing.

If I were the cynical type -- which, of course, I am not, I might think that this municipal enthusiasm for wrought iron had to do with some well-placed political type's having a relative in the wrought iron fencing business. Someday, when the history of Chicago at the turn of the 21st Century is written, such a connection might be found. But, for now, I, in my innocence, see no connection whatsoever. Just don't plan to pull a permit for construction in Chicago without budgeting for wrought iron.