Today is my day off; so far, so good...
Out of bed at the crack of...well, it was nice to sleep late, then head over to Panera where a young lady was managing the cash register well, moving things along; give her a bonus!
Beautiful weather, especially for August, I sat outside and watched Oakleyites and Hyde Parkers go by.
I drove down to Newport on the Levee, what a great improvement this was. It cost me a few bucks to park all day (and if you plan it right you can park a few blocks away for free), and you can wander the bookstore, catch a movie, and get something to eat. I have done, or am doing, all those things today; along the way I watched some kids fooling around in something called 'the hamster ball': they get in an inflated, giant clear beach ball type thing and then get pushed out onto a pool. Then they float on the pool and try to stand up; they seem to fail 99 per cent of the time and always hilariously. The guy running the amusement said it is possible to stand.
Nothing of interest at Barnes and Noble; it never ceases to amuse me to note the seemingly boundless market for paperback books with shirtless guys on them. For all I know, there are six of the "novels" being endlessly recirculated. Does anyone know? Does anyone dare admit knowing?
I had set as a goal to see a movie today, but not much of interest playing. I chose 'The Expendables' for mindless entertainment and it did not disappoint in that regard. I think some of the fossils (Stallone, Ahnold, Jean-Claude, et al) may have been shirtless, but not that I recall. They did kill a lot of baddies, and blow up lots of stuff.
So now I'm sitting outside one of the restaurants, gazing upon a beautiful scene. It's remarkably quiet-- except when the train goes by. Not a CSX freighter, but a kiddie train, every 15 minutes.
To my left is the Central Bridge-- this is relatively new. I like the way it was designed: wide open, so you can see through it. To my right is the 'Purple People Bridge,' which the sign says is privately owned, and there is a section where you can, it seems, walk along the crest of the bridge. Alas, the gate was locked. This seems to be called 'The Pagan Path,' so perhaps just as well.
As I gaze upon downtown, I remember when some of the buildings had different names-- CG&E, Central Trust, Post Times-Star--when the Kroger Building was the colors of the sky, and when several of them weren't there. But I also remember an uglier ballpark and Fort Washington Way. I remember coming down here when the Bicentennial Park was new. That was 24 years ago, and the purple bridge was the L&N. And where I'm sitting? I don't know what was here, but it wasn't so nice and I couldn't sit here, connecting to the Web and writing this post. Life goes on; and either we are in God's Hand or not. Much of the world suffers terribly. I am at peace and I am grateful.
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