Our neighborhood is another reason we love living here. Within easy walking distance we have eight different places where you can get coffee, drinks, sandwiches, etc. (About the Hubig’s sign: they make pies like a Hostess fruit pie only better! They have the usual fruits, but they also have pineapple, chocolate, peach and my personal favorite, sweet potato! You cannot buy them at the bakery, you get them at stores, but they make the neighborhood smell yummy!)
We have a beautiful shady park where kids play on brand new equipment purchased by our neighborhood association. There are usually people of all ages playing with their canine companions, sometimes pint- size flag football leagues practices, and often there are Frisbees flying around. This is also where the “traveling kids” gather. Some call them gutter punks. They will be leaving soon. Like the swallows at San Juan Capistrano they come south when it gets cold up north and leave when we start to heat up. They bring their instruments and play for change. They look like Mad Max extras with an Eastern European flair. They will ask for your leftovers when you walk home from a restaurant. This park is where the photo of the phone booth art was taken. We don’t know who did it. The phone hasn’t been there in years. Someone will probably mess it up soon. But it was fun to see it.
The make up of our neighborhood has changed in the past three years. Many of the people who lived on our street before the storm used to work in the quarter. They did not own cars. Many did not return. Now we have folks who work in other parts of the city and they do drive. Parking is not as easy to come by. (Sometimes I do miss a driveway.) We have lawyers, teachers, carpenters, police officers, movie and video producers, a plumber, a magician, a nurse, a furniture salesman, a retired couple from the petroleum industry and a retired stripper, just to name a few. And apparently we have a person who likes chickens! I am told that they are named, Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner and that the lady who owns them is a vegetarian and keeps them for the eggs. Emma and I find them fascinating. There is also a Pygmy goat closer to the quarter (Emma is not sure about the goat). Stay tuned, I will try for a photo in the near future!
