Going up the wrong street

Yesterday Jane Genova blogged about Brick & Mortar Squirrel Hill (Pittsburgh, PA) in play. She showed an image of the intersection of Forbes Avenue and Murray Avenue. (I grew up in Squirrel Hill, and lived within five blocks of that intersection for over two decades. On October 15, 2018 I blogged about going back for My fiftieth high school reunion). Then Jane whined that:

“Shopping, dining and people-watching were brisk on the main drag – Forbes. In this era of the crash of brick and mortar retail, Forbes seems just fine.

But I didn’t decide to stop driving. There was no parking, except in pay-for-a-spot multi-level structures and on-the-street. Those spots not tagged for payment frequently were categorized as only-for-an-hour.

So, the merchants on Forbes lost my business.”   

Had she done some research (asked a local), they would have told her she was ‘a bissel meshuggeneh’ and simply looking down the wrong street. Only a block or so of Forbes Avenue – from Murray Avenue to a little past Shady Avenue is filled with shopping. But Murray Avenue really is the ‘main drag.’ If Jane just had turned right at the intersection she would have found about eight blocks of shopping - and some parking lots. Google the phrase ‘Mineo’s Pizza House’ with the address of ‘2128 Murray Avenue’ and then look at the map.  

Also, back on March 8, 2017 I blogged about how ‘In play’ is a stale old phrase from sports. Instead try something else like ‘up for grabs.’