There's South Fort Wayne..And Then There's SOUTH Fort Wayne
Every so often, my wife and I drive over (and down, geographically speaking) to Waynedale. Mostly we're doing it to consolidate our trips to wherever we need to go.
Considering we used to live a lot closer to there, we know the area pretty well. You just have to love that part of town. It practically screams "quaint" with it's small shops owned by local folks who always seem to have time to wish you a nice day or a Merry Christmas (and they seem to actually MEAN it).
Around our neighborhood, we do have amenities that are fairly close by (and the new Menards and Wal-Mart are a huge help, although we DO shop K-Mart rather than "Wally-World". It's just a personal preference thing to me. But somehow when we drive to Waynedale, I call it "one-stop" shopping (for the most part. At least the trips from store to store are a LOT shorter, and if we lived there, I could do it all on bike or on foot!
And one thing I especially like is the absence of "home-boyz" and "home-girlz" (sic)...There are no kids running all around the stores, bumping into people, and acting the fool. There are no boomcars shaking YOUR car while at a stoplight. And a lot more people are SMILING down there, as opposed to around HERE (must be that lower crime thing). The houses are better kept, nicely landscaped (that means NO beer bottles decorating the lawns and REAL foliage trimmed neatly), and in overall better repaor than most every other house around my area. Gee, maybe it's the LACK OF RENTALS...'ya think?
You still have a lot of "mom & pop" stores in Waynedale...a very good thing. The bakery down there is always humming with customers, and after going inside, smelling the pasteries, I can see why! My wallet is ALWAYS lighter after going in THERE! Heck, even the McDs off of Lower Huntington is nicer by FAR...no one fighting or tossing a chair at one of the "bruthaz", and kids behaving themselves...(I guess real parenting HASN'T gone out of style). And the auto repair places are pretty darn good (and without all the big box hype and costs).
The carwash down there (self serve) was always nice to frequent, and for about $3 dollars, you could wash, rinse and wax your car...not a bad deal ( I don't really trust those autowash places...and I hate scratches when I didn't ask for them..don't you?), but when it's cold out...work FAST...trust me on this...LOL! Sure, Waynedale does have a Family Dollar...(and it's a small store for all the inventory they have), but if you get there early, no big whoop. The Auto Zone there is a favorite of mine...and they're moving the store down the road (a larger location)...nice touch.
I do miss the old CVS next to post office along Bluffton, but that new Lassus at the intersection of Bluffton & Winchester is one of the best around town. And those DIGITAL pumps are a nice addition. They have a Bobick's there (I don't do golf though), and a new Taco Bell/Long John Silvers (in the same building)..isn't that special? For us smokers out there, we have Low Bob's...best bargains in anything from ciggies to pipe tobacco. And Jim K's does a pretty good pizza (along Bluffton).
Although they DO have an S&V liquor store, there is one thing missing that I don't really mind...and that is having a damn bar/taproom/lounge every other block. That is nice to NOT see, unlike in my area where (inho) we have too damn many of them (ALL within walking distance from anywhere to anywere else). No wonder we have all the crime that we do...plenty of places to get some "liquid courage"...!
Right across the road from the new Lassus, in Foster (and "Pawster") Park are LOTS of geese to feed (if the mood strikes you), and during the summer months, you can catch some soccer practices, while farther up Winchester Road is Broadview Nurseries....the original home to much of OUR garden's additions. It's just a shame the river overflows the banks from time to time, otherwise that area would be a perfect place to have a house. Like the song goes from A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum..."Something for EVERYONE...." but it's not a comedy tonight. It's more a group of concerned citizens doing what they love to do for all the right reasons....and to me, that speaks volumes about this small corner of Fort Wayne. I know OUR area (of the south side) could learn a LOT from people like those in Waynedale.
All it takes is some *desire* to get that motivation going...or a good, swift kick in the britches. Either works well.
In MY neighborhood...the later is needed.
1 comment:
it doesn't make sense that people in your neighborhood don't want to live in a nice place, at least in the way that their homes look.
all they want is to be lazy and care about themselves. it's sad in a way, yet when you think about it, they've made their beds and have to lay lay on them. be selfish, then don't expect anyone to care about you either.
I wish the welfare system could be revised, redone, etc. make some time limits, don't use children as an excuse for it (if you can't take care of your children yourself, then let someone else who will actually CARE about them take care of them, instead of using them as a means to buy an extra bag of whatever drug they're addicted to).
I'm sure I'd have tons of people *coughliberalscough* tell me that I'm being inhumane about it, but aren't they being inhumane by treating others this way? stealing other's property? being disrespectful? killing each other or some innocent person at the gas station down the street?
just doesn't make sense...
Post a Comment