WW1

This week I went to my first Walnut Wednesday.

The weather was perfect, and the place was hopping. Seventeen trucks were parked around what is now officially called "Perk Plaza at Chester Commons." Music was playing, and the lunchtime crowd waited in long lines to procure their eats.

I switched lines after Mr. Ginley found the truck we missed the first time around. We had gone online ahead of time, and I wanted to give Umami Moto's Korean burrito a whirl. Mr. wanted to go for the pizza, but thought it was too much for one person, so he settled instead on a hot dog with Cincinnati-style chili.

Seating was at a premium. Some diners took their finds back to the office with them, but lots stuck around, chatted and and chowed. We moved around some, eating our tasty entrees on a bench in the sunshine before finding a spot in the shade where we devoured our desserts -- cupcakes and donuts, made fresh by loving hands. I kept telling myself that my burrito had lots of wholesome ingredients in it, and they would make up for the sugary treats. But I don't think any of us really believes that.

Back in the day, the area was simply called "Chester Commons." There were grassy knolls and concrete structures to sit on. But you had to bring your own lunch. Unless you wanted to eat from a hot dog cart. And on Friday nights in the summer there was the "Party in the Park," complete with a band and, as I recall, beer.

Overall, Downtown is so radically different from the gritty city of my days working there. Case in point, the waiting list of folks who want to live downtown. The emergence of a fancy grocery store (Heinen's) in the old Cleveland Trust bank building. And the fact that you can walk down East 4th Street without looking over your shoulder every few feet.

There's not much left from my time there to remind me. Just shadows and ghosts.

Our old office building, the Statler, went condo. The JBR store on the corner of 9th and Euclid is many years gone. As are the eateries and hangouts that were part of our experience back in the day.

It is much cleaner and nicer now. The jury is out on Public Square, though. It looks pretty, but they really screwed up traffic through the heart of the city.

The Rapid still runs. And the Terminal still stands. Plus, the library, as always, is a jewel.

So, although there are things I miss, overall, the old lady looks pretty good in her new duds.

And I look forward to a second Walnut Wednesday.