Seriously, I started to panic a little
Actually, this is more funny than anything else, and I really do appreciate the efforts the Downtown Development Authority-Main Street-Good Guys-Booster Group-City-subsidized whatever-it's-called committee is doing.
They do have a little bit of a fixation on lightposts downtown, but other than that, the place looks a lot more like somebody cares about it than it once did.
But the other night I was leaving a downtown establishment (no it wasn't a bar and I wasn't drunk) and I about soiled my pants.
It looked as if every transient person, drunk and vagrant who frequents downtown was leaning up against a lightpost just waiting to panhandle or mug me.
Then I realized what I was seeing in the dim light were the festive scarecrows that the downtown group had posted at every lightpost to give the downtown that seasonal autumn ambience.
What made it even scarier was that one of the lightposts had two scarecrows leaning up against it -- and one of them was REAL! It was some woman clutching a purse and taking long drags on a cigarette.
It's funny how things appear so different in a different light when there's hardly anyone on the street. It was almost surreal. The full moon didn't help either.
What might be even scarier is to find out how much money the city spent watering the potted plants that the DDA hung on the lightposts this summer. If you watched the thorough jobs city crews did in watering them (even in the rain) you'd start thinking that it might be cheaper to go with artificial plants next season. Tackier, sure, but cheaper.
They do have a little bit of a fixation on lightposts downtown, but other than that, the place looks a lot more like somebody cares about it than it once did.
But the other night I was leaving a downtown establishment (no it wasn't a bar and I wasn't drunk) and I about soiled my pants.
It looked as if every transient person, drunk and vagrant who frequents downtown was leaning up against a lightpost just waiting to panhandle or mug me.
Then I realized what I was seeing in the dim light were the festive scarecrows that the downtown group had posted at every lightpost to give the downtown that seasonal autumn ambience.
What made it even scarier was that one of the lightposts had two scarecrows leaning up against it -- and one of them was REAL! It was some woman clutching a purse and taking long drags on a cigarette.
It's funny how things appear so different in a different light when there's hardly anyone on the street. It was almost surreal. The full moon didn't help either.
What might be even scarier is to find out how much money the city spent watering the potted plants that the DDA hung on the lightposts this summer. If you watched the thorough jobs city crews did in watering them (even in the rain) you'd start thinking that it might be cheaper to go with artificial plants next season. Tackier, sure, but cheaper.
posted by The Observer at 10/07/2006 04:04:00 AM
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