Yet another friend of mine is leaving Cincinnati.
He'll be moving to Indianapolis by
the end of this month.
My friend, frustrated with this town being so backward, is a
talented, creative guy who wants to live in a city that's progressive and has nightlife
– like Indianapolis. He tells me that Cincinnati might finally
start looking good to him as he views it in his rear-view mirror while leaving.
When he said those words to me, it hurt a bit – but I know exactly what he's
saying.
Off and on and for most of my adult life I’ve lived in this
area, but I’ve been lucky enough to travel
some and have visited other cities.
New York is a kick in the ass. Chicago is
24/7. Boston is fantastic. Even
Portland, Maine has a decent nightlife. I’m not sure what we have here.
We have the “corporate bars” that come across that way – not
friendly with their expensive, weak drinks. It all seems phony somehow and not
like what other cities have to offer, but we do have a couple good downtown neighborhood bars.
After eight o’clock at night, those corporate bars dry up
when it comes to business, but local bars like Madonna’s or Rockin’ Robin’s
stay busy until closing time. Why? I think it’s because the barmaids and
bartenders take the time to get to know their customers – and customers get to
know other customers. It’s friendlier, less expensive and besides - what
else are you going to do in a downtown where everything else closes after the
sun goes down?
Before any of you start in on me, yes, we do have theater and we have professional sports teams. Know what? This is kind of expensive for ordinary folks. Maybe if you're living in a poverty-stricken city, perhaps all you can afford to do is go to a neighborhood bar like Madonna's or Rockin' Robin's where everyone knows your name.
My friend who’s moving gave up on downtown Cincinnati bars months ago. He would rather be in a bar where he can smoke, so he'll spend his remaining time here hanging out in Northern
Kentucky where they have adult clubs, cool bars, nightlife and ashtrays.
He’s promised to have one last drink with me at Madonna’s
this week. I’m tempted to move to Indianapolis with him.
- Larry Gross
(Photo from
www.carbonatedink.com)
