Tuesday, February 20, 2007

I Went Wandering Part Deux
















These are pictures of a walk I took down and around South Street, located in the great city of Philadelphia. Notice how my direction was pointless. I tried my best to clear my mind and to really take in the sights, sounds, and smells of the city. As you can see I had to be careful where I stepped because remnants of last weeks snowfall was all over the place. It made the sidewalks quite slippery. I really love the old historic buildings that line the streets near South Street. It makes me wonder what Philadelphia must have been like a hundred years ago. Once I reached South Street itself I made sure to take pictures of some of the fabulous window displays. There was a neat wooden Indian in front of a cigar shop and a suit of armor in front of another store. I noticed that the Ataris were going to be playing at the Theatre of Living Arts. There was also a banner advertising a Muay Tai Kick Boxing competition. There were a ton of police officers lining the street that day because it was Fat Tuesday. A few years earlier the crowd had gotten out of hand during the holiday and several stores were looted. The smells of South Street can make ones mouth water. As I ventured down the street I hungered for cheese steaks and pizza. It was surprisingly warm during my journey and I found myself becoming excited for the upcoming Spring and Summer months. At the end of South Street there is a grand cat walk with a fantastic view of Penn's Landing and the ships in its Navy yard. This made me think of a documentary I saw on Philadelphia which explained that the Philadelphia waterfront was an ideal place to dock the ships because the freshwater was better for the ships than salt water. I have been told that in the past the Philadelphia shipping yard was once a booming enterprise which employed many hardworking people. While on the bridge I hear the sounds of speeding traffic coming from Interstate 95 below. This is the highway which leads to my hometown. I've traveled up and down it many times. As I turn to return to my vehicle I begin to become somewhat sentimental. I pass several restaurants where my ex-girlfriend and I had shared a meal. I use to be so aggravated whenever she would make me hold her purse while she shopped but in this moment I truly missed her. The sun is setting now. As I look at my clock I find proof that Summer is returning. It seems like only weeks ago the sun was setting at 4 pm .

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