Another exterior-only page today, worth checking out for the amazing way the building presents itself, but obviously lacking the interior exploration pages. They are coming soon. Until then, enjoy the images that mysteriously disappeared from the previous update page (when I transferred them to an appropriate folder but forgot to redirect the image source HTML; just one of the sloppy hazards of coding your own low-tech website)...Pondexter Tower.
Poindexter was one of the nation's original housing projects, built around 1960 on a then-much-nicer Mount Vernon Avenue, part of Columbus's near east side. Like Cabrini Green in Chicago and New York's notorious Kennedy Projects, Poindexter followed a slumping economy into a state of barely-functional ruin in the 1970s, then experienced drug-fueled mayhem through the 1980s as crack emerged and national drug policy simplified itself into a "war" on addicts and the nuanced genius of "Just Say No."
Daniel Dudzinski and returning champion Tim Chrismer lent me a big hand in researching the background of this hollowed-out residential tower, so I want to thank them. As I said, click on the Poindexter Tower page itself for full details and, eventually, an interior exploration of the place. If the rumors are true, it won't be long before the place is flattened to make way for a rubble-strewn vacant lot.
The "Forgotten Neighborhoods" section has turned out to be a popular concept, and I've received many tips which will help immensely as I travel the state and photograph our cities' worst parts of town. I'll construct a baner and add it as a major section of the site very soon.
Since I was last on here, some difficult things happened which kept me away from the computer. First, I turned the very difficult age of 30 on May 12. I know, I know; it's not old, I've never thought of it as old, don't sweat the small stuff. But I really can't help it. There's something about the inexorable way our odometers do manage to turn over that really gets me--but I've always been fatalistic about aging. I remember hating 20. This one actually depressed me, and I've not typically a depressive person. Then I came down with the flu, spent days recuperating in bed, and slept the Ny-Quil sleep more than half the time. When I finally did recover from that, it was like the sun had come back out, and I managed to shed my self-pitying birthday blues (though I'm still coming to terms with my new age).
More to come, as usual. Hopefully I'll have a good sample Forgotten Neighborhoods section laid out for discussion and improvement before very long at all.
So...guys can still be young and attractive in their 30s, right? Somebody reassure me!
One Last Thing...
Avon Sales!
Made Easy!
(With Free Delivery! No Shipping and Handling! Really!)
My girlfriend Mandi has become an Avon representative. She became a rep because she's a big fan of the Skin So Soft line, the Anew products, and the clothes. They do make surprisingly good products for men, and, embarassingly enough, I've even discovered a body spray and some moisturizing products I like. (You may not make fun of me for this.)
Avon not only deals in extremely makeup, bath supplies, lotions, and other beauty products, but offers a variety of merchandise including shoes, jewelry, childrens products, and even electronics. And it's all inexpensive, even though it's good stuff. Really.
AND, it is extremely easy to place an order online and have your products shipped directly to your house without any additional charge for shipping or handling whatsoever. All in all, it's a good deal.
Free shipping is no small thing, and if you're interested, I'd like to tell you how to get it. When you visit my girlfriend's Avon site; register (it's a quick and easy process); browse and shop (the fun part); and finally, to ensure free delivery, make sure to enter this Coupon Code: REPFS. If you have any questions or concerns--problems of *any* kind--please don't hesitate to call Mandi at 614-352-5988.
I am reading:
FICTION - Thin Air, by Robert B. Parker
So Long As You Both Shall Live, by Ed McBain
NONFICTION - The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson
Rejected: Tales of the Failed, Dumped, and Canceled, by Jon Friedman
