I work right smack in the downtown area of Columbus, Ohio. I know that most of the country doesn’t think about Ohio when they think about big cities, but Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Akron and Toledo all fall within the top 100 of the most populous cities in our country. According to www.city-data.com, Columbus is number 16, right under San Francisco.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say for this and had been pondering it this morning. I just got back from lunch and realized that just telling you about the past hour of my life can give you and idea of Columbus’ big city values.

As my friends and I were walking to get lunch, we were serenaded by a group of Mennonite women, men and children who were set up near the statehouse lawn. We honestly thought they were a recording at first because their harmonies were so beautiful. We selected a newly opened and locally owned restaurant that serves hearty burritos for five bucks. Like many towns and cities across the country, Columbus’ downtown area fell on hard times over the past few decades. Basically all that was left was state agencies, financial institutions and a few theaters. It isn’t back to its prime, but there are restaurants, shops and people moving in.

After lunch, we had a bit of sweet tooth, so we walked over to farmer’s market that sets up every Tuesday and Friday in the shadow of Columbus’ tallest building. A street is closed off and local growers sell their vine ripened tomatoes, corn, peppers and eggplants. We walked past them, as well as the ribs, the samosas, the baked goods and the New Orleans style sweets, to the guy selling his homemade organic soft-serve. Delicious and served with a smile.

We strolled a different street back and found ourselves in the middle of a gentle, yet organized demonstration. The group wanted to stop the use of nuclear and coal power and increase the use of wind and solar power. There were police officers on horses, but they weren’t really necessary because there was no one around disagreeing. One of the demonstrators put her sign down to give us each a little pinwheel to take home to our toddlers.

Hope
www.hopeandmegan.com
Columbus, OH