it's the "historic" downtown of this city. which encompasses all of a few city blocks.

but the buildings, they're beautiful in that old, odd southern falling apart way.

and the churches, the ones that haven't switched to the money making churches with the parking lots that are bigger than a few city blocks, the parking lots that sprawl across streets and sternly post no parking signs, the parking lots that remind my friend andrew of theme park parking lots (ride the baptismal rapids! thrill to the judas hangman!, oh we had sacreligious fun back in our youth), the churches are inviting.

and just a short walk away is the river.

to get to it, to take the riverwalk, you've got to walk over this bridge that extends itself over the street. you stand on this great green bridge as cars, suvs, the occasional hummer, roll under you.

and so i want to bring someone here for a date.

i want to walk them around this small area, show her the old sprawling house that's now a red cross building with an amazing garden in the back. i want to show her the old stores and the eternal flame in the town square.

i want to show her the immense mural painted next to the renovated playhouse.

and i want to walk her to the river.

take her to the playground.

show her the hill andrew and i rolled down, years ago, on impulse, in the night, without bothering to think about all the rocks that surprised us and caused us to yell and curse, to the delight of our friends.

amazing smile girl, she emailed me back tonight. i was nervous, hesitant to open the email because i was sure she'd say "you're nice and all, but.."

but i opened it anyways. and i sat and read.

and then i got crazy excited because she said she didn't know what to say, but she loved getting emails from me.

i made her smile, she said.

which made me feel like bouncing off some walls, hopping from bed to chair and back again.

but i didn't. i'm more mature than that.