In a storefront window it is easy to go from winter to spring, over night. (As we have found out, the weather isn’t quite able to do this and stick to it.) Towns that set about to changing the image they portray, seem to have the same problem as the weather.

Once you degrade into a ghost town – after closing all the factories down due to industrial depletion of resources – it is hard to recover and get back to a bustling metropolis. People have to leave, to move to where they can find work. It has happened, too many times.

We were in such an area last night. The city is trying to revitalize itself with a new arena, trendy restaurants, a huge brew pub and high end retail…they’ve made a good start. They did attract big medical and healthcare companies first – which helps a lot.

However, each evening, after the offices close, the visitors leave, the retail stores roll down the security gates and the fully-loaded military-like police, patrol the empty streets conveying the true state of the town. I know, this is common in many cities…but it’s going to take a few more years (rather than weeks or days) to fully complete changing the image of this area. I applaud them for their efforts, it is looking better – someday it will be better.

~ Dawn aka Hat Girl