High Street Nostalgia
Freshly arrived in Columbus, Mike reminisces on the Short North during a stroll down High Street.
This is Mike George coming at you again from Columbus, Ohio, on this beautiful Sunday evening, 26 August 2023. After seeing the unexpected popularity of my point-of-view video down in Alexandria, I realized I’ve lived in Columbus all this time and never done a video on High Street, so here we are.
It’s back-to-school time, which means the area is crawling with young, impressionable OSU students and their parents, all out here buying overpriced textbooks and Ohio State apparel. I’m currently at 9th and High near the Southern Campus Gateway. It’s a bit sad, honestly; there used to be a Barnes & Noble right here, but now it’s just some restaurants I don't recognize.
For the veterans who remember the Columbus of "yester-yonder," the city is changing fast. The old buildings are disappearing, being replaced by these "Ikea structures" that look like they were pulled straight out of the catalog in Fight Club. We really need some better architects in this town—and better transit planners, but I digress. It’s mind-blowing how many of these Lego-looking buildings weren't even here 2-3 years ago.
The weather, though, is absolutely perfect — about 18 degrees. In a world full of weather calamities, we’re doing pretty well for ourselves in 2023, even if it feels like we didn't quite deserve to make it this far. I’ve got good old WANDA here with me, acting as my shield against stray motorists who aren't paying attention. If someone actually ran into me, it would be hilarious to beat the shit out of their car with WANDA, but I don’t think I could ever look at her the same way again. It really raises the question: if I’m in a fight with Wanda by my side, what song are we playing? I’m taking suggestions for the playlist, though maybe we’ll just practice on a rag doll instead of a real person.
Anyway, I’m going to wrap this up with a safety moment. I need to get off this phone and actually pay attention to where I’m going. So, coming at you live from Columbus: take care of yourself, take care of somebody else, and get the fuck off Facebook.
