Downtown Cincy

I went to the downtown branch of the Public Library yesterday to grade papers with my friend, Wanda. We both needed a change of scenery and some peer pressure to get our load of work finished--or, in my case, started. I used to spend a lot of time down at the library. Back in the days when I was officeless, or when I had a stuffy, windowless office, I'd frequently end up at the library, my butt parked near some big window, to grade papers. When I was married and poor (I was a visiting faculty member and my husband was the director of the local Coalition for the Homeless, so we were fairly cash-strapped), we would make occasional day-long trips to the downtown library. We'd pack our lunches and spend the day reading and, alternately, wandering around downtown Cincinnati, window shopping. Now that I have a nice office with a wall of windows, I spend my grading time there, instead. It was nice to get back down there, though. Like many things, lately, it felt like some indicator of how much my life has changed in the last decade and a half. It also made me realize that I make poor use of my city.

Truth be told, Cincinnati might be just enough city for me. When I moved to the city in 1990, my younger sister used to refer to it as "the big city." I think I thought of it that way, too. Compared to my hometown, it is a big city, I guess. I don't think of Cincy that way now, but our drive through downtown yesterday on our way to the library made me realize that I just don't make good use of the great things we have here in town. There are a million and one cultural events that I don't attend, parks I haven't visited, restaurants where I've never eaten, and neighborhoods I've never wandered. In the stretch of a few blocks yesterday, I saw two new vibrantly colored murals painted on sides of buildings (one unfortunate one on the side of the Hustler store), a building stripped in red and blue and green and yellow that I swear I'd never seen before, advertisements for an annual book festival I've never attended, and at least a half a dozen new downtown restaurants. I need to get out more.

I say Cincy is just enough city for me, but maybe it's too much. Or maybe I just need to get my new thing butt in gear. If I lived in a city like Chicago or New York, would I do more? Get out more? Or would I just feel worse for missing a bigger, better list of events and opportunities? I have no idea. I asked Wanda that yesterday as we drove down Walnut street on our way to the library. She thought that maybe in a big city where we'd use public transportation to get around, we'd know about more events, walk by and visit more museums and parks, and see the city in ways we don't see it when we're driving. She makes a good point, and it's a point that makes me feel a little better about my Cincinnati self. If Cincinnati had better public transportation, I'd be a better Cincinnatian. It's an interesting theory.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad