Highway Sounds

My friend Richard Newman wrote a beautiful poem once called "Highway Sounds" about living in Soulard. Richard is the editor in chief of River Styx Literary Magazine where I was also an editor (before the days of teaching). I was just sitting outside watching traffic on 40, the way those cars whipped and whizzed past. As a kid, I always liked being in cars, especially watching the yellow lines zoom by. I sat there just now thinking. Thinking about where all those cars are going, where they came from.

And I decided something.

Since I never have time to do much of anything before midnight, and because I work about 100 hours a week and have no energy, as soon as school is out, I am designating one day each week for myself. When I first moved to St. Louis, I used to go out every Monday and see a different part of the city. I'd explore a neighborhood or eat somewhere or browse a row of shops. I'd hit museums and bookstores and coffeeshops. But somewhere along the way, my free time dwindled and I felt like I had seen a lot. On Sex and the City, I heard a character talk about having a "date with the city". Friends of mine used to go out for Tourist Tuesdays, and I liked the idea.

So, coming soon, each week I am going to go out and do something in the city. And no, I'm not just going to go to MoKaBe's (or Blackthorn, or Mangia, or the Royale). I might hit some oldies but goodies, see how the 'Lou has changed over the years. And yep, I might just skip. And definitely, I will blog.

There are some great sites out there about STL, and some great blogs (the Lowlife Guide, The ACC, Steve Smith's blog come to mind), but we need even more documentation about what we see in our city. Since I've been blogging on stltoday.com, the way I have been communicating things has changed a little, or rather perhaps, my point has. I want people to go out, to see the things we see, and to love them as we do. So that's what I am going to write about, and that's what you'll get.

Maybe soon some of those cars will be coming to St. Louis, not leaving it so fast. Maybe some people will want to come here for vacation. This is not the kind of place you come to for luxury, but I often like 3 or 4 days in a new city, especially one I can drive to, and this is a great destination for people looking for something cheap, fun, and different-- and if they want beer and baseball, they just might find the place that spins along that axis.