Two Bicycles and Hopeful Signs

The other day I was sitting in the Brown Coffee cafe, getting some sermon prep done while nursing the city's best cup of coffee. From espresso-steeped silence, there was the sound of chain banging against metal.

"Someone is trying to steal your bike," said the shop owner dryly.

"Good luck," I replied, thinking fondly of the 9lb Kryptonite chain lock choking my bicycle frame.

"I guess it is possible," he considered out loud, "that someone else is chaining their bike up next to yours."

And so it was.

The coffee shop that only seats 8 now had two bicycles chained to the pole. That's a pretty good ratio. Too many more show up and we'd need a bigger cafe. And that would be a very good problem for the Deco District, which is still very much in the starting blocks on the race to revitalization.

We could use a sandwich shop, a bistro, a dry cleaner, a healthy church, a pizza joint, a live music spot, more vertical housing, a bakery, a mixed-use development, an old-school ice house, a streetcar, a BBQ place...really anything other than another tacqueria, convenience store, or payday loan shop.

When you're hopeful for the future and you can envision the day that the neighborhood is again a place for wholesome and holistic living, every little sign of progress is a big deal.

For now, one more bicycle chained to the pole will do.