Ladies' Night Out

I was fully expecting to see some changes after having been six months away. But everything seemed just the same as it had been before I left. No profusion of 'For Sale' or 'For Rent' signs; nothing to indicate that the rats were leaving. Yards continued to be well kept. One of our neighbors just got a new roof.

There are a few shops (mostly high-end men's clothing) along the main street that have closed, but you wouldn't necessarily know it. The Chamber of Commerce has decorated the store windows of the unfortunates to make it seem that these shops too are open. There's an office building that's slated to be converted to luxury apartments that's been dormant in mid-process for close to two years now. At the same time, there's a fight developing about putting in additional low-income housing.

There's a bank branch that closed in the center of town. There are so many banks left here (including the one where I opened my very first savings account with five dollars in quarters), I might not even have noticed; but they took their digital time/temperature display with them when they left. I always gave it a glance when I happened to be up that way.

Last Thursday was “Lady’s Night Out” (in town). Most shops stayed open beyond closing and were offering women gifts and coupons. At first I thought it was Halloween already when I saw all the ladies with their handsome Fifth Avenue style shopping bags. Then I realized that the kid’s time was yet to come. It was a huge success in terms of creating buzz, same as the street fair was two weeks ago; the antique car show the week before that, and Halloween night will be next week. Whether or not it’ll be enough to give a boost to our shrinking tax base is another matter. But at least, they’re still trying.