near the water tower on michigan avenue, an area that gets a lot of foot traffic and a good area to show your tricks for the hope of a buck, there are usually street performers. on this particular day there were two young boys with makeshift drums and drumsticks. they had quite an audience of other kids their age and a few tourists. i watched and listened for a moment before i noticed a rather sad excuse for a bear standing next to a radio with a cardboard sign that said "jingle bell bear." it was obvious that he was a street performer, but he didn't seem to be performing and it wasn't very clear what his show might contain if he were to perform. after the boys stopped beating on the buckets, the jingle bell bear revaled some frustration.