'Tude in the 'Hood

Last night I went to the Youngstown Alumni Panhellenic Association (YAPH) meeting. I've volunteered to be the Pi Beta Phi delegate to YAPH. When I first moved to Tucson, I joined and became very active in the Pi Beta Phi alumnae club. The first friends I made in Tucson were through this organization. I'm missing my Tucson friends, and thought YAPH might be a good way to make some friends and contribute to the community.

As the meeting wound down and the discussion turned to committee assignments for 2009-10, I realized I have a wealth of knowledge on programs/activities that might be interesting to the membership, based on my eight years on the board of the Tucson Pi Phi club. I volunteered to be on the Programs committee, and several women immediately approached me to discuss the possibilities.

Well, more accurately, they approached to tell me the things we can't do. Specifically, members will "never" come to an event held downtown. The YSU campus and the Butler Institute of American Art are the borderline, I was told, of areas members will visit. "They're all sure they won't come out alive."

Really? What century are you living in?

I loved Janko's "a day in the life" post this morning. Okay, I'm not going to go downtown at 2:00 a.m., but neither are any of these women who profess to be frightened for their lives. (My not going downtown at 2:00 a.m. has more to do with my need to get eight hours of sleep to avert migraines then the inherent danger!) I lived in Washington, D.C., for five years, within two blocks of 16th Street in Adams-Morgan and Mt. Pleasant. I wouldn't go out on the streets there at 2:00 a.m., either, but I certainly would walk my dog at 9:00 p.m. and think nothing of it, or visit a favorite dining establishment in the evening without fearing for my life.

We're bringing this city back, hour by hour, restaurant by restaurant, store by store. But to do so, we need to drop the attitude of fear and bring people downtown to spend their hard-earned dollars and help bring all the commercial establishments back.

I'm tired of hearing all the negativity. I've said it before and I'll say it again: if you can't say something nice, then just shut up.

But, while you're shutting up, why not come downtown? I had a lovely dinner at Café Cimmento on Monday night (So nice to see you, Brooke), I enjoy Rosetta Stone and The Cedars, I can't wait for Lemon Grove to open, I love going to the Youngstown Symphony performances or dance performances or plays (whether or not my children and grandchildren are performing) at the DeYor. I went on Mark Peyko's architecture walking tour a couple of weeks ago and marvelled at the fabulous architectural details up and down West Federal. I long for the day we have a riverwalk to stroll along.

Youngstown is happening, my friends. It's not happening quickly, but it didn't fall into disrepair quickly, either. And it will happen more quickly if we banish our attitude of fear and get out to walk the avenues.