outskirts: life and times in charlottesville

For those that remember Logan’s Run there was a great scene as they were walking through Washington DC. The roads had been taken over by trees, vines, and moss.

C-Ville is starting to look the same way in many places. As I run through town I’m starting to notice a lot of streets where there are three foot high trees growing from the crack between the curb and the road. Is this a good thing? I’d be willing to bet the chicken won’t be able to cross the road in the near future due to the overgrowth.

Unfortunately, C-Ville seems to be missing some of the scenery from the movie…

Every time I go in to the downtown post office I get a good laugh at this one. I think the words got swapped. Will this sign become as famous as the upside-down airplane stamp?

Yesterday evening we had a lovely little torrential thunderstorm decide to camp out on top of C-Ville. I’d never had DirecTV out for so long before. Nearly 40 minutes. I thought I might die being stuck in this village with no satellite feed.

This morning on my one drive/week I noticed a tree had decided to lose its grip on the soaked soil. If this had taken the wires down I’m sure the entire village would have had no power for at least a week. Luckily, the wires held strong.

Seems as if these places on the “historic” downtown mall are breaking the law. Can you spot your favorite place?

Perhaps all the signs should just get stuck on the Freedom Wall (aka porno wall). Is this sign legal, or should it also be on the wall?

The summer sunsets have started.

I’ve taken lots of snapshots here in town over the years of a smiley face that keeps appearing on walls. The tribal elders usually get things painted over in a matter of days to weeks. I’d always referred to those responsible for this activity as the Smiley Face Gang.

It seems as if this might not be that far from the truth. It seems as if “Smiley face killers” may be stalking college men. In the investigation of forty drowning deaths at least 12 creepy smiley faces were found where bodies were put in rivers and lakes.

Should local students be worried? Should they stay away from water? Are these faces creepy enough?

 
Snapshots of smiley face graffiti in Charlottesville.

Who remembers last spring/summer when people were getting beat up by gangs, and at least one gun got fired in the downtown area every weekend? Those were the days.

One of the lose bullets went through a window next to South Street Brewery, and it still hasn’t been repaired. For quite awhile the hole was covered by a Obama sign. I really don’t know what the symbolism is. The sign came down this weekend. I wonder if that part is symbolic of the end of this democratic draw.

I noticed a few of these showed up in the village in the past few days. Is this some sort of political campaign? Maybe this was a prelude to the Ralph Nader announcement. How long will it take the village to cover it with gray? I’d go with less than a week.

This face smiles at you as you walk from the mall to Belmont.

How many more of these are around? There is one over at Barracks Road Mall I’ve never noticed before. Did that just show up this weekend as well? Any other reports?

I wonder if it will have a smoke free restaurant or bar.