Moving to the Southside

So what the hell is an old man doing on the south side of town anyway? Is he trying to regain a bit of lost luster? Fighting the growing old thing? Just rather intrigued and drawn to the energy? Probably a bit of all if the truth is told. In this blog, I hope to stick more to the intrigued part although I am sure the other will come up as I am fighting the lost opportunity thing a bit too!

The loft is not ready and so I am entering my third week as a homeless orphan scrounging off friends and family. This morning’s temperature was in the mid 20’s and I can’t help but wonder about the real homeless you occasionally see walking the south side. Where did they stay last night? I had a queen bed with silk sheets and a comforter to fight the cold as well as a choice of coats to wear to work.

When I moved to Chattanooga in the mid 80’s a drive down Main Street was accomplished with the windows up and the doors locked. Unless of course you were a client of the evening entertainers that roved up and down the stretch between Broad and the railroad underpass, or perhaps an addict looking for the days fix, or maybe just a mountain resident seeking a walk on the wild side. It took investment of time and vision to get to where we are now as well as the money. One of the major personalities of Main Street is moving next week to L.A. Two months ago another moved to Detroit, exporting the vision that was once the south side’s to these cities that are looking here for guidance. The next challenge will be to hold onto our homegrown talent.