Modern Vespa

Yesterday I drove to Yellow Springs for therapy. A shoot pot load of stuff going down here, lately!



In recent years 3 of my best friends-street-people in Yellow Springs have left this earth. One sidewalk mayor, one coffee house prince, and a harmless unhoused youngster who had a crush on my daughter when she was 15. Sitting alfresco with coffee, at dawn, next to my scooter, - I've become acquainted with a lot of 'interesting' people. Each of us marginalized to some degree (esp in Ohio) Like a club w/o dues.

Then there were the shop closings; the hardware store with the chess board out front, the head shop, the toy store, the art supply store, the short-lived hemp sellers (!?), the cool little restaurant in that wild red-brick structure.
The trolls in the glass shop removed my sidewalk chairs and table - where I and my family have enjoyed endless people-watching, countless cups of coffee, pastries, and great tacos from that ICE-escapee - Miguel!
MIGUEL's


TOM's market is going co-op - but they have promised me that the Group W bench will remain a fixture!

My latest upset > the building which had THE best mural in the area - I discovered yesterday, is now but a bare field of straw!
(piaggio_americas hosted my photo on their Instagram)


stopped for a chat - but I'd interrupted some sort of union meeting....


Love the big sycamores!





Talked MLB w/ red.....


Oldest tavern in Ohio...


I finished my coffee from dino's and moved down here to the entrance to the village.
Thinking a couple of things.
"Changes or no - for me, any day in this town is a good day!
And, I'm going to need to use the RR in the train station* before driving home".


O.S.

oh yes - buyer paid Joe $500 for his Reflex over the w/e. He's OK with it. "Steadier on" his BMW side-car.


*old converted train station houses the villages only public restrooms

Things change, and not always for the better. We've gained a new barcade with some cool pinball machines, but you cant hear them because its LOUD in there! The local mall is closed, soon to become more apartments. Traffic is crazy enough as is! I consider these 1st World Problems. I don't like some of the changes but it happens.

A friend and I are getting together to ride our bmx bikes around our old neighborhood. We have a feeling its going to be fun yet very weird. No one we know still lives in the old 'hood, so we're going to look like 2 bums on kids bikes, cruising for open garages to steal from. Why we are going on this mission is beyond both of us but we're forging forward when we both find the time!

Thank you for the post, O.S.

Florida is changing too, mostly because too many people are moving here.

Jacksonville has the worst downtown of any large city I have ever visited, but the far out suburbs are teaming with construction.

Apartments and packed-in neighborhoods sprouting up everywhere.

Sprawl city.

But economics are part of it as well.

Malls are closed because everything is available on line.

Small shops that we used to love don't work because the owners can't generate enough income to live comfortably.

We all need to eat so dining establishments abound, but the weaker ones are closing with regularity.

Luckily, North Florida still has some small towns that have somehow managed to avoid the growth.

My favorites are Apalachicola, Steinhatchee, Cedar Key and Fernandina Beach.

Steinhatchee and Cedar Key are still recovering from recent storm damage and have lost some key businesses, but are still worth visiting.

I enjoy visiting the Old Florida towns, supporting them through overnight stays and dining.

But they are changing.

Bill

Very cool idea!

. Anything along the coasts are getting/been crowded. It was lousy the see the Florida Keys change so much as the old families moved out, houses torn down and condos built. It lost the whole vibe and the reason for making the trip. Most of south east Florida was built out 20 years ago when we moved to get away from it and now a lot of them are coming up here for the same reason. I would move again but my kids/grandkids keep me here.

My wife and I live in a 100 year old house in a 100 year old neighborhood that was mostly built out 100 years ago.

It has seen changes, mostly new houses built in the few empty lots and large restaurants taking over small stores in the commercial areas.

But the pine forests around the city are all being converted to housing.

So we bought a house in downtown Weaverville, NC last year.

There is new sprawl outside of the little town but it is stable in the town.

The only negative is that two restaurants that we liked have changed hands and lost some of their luster.

Bill

When the wife and I go play pinball, we drive from Norfolk, VA to Grandy, NC. All the forest and farmers fields are being turned into ugly McMansion 'hoods. I guess farmers kids no longer want to take over the family farm and we don't really need trees for oxygen, so why not. So the drive went from farm fields to ugly sprawls of housing.

Also, I see so many apartments popping up in weird spaces. I guess in the future very few people will be able to purchase a home and will be forever renters. Now, I don't see nothing wrong with that if you don't wanna deal with home ownership but ya better have a future plan mapped out for older age. Situations can change quick! I HATED apartment living when I was younger and was beyond stoked to purchase my first home.

My town has a '2050 plans that is largely apartments and more apartments. Some are for the endless supply of college kids that arrive each fall, but at my age I'm staying where I'm at.

"Nothing is quite as sure as change" - Mamas and Papas.

Fortunately, there are a lot of people in my town that want to preserve its rural character. There is a constant struggle with the new yuppies. The yups won a point and got the center of town to have new sidewalks (to nowhere) and fancy street lights. We even have a Starbucks.

But, there is a strong group into preserving the farmland and other properties.

A HUGE apartment complex recently sprouted up near the center of town. It puts the UG in ugly, not to mention more traffic, and more kids in our schools.

This is a rural area - probably at least 1 in 5 properties have horses on them. I have moved several times over the years, just to get away from urbanization. Here is where I take my last stand. Another move may well literally kill me. I'm too old for this crap any more. So, I make sure to enjoy every day, and love looking out at my acreage.

End of rant.

Well. the good thing is that you are close to Asheville, a short scooter ride away, and you can get anything there. The bad thing is Asheville itself can be ok or just plain lousy.

Our house is nine miles from downtown Asheville.

We enjoy the city, so vibrant and active compared to Jacksonville, with so many great restaurants, breweries and stores.

But Weaverville offers almost everything we need.

My favorite part of living there is the great roads and small towns in the mountains.

Bill

Some of the best riding areas in the South, no doubt.

I grew up in a rural area of Kentucky, northeast of Louisville (aka Lou-a-vul) and things have changed dramatically there.

As a kid, there was only 1 high school for the entire county. Additionally, there were only 2 stoplights in the whole county - about 300 yards apart - and it was dry (no beer, wine, or liquor sales).

Now there's 3 high schools, numerous housing developments and apartment complexes, and they now allow alcohol sales. Some progress is great, but I barely recognize it anymore.

"There is nothing permanent except change" - Heraclitus

We desperately try here to keep the farms (and horses) and the small New England feel. The State wants to put in a traffic light--we have none. We have the oldest 2-arch stone bridge (1764) in the US, the oldest continually operating farm in the US (1634), and the largest number of first period (1626-1726) buildings in the US. It's a battle to not let it get overrun.

Our favorite place in Florida was Woody's Waterfront at Blind Pass, St Pete.
I defy you to get closer to the Gulf of Mexico with your frenchfries!

Sadly - it blew away in the last hurricane!
Silly - but our vacation to FL this summer has lost a LOT of its zest for me, now that Woody's is gone!

Every time there was a tropical storm - local TV news crews showed up at WOODY's to film the hilarity!

Our first dinner there was during a tropical storm. Outside seating was closed - but the door was open and we sat inside at our table with our feet in salt water!

Oldschooot, I thought people do the wave in stadiums, not while having a (chicken?) sandwich. 😆