Philly Sidewalks, Broad Streets

So last night I was up until 2:30 AM waiting for Will to get home from NH. His flight kept getting pushed back due to the wet conditions. But eventually he got in, we got like 5 hours of sleep, and now it's Monday and I'm back at work wondering exactly what I'm doing here (and wishing to God I was still in bed). 

Walking to work this morning felt like going through an obstacle course. We had to dodge some trucks that were parked right at the curb in the crosswalk, make sure we didn't get drilled into by some big construction equipment (that was so loud it practically made my ears bleed) and of course squeeze around the limping homeless people that take up 3/4 of the sidewalk. One man, who was waddling around asking people for quarters, had tucked his pants into his socks. I guess that's one way to keep your ankles warm? Or make a fashion statement? Not really sure what he was going for. 

It seems like there's always a construction project happening in this city. But I can't complain that they're keeping sidewalks walkable and streets drivable. It makes me think, though, about the budget problems the city is going through right now. We're very much in debt, which isn't surprising with the economic climate and other cities (ahem, almighty NYC) also faltering. But as with any situation like this, people are questioning what should be cut and what should stay. Mayor Nutter says he won't cut "core" services, like police forces, fire houses, and trash collection - which I think is important because we don't want more crime or dirt blowing through the streets (well... any more so than there already is). 

But he is going to cut things like library branches and city workers, and raise fees like parking tickets. (Read some of this here.) I want to jump on the bandwagon with my fellow English majors and proclaim the importance of literary outlets in the city, but I actually kind of agree with this move. I wonder how many people actually USE those libraries? And I know of lots of privately funded non-profits that work to ring literacy to the city. If they're so upset, why not get some rich donors to buy up a property and store books there? It's just as good as library. Don't get me wrong, I'd love for the government to promote reading since I think it's getting more and more unpopular as time goes on, but I think in a time like this, it's necessary to focus on getting the debt under control so that, in the future, we can have surplus to bring these services back and make them even better. 

In other news, last night I saw STELLA live and got their autographs after the show! How's that for arts and culture?