Sweet new hangout

It's been so nice to see the little park with the renovated fountain in
Florence center getting a lot of use this summer. It's in kind of an
awkward spot, essentially an island with no real way to get to it
without crossing a busy street (it's in the center of the area around
the Civic Center, VFW, etc), and I wondered how or if anyone would
actually ever hang out there.

The fountain was restored last year after city councilor Ray LaBarge gave the city a gift to bring the fountain back to life. He had voted to close it decades ago and said he always felt bad about it, especially when he drove by and saw it standing neglected.

Almost every time I walk by it now there are people sitting around the fountain -- mothers and their babies spashing in the water, young teens laying in the grass, older people cooling off on the benches.

A lovely new Florence hangout -- I have a fantasy that we expand the park by getting rid of that road that merges with N. Main Street in front of the VFW...it would make the park easier to get to, eliminate that sometimes-contentious merge (I saw two cars battling it out there the other day -- both drivers on their cell phones, both honking at full blast), and get rid of some unnecessary pavement.

Thanks for feeding my family

Yesterday was a bit of a frenzy (but nothing compared to today)...just one of those "this kid has a project due for school, and this one has to be at the mullins center for 3 hours, while husband has to go downtown to start writing a play in the next 12 hours" -- you know, a typical Friday.

My son was fretting about how he would eat, with the rest of us scattering to the winds (oh, did I mention that this crazy Friday also included the brand new stove breaking?), and we were trying to convince him that PB&J was a perfectly fine supper...then he any my husband went to Collective Copies to copy the pages for his project that's due on Monday, and what should he discover at our fabulous local copy shop?

Platters and platters of sandwiches. And not just any sandwiches -- these were from the Side Street Cafe. Jackpot! Phil and Tim were in heaven, and they both got their gourmet fix for the week. You've never seen such big grins on guys.

Turns out that this is the 25th anniversary year of Collective Copies so on the 25th of each month they're offering specials in the store and free food!

So we're marking it on our calendar and making sure we have something to copy on the 25th of each month. And we'll show up with empty stomachs.

Thanks, Collective!

Sign of the times?

A sign on the papered-up window of the old Medicine Shoppe advertises free rent on the space "while you prepare your shop."

The Medicine Shoppe closed last July, and Florentina's Pizza, which was
next door to the pharmacy, moved out about a year before that. At the
time, Florentina's owner Elvan Ozcelik said Cumberland Farms, which
owns the building, didn't want to renew a lease for his business. He
heard that the store was looking to expand into the space occupied by
the pharmacy and his old pizza shop. Both shops have sat empty since
the closing. Florentina's reopened in a new space about a few doors
down on Main Street.

I called the number on the sign (which goes to the Cumberland Farms real estate office), but they never called back. I'm assuming if I had an idea for a shop, they'd be more responsive?

What's happening at Mobil?

Whenever a truck pulls into the boarded up Mobil station in the center, it's cause for speculation, if not concern.

Today there are some trucks from Environmental Services there, as they have been on occassion in past weeks. 

A check with the building department says that no one has come in to get any kind of permits for the site...last time I called I was told that when you have oil tanks underground like that they have to be checked every once in a while to make sure they're not leaking...so that's likely what the trucks are doing there today.

The site is such a vital location in the center that everyone is on edge about what will end up there.

Time will tell..but I will keep an eye on those trucks, as will everyone else I imagine..