Old Main at Ameriker’s Braine, the school on the hill.
NEW ROSES PA --
(Wessays) --The college kiddies return to the bars, supermarkets, buses and the
occasional class this week. It's a good time to stay indoors even in good
weather... of which we have occasional if only momentary bouts.
There was one fringe
benefit for working at WBLF radio. The studio window faced the sidewalk of a
street that a lot of students used to walk to class. About 50% of them were
girls. About 50% of the girls were worth girl-watching.
Now, WBLF has
moved. And the view from the new place can't be anywhere near as good. No
more watching. But they’re in an abandoned bank with the vault still intact.
That’s something.
Forty thousand undergrads
pack the streets of what we preposterously refer to as “downtown.” Two
days from now, the police blotter will be filled with the names of public intox
accused, underaged drinkers, violators of the noise ordinances and crossing
against red lights -- which, believe it or not, is a major problem around here.
Between listening to
their iPods or believing the business district is part of the campus -- which
it almost is -- no one over the age of eight or under the age of 35 pays any
attention to traffic signals. This malady is an offshoot of the thousands who
walk but whose feet don’t touch the ground.
Business hint: Do not
open a shoe store here. No one ever wears out a heel or sole. You have to have your feet on the ground for
that to happen.
So far, things are off
to a relatively slow and civilized start. You still can find a parking
spot at MegaMart, although it requires walking a hiking trail to get to the
building.
None of the monster
buses which run on Environmentally Correct compressed natural gas and
serpentine narrow streets has disabled itself by hitting a much smaller
vehicle. Yet.
No football player has
added to his rap sheet. Yet. No party-goer has fallen from a
balcony. No frat or sorority pledge has
passed out on the Great Lawn. Yet. And no freshman has yet to crack open a book.
But the semester is young. Some of these events are as sure as the law of
gravity. Patience. You can’t stop
the natural order of things. But the newbies have yet to learn the route to the
next party.
I’m Wes Richards. My
opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®
© WJR 2019
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