As always, so very glad to be home, in the OldSouth ComfyChair, the dogs happily dozing at our feet, a summer thunderstorm blowing through as so often happens this time of the year in the South.
Indianapolis is not unfamiliar to OS, at least goodly parts of it. This trip was for a wedding of a dear friend (more about that in another post).
Downtown was impressive, not a doubt about it. Goods and services, hotels, shopping, restaurants, excellent. And, there seemed to be a lively amount of activity, considering these are hot midsummer days. Downtown hotel was lovely (the staff was equally lovely) but irritatingly insisted on the 'nickel-and-dime-the-guest' approach, $32 per night to park, charging for internet service in rooms, over-priced restaurants, eye-wateringly over-priced bar. The bar remained a ghost town for the duration of our stay. OS broke down and treated himself to a congratulatory Jack Daniels on the rocks after the wedding, but only one, since that one set him back more than he is willing to admit in print. Puhleeze!
A few blocks from downtown was impressive as well, differently. A number of blocks with most of the businesses boarded up. Apartments with plenty of vacancies, and 'for sale' signs blooming in the front yards of the houses. A few houses boarded up as well. It's as if someone let the air out of once-great neighborhoods. Most of the structures are solid, brick-and-mortar pre-1930 creations, built to last, but no one seems to have an idea of what to do with them, or is willing to incur any risk in that location. A few blocks further out, conditions improve again. Hard to pinpoint why this seems to have happened, just that there is a swath of the city that just seems to have rolled over and died. OS suspects that the culture of drug use and the chaos and despair it creates has much to do with this. Again, it's that 'culture thang'...the economic malaise is symptomatic of the cultural unwinding.
The trip home also had its contrasts. A visit to the outlet mall in Edinburgh, IN was surprising. Shoppers were out in force, and they were buying, not aggressively as in years past, but they were spending money on deeply-discounted brand-name merch.
Coldwater Creek's store was brimming with inventory, all 40% off, and a further discount at the register because Mrs. OS is a regular online customer. It was almost embarrassing to carry off that much stuff for that small a cash outlay. Other stores with banners of up to 70% off, etc. Every store space was occupied, however. A few miles down the road, at the next outlet mall, it looked like half the space was empty. OS has no explanation...
Late lunch in Jeffersonville, across the river from Louisville. A little 1890's town that went through serious decline, and now seems on the way back up on an aggressive trajectory. Physically, about the same distance from Louisville as the ruined parts of Indy, and much the same architectural styles. Yet, it seems to thrive. No smell of despair here, clean streets, occupied retail, etc., a sense of itself. That culture thang....
There are real signs of life out there, along with evidence of doldrums. It will be a long crawl back for this part of the country, even if everything goes right for the next five years or so. The good news is that Midwesterners are a hardy, industrious breed, and tend to be pragmatic.
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