Someone drew my attention to this entry on the city police log yesterday:
"CO McMillion took a Theft report from Associated Products Services Inc. of 1st blk East Rd. Mechanicsburg, Pa. An unknown person(s) removed a portable toilet from the corner of E. Market St & Lehman St."
Um ... why?
Never mind, actually. I don't think I want to know.
Since I had to stop by city hall to pay for my monthly parking permit before work today, I decided it would be a good time to finally check out York Coffee Co., which sits at the corner of Beaver and King streets.
The shop opened at the end of July, but I never had a chance to stop by, apparently because I always forget about it when I'm in the area of city hall.
I thought the place looked great. It was clean, and the service was fast and friendly.
And, I really liked the coffee. It was a French roast (I love the darker roasts). The price for a large, with tax, was $1.86. That is a reasonably priced cup of coffee in comparison to anywhere else.
Besides the French roast, there was a Sumatra available and a decaf, and I think a fourth.
Honestly, I didn't notice what the hours were. Though I did see that they take credit cards, according to the stickers on the door.
It's a fair bet I'll be stopping by here at least the one time a month I go to city hall.
Several signs on Tony Orr's West Philadelphia Street barber shop indicate that he is now at Pruitt's Palace on West Market Street, next to Jim and Nena's Pizza. The number is 846-2915, the sign says.
In case you missed it, Orr's barber shop was gutted by a fire Sept. 29. At the time, he told a reporter he planned to cut hair somewhere else while he rebuilt his shop, bigger and better.
About this time two years ago, my first fall in Pennsylvania, I couldn't figure out why on earth everyone was raking up their leaves and putting them out in the street. Then someone explained that the leaves are vacuumed up.
Apparently it's pretty commonplace, but it seemed weird to me. See, in Maryland, we just raked up our leaves and bagged them. I'm pretty sure they went out with yard waste or trash.
So, I've noticed recently that people in the city seem to really go all out
with their Halloween decorations.
Halloween was never really a big outdoor-decoration holiday to me. I think we
used to put our carved pumpkins outside, but I don't recall covering the front porch
in cobwebs, lights, police tape and spiders. And now, people have those giant inflatables for Halloween.
The other night, I was waiting for a friend by Martin Library when two cabs stopped at the traffic light on Queen Street.
Two cabs. I looked around. Yup, still in York.
So I come home last night and find a flyer wedged under the door to my apartment building from the Downtown East Neighborhood Association.
They've got an annual dinner, they'd like me to attend, it costs $20, my eloquent, thoughtful boss, Jim McClure will speak on York history, etc.
I'm invited they say, because the first block of South Queen Street is part of the Downtown East neighborhood and as such, part of the Downtown East Neighborhood Association.
I bet the Olde Towne East Neighborhood Association begs to differ.
Tonight, I was driving home on North George Street when the driver in front of me suddenly swerved from the right lane into the left lane.
Then I saw why, and I swerved, too.
Why? Because there was a guy riding a bicycle north in the right southbound lane. Aside from the fact that he was riding against traffic instead of with it, he was also wearing dark clothing so it was nearly impossible to see him.
It's not always easy to navigate roads with bicycles, but it really helps when the cyclists follow the rules of the road.
With the cold weather kicking in, I think my days of walking to church are numbered. But not because of the weather.
I sometimes walk to church downtown for Saturday evening mass. But this Saturday, I drove. I wasn't quite sure what time it's been getting dark lately. (Last week, I left work so late that it was already dark every day.) Turned out that the sun was setting when I left church, so I could have easily walked home.
The nagging little gas light in my car was on all day yesterday, so I finally stopped after work to fill the gas tank. It's the first time I've been to the new Rutter's at the corner of Route 30 and Pennsylvania Avenue.
I have to say, it's much better than the old one. I used to stop at the old one once a week for snacks on my way to a Spanish class I was taking last year. That parking lot was so cramped, I was sure I was going to hit someone at some point.
But the new parking lot is huge and brightly lit. I was there around 10:30 p.m. and it looked like daytime. I didn't venture inside, but it looked pretty nice in there, too.
As I was writing out my rent check a few days ago, I realized that I've officially lived in my apartment for a year.
I lived just across the street before, so it's not like I had a major location change or anything. But still, I usually start to get antsy after a year or so in one apartment.
Earlier this year, around February or March, the city installed "No Turn on Red" signs at Market and Queen streets, an intersection I use often because it's near my apartment.
The Daily Record reported at the time that the signs were installed as part of a request by Martin Library, which sits at that intersection, to improve pedestrian safety.
First of all, I think the signs were a great idea, because that intersection can be treacherous. If only drivers would actually yield to pedestrians in crosswalks when they're turning, the signs wouldn't be needed.
This morning, I walked down Market Street to the bank. On the way back, I paused at Market and Duke since traffic on Duke Street had a green light.
When the signal changed and the pedestrian sign indicated it was my turn, I started to cross the street, which meant a driver on Market Street had to yield for, oh, maybe five seconds while I crossed.
Apparently he didn't like that, because I heard him swearing at me through his open window.
Terribly sorry for slowing you down, Mr. Driver. At least I was using the crosswalk and not strolling out into traffic wherever I wanted, like so many do in the city. Next time, you could at least make sure the window's closed before cursing me.
