Talk about a phrase I haven't heard in ages.
So far this weekend, I've been taking E to see some of my old Cleveland haunts - streets I used to run, coffee shops I used to go to, stores, schools, etc. It's funny how much has changed.
Right now, we're sitting in a coffee shop near the campus of the University where I started graduate school. There's a big building on the parking lot that's blocking the view of (what presumably was) the main building.
I took her to the Deep Space Nine of Cleveland surburban white flight, that last outpost - the Lyndhurst/Beachwood area. Well, just when it looked like that bastion was about to crumble, it looks like The Man decided to build himself a sanctuary called "Legacy Village" (to which I added, "...of the Damned."). It's basically a crammed replica of the Easton Town Centre in Columbus down to almost the very last "shoppe," all sitting behind a fence, as if to mock "Ok, we can't keep 'You People' out, but we can make you as self-conscious about being in this 'Village' as possible by filling it with facades and 'shoppes' of things you probably won't be able to afford and would feel too ashamed to ask about."
I took her to Coventry where I found that the Arabica, a place with a vibe full of teen memories, was gone. With it were all the hippies and punks and "Sodomize the Pope" jackets, and in their place stood a Chipotle. Not that it's a bad thing -- I can subsist on that stuff.
On Coventry, we happened upon a store selling all sorts of Chinese knick knacks run by a local Tai Chi teacher, who proceeded to badger E about what her Tai Chi lineage was. Hey, she's in graduate school - she didn't have time to memorize the entire list of her teachers' teachers' teachers. Me, I would've just said "I think his name was Caine... Kwai Chang Caine" and have been done with it.
The wedding we attended wasa replay of every horrid memory I've ever had as a child being stuck full in a ballroom full of Filipinos a really nice affair. E met a great deal of people and seemed to be a big hit - no surprise there. She did stress her self out a lil' bit, worried about what people might expect out of our wedding plans which we've only dropped minor hints about to anyone who asked. I, myself, resolved ahead of time that the information was none of their business, and that I'd just play the game one plays when people at "To Do's" do in conversation.
There's more to tell, and pictures to come. I'll get to that sometime.
So far this weekend, I've been taking E to see some of my old Cleveland haunts - streets I used to run, coffee shops I used to go to, stores, schools, etc. It's funny how much has changed.
Right now, we're sitting in a coffee shop near the campus of the University where I started graduate school. There's a big building on the parking lot that's blocking the view of (what presumably was) the main building.
I took her to the Deep Space Nine of Cleveland surburban white flight, that last outpost - the Lyndhurst/Beachwood area. Well, just when it looked like that bastion was about to crumble, it looks like The Man decided to build himself a sanctuary called "Legacy Village" (to which I added, "...of the Damned."). It's basically a crammed replica of the Easton Town Centre in Columbus down to almost the very last "shoppe," all sitting behind a fence, as if to mock "Ok, we can't keep 'You People' out, but we can make you as self-conscious about being in this 'Village' as possible by filling it with facades and 'shoppes' of things you probably won't be able to afford and would feel too ashamed to ask about."
I took her to Coventry where I found that the Arabica, a place with a vibe full of teen memories, was gone. With it were all the hippies and punks and "Sodomize the Pope" jackets, and in their place stood a Chipotle. Not that it's a bad thing -- I can subsist on that stuff.
On Coventry, we happened upon a store selling all sorts of Chinese knick knacks run by a local Tai Chi teacher, who proceeded to badger E about what her Tai Chi lineage was. Hey, she's in graduate school - she didn't have time to memorize the entire list of her teachers' teachers' teachers. Me, I would've just said "I think his name was Caine... Kwai Chang Caine" and have been done with it.
The wedding we attended was
There's more to tell, and pictures to come. I'll get to that sometime.
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