The Art of Disappointment
June 8, 2024
I had intended to attend an art fair today, record a bunch of it and put it up on the vlog.
I was worried about the weather. Last night it looked like there was going to be thunderstorms this morning ending juuuuust as the fair opened at noon. When I woke up, the forecast had changed. The sky was crystal blue with big fluffy clouds. It was humid and warm. I was hoping for cooler temps after the storms. I got 80s and very humid by noon.
I rolled to the show, looking forward to getting some great video and pix. I wasn't looking forward to sweating, but I knew it would be worth it for some great content.
I got there about one. No parking. None. They had two small lots near the venue, packed to capacity. It being St. Louis, people took it upon themselves to park in places THEY deemed big enough to park, even though it might be dangerous or stupid to do so. Why shouldn't they park just anywhere? It's not like the rules applied to them!
I circled round and round. Eventually I found a parking spot near two dumpsters taking up four parking spots well and far away from the venue. It would have been at least a twenty minute walk in 84 degrees and high humidity. Back in the day, I would have sighed and got on with it. I'm not in that kind of shape anymore. I sat for a few minutes and finally drove away. I consoled myself with a chinese buffet. I ate the entire place.
I'm very disappointed with the event. Apparently this was the 20th anniversary of this fair. You would think that somewhere along the line they would have thought that in a town with almost no public transportation, parking might be important. Obviously not. Granted, I'm old and out of shape. But, I saw older people and families with strollers parking quite a ways away from the venue, walking uphill in that heat. Heatstroke is a real thing. I also saw churches and other private parking lots, completely empty. Perhaps the organizers could have worked with those groups? Hell, I would have paid $5 to park there. Those lots could have made thousands of dollars in parking fees this weekend. Also, driving around, the municipality has HUGE swaths of curb marked as “No Parking” - entire streets. Perhaps the organizers and the town could have worked out some temporary parking for this weekend only? I also saw some local businesses where their parking was going to people who were going to ignore the business and walk four blocks to the fair. Bad weekend for those businesses with their precious few parking spots. I bet those businesses have hated this weekend for the last 20 years. I saw a bookstore I wanted to drop into, but, nope, no parking.
I'm also very disappointed with myself. I really need to get my walking legs back in order. I know I'm getting older, but the idea that I can't reasonably cover a half dozen blocks of walking to and from a venue is just unacceptable. I sat there in my car, imagining myself getting to the venue and needing to sit for twenty minutes before I could walk around and then dreading walking back to my car - and likely finding a ticket for parking by those dumpsters.
This is all on top of another failure this week. There was a hole-in-the-wall BBQ place I remembered that I was hoping to check out and document. For one, I would obtain some amazing pork steaks! Two, it would have been great content. When I looked them up, it looked like the Covid lockdowns or the immediate aftermath forced them to close down. They likely depended on the local factories and warehouses for their business. Damn shame.
So, right now I am trying to find a way to rescue this day. I am trying to think up ways to make up for the content I wanted to produce. I'm thinking about getting up early and photographing a bridge.