Walkies

 

It's been a long time since I walked downtown which is a two minute walk from my house. Sarah Palin could see Russia. I see Main Street. That doesn't mean I visit. It's sort of like people who live in New York and have never taken the Staten Island ferry or visited the Empire State building. It's there, but could be a million miles away. As you have probably assumed I avoid walking down Main Street. It depresses me. Things have changed as Dylan claims. The good news is that most of the buildings are occupied, a lot with new tenants selling different things, things I will never need, although there is a law office now. My, we're getting fancy. It's next door to the now closed Orpheum Theater which used to be a bagel shop and before that a hippie store and before that...

When I first moved to this town Main Street still had some character. The street still had the original bricks which were laid in the late 1800's, around  the same time my home was built. Then a few years ago when some idiot thought it would be a good idea to transform downtown and after two years of renovations, the street looks like an ugly path of tar lined with gray cement sidewalks. The buildings are old and show their age. The signs above the shops are ever changing to the point now where the space is empty with the exception of a few holes and worn wires. 

Of course there are a few businesses have been here forever. The flower shop, the comic store and a holistic shop where hippie vitamins and vegetarian food is sold at exorbitant prices. How they survive is beyond me. The comic book guy is only open on weekends or whenever he chooses to come around. I have never seen anyone go into the holistic shop except for me that time I walked in, mouth agape, shocked at the 80% markup, whilst a young girl sat behind the counter reading a book. The flower shop is the only place where business is brisk. I do love going in there because it smells lovely. The owner is so nice and I sometimes spend too much money on very cool, useless items like a paper fish mobile and a Japanese geisha figurine. 

Today, I did not step into the cafe where the college kids work the counters and completely ignore me- every single time. They also sell alcohol. I bought a bottle of Campo Viejo which was on sale. 🤮 Now I know why. After I bought it, I signed my receipt and took my copy. The blank faced girl walked away leaving her copy in front of me. It wasn't until I got home and looked at my receipt that I understood why she left it. She expected a tip. A tip for first ignoring me, then putting my wine in a bag. Otherwise what is called, her job. (Not the ignoring part)

Oddly, this being a Wednesday and around noon there happened to be a lot of shoppers who all sort of made the same rounds of open shops. I stepped into a vintage shop where the lady of the house sells, well, vintage stuff, things I paid a few dimes for back in the day that now go for more than it's worth, but people were buying. I guess that's a good sign. We're bombing another country, killing children and over hear we haggle over a 1980's McDonald's plastic plate. 

Holy shi... what's this? A comedy club? Tom Arnold will be here? Wow, is that a step up- or, is it? I always thought he was creepy. He married Roseanne even though he escaped that horror. 

It's good to see the hobos out and about. I don't know where they go during the off season, but they were busy walking up and down the street. Most of the shoppers were dressed like me. I wore a sweatshirt that I had ruined in the laundry by adding bleach. It looks like crap but it does the job of keeping me warm. There were young couples, old ladies, a few lone men, all in my head today. 

I wanted to take a little detour, go through the alley to see if a certain shop was still open. The proprietor sold lingerie and lots of kinky things like handcuffs and lubricants. I have a feeling she's gone. 

It may be awhile before I again walk the whole two minute walk to see who's still around. I have a feeling the cute little store that sells very expensive baby clothes won't make it. I could be wrong. I knew the couple who sold ice cream wouldn't last. They didn't. They sold brand name bars individually and relied on the ambience of having a cute little miniature store for the kids to play in. 

The very first store I ever walked into way back in the early oughts was a consignment shop, again mostly children's clothes which eventually morphed into a toy shop. You never knew where she'd be on the street because she kept moving around depending on rent costs. The last place was filled with sensory gadgets which my young one loved but we couldn't stay long because of the overpowering smell of mold. She finally retired and long time shoppers gave her a party. But today, I walked home empty handed. No treasures did I find. 

Anyway, thanks for walking with me. Soon I can go down to the lake and breathe in nature. Hope you can join me! 

*My photos on my walk spiffied up with Google create.