Boston Store, Tax Breaks, and the Twilight Zone

Hello again Greendale,

It was another busy weekend in the Village. I took an early drive down Broad Street on Saturday and noticed quite a few folks lining up at the Gazebo getting information about the . This is always a popular pastime for our residents. There is nothing better than a stroll around our narrow streets, admiring the hard work of our super gardeners beautifying the neighborhoods.

I do my part by faithfully watering all my plants. I use a quart-sized pitcher. So, it takes quite a while. It is not that I don't believe in hoses or sprinklers. But, in order to turn on my outside water, I would have to venture deep into my crawl space. Those of you who also have crawl spaces realize why I am reluctant to climb down into that dark, dangerous recess, even though I am now legal for concealed carry. 

But, I digress.

I then turned Parking Street to take a stroll around the Open Market. There were many folks there as well. It reminded me of a Norman Rockwell painting, what with the colorful tents and the various vendors and shoppers … a little old lady with her shopping cart, a mother with her toddler, the flower vendor with his tins full of blossoms, and a little dog lifting his little leg on the table holding the kohlrabi. It was a little slice of Americana that could bring a lump to one’s throat. 

I heard a lot of comments about the large crowd of people gathered to celebrate the Fourth of July this year. My neighbor and I always go early in order to put our chairs right at the curb. This makes it much easier when competing with the young ones for the best candy or, better yet, one of the spent bullets from the gun volleys. The parade itself got good reviews, however some of the veteran parade-goers missed the green “dragon” that has graced the parade for many years. I wonder what happened to it.

My son got a bit of a shock early Sunday morning. He went to gas up his car at Speedway and found the station barricaded with crime tape! I don't have a clue what happened. I suppose it's possible that those responsible for the soaring gas prices are being finally charged with highway robbery. Here’s hoping.

You should know that there are more big changes ahead at Southridge Mall.

I hear rumors that another anchor store at the mall may soon follow suit. I'm sure this will result in a huge improvement for the mall. But, I am hearing whispers that some of the cost of these new renovations may be added to already multi-million dollar tax breaks the Village is giving the mall. If so, I'm not sure how I feel about that. If true, maybe the same should hold true for those of us who would like to do some sprucing up on our own property.

Now, I realize that we must expect some interruption in our day to day lives in order to reap the benefits of this renewal effort but I will admit that, one morning, it sounded like an enormous washing machine had an uneven load and was stuck on the spin cycle for a good hour.  I live a few blocks away and my dishes were rattling. I imagine that those who live closer were really feeling the tremors. 

It looks like we'll be suffering through some hot, humid weather for the next few days. It will be too uncomfortable to do much of anything outside. Fortunately, I DVR’d the recent, two-day Twilight Zone marathon and laid in a supply of Jujubes and Vitamin Water. So, I think I'm set.

My two orphan kittens, Gump and Nosferatu had a quiet week. However, I noticed that although I would put bowls of water, they weren't drinking anything. Alarmed, I consulted my copy of "Cat Psychology" and determined that they are going through a “passive aggressive” phase. The solution was to find a water source that was non-threatening and yet user friendly. After several failed attempts, I found that they would drink water if I filled up the sink and let them drink directly from that. Happily, they are now both well-hydrated. I, however have a weeks worth of dirty dishes. 

Until next week.