Yesterday I posted about Bill White's recommended Christmas Light tours. I hope that caravans of new SUV's are taking White's tours, because he publishes his recommendations every year. Bill, after all these years, has his job down almost on autopilot; Christmas light tours, Eating his way through Musikfest, Cake contest at fair, Grammar columns, Hall of Shame, Worst sentence writer. etc., etc.
Anyway, I recommend that nobody take my light tour, it's in the hood in center city Allentown. Actually, the block shown has had its share of crime in recent years. The alley is narrow, so there is no passing another car. The double parkers get very annoyed if you beep your horn. Best to stick with White's tours out in suburbia, with the inflated decorations that are flaccid during the day. Personally, I prefer the center city house decorations. There is something so much more inspiring about decorating a low income house, many of which are rentals. It makes me feel better and more hopeful about downtown.
reprinted from December of 2017
I agree Mr. Mike!!! Believe it or not, some folks living in the "hoods" have lived there all their lives, as my neighbor, who was born, raised, married, raised a family, and finally succumbed here. Not everyone is poor or on the dole that lives here, but most that are, have a hard time paying their heat and light bills, but CAN afford fancy wheels on a clunky car with a mega watt stereo and an exhaust system that can wake the dead and, oh yes, the very latest I-phone... ya gotta live a little, don't ya know!!! (and have priorities)
ReplyDeleteAnd, yes, there are some spectacularly decorated homes in the hood(s)!!! Allentown is, indeed, a strange bird..... homes that are to die for architecturally, mostly inhabited by people that trash them... but never fear, we have code enforcement to force the landlords into submission. How about we force the tenants into submission...???... but the entire country goes about things 180 degrees from reality...
It is like that every where ,I live in a house that is 122 years old.
ReplyDelete