Last week, we tried something new in our ABCD journey:
opening a lemonade stand! What else says summertime in the neighborhood like
getting an ice cold cup of lemonade while strolling the sidewalk? While most
lemonade stands support the financial goals of a kid on the block, we made our
lemonade free of charge so that we might meet as many people as we could. Our
table on the corner of 32nd and Wyandot offered a rare perspective
on each walk of life in the neighborhood: four teenagers just finishing the school
year at North High, a few mothers with strollers, a realtor meeting the owners
of a new juice bar down the street, and everyone in between. As we poured each
customer a cup, they told us a little about their day and their connection to
the place. An older man was walking his dog around the streets where he grew
up. He lives in LA now, and was only visiting, but he stopped by and told us
some stories of being a young man in the North Side in the 1970s. Some who
visited our table ran into passing friends, or struck up conversations with
strangers. Life offers few spaces for these kinds of interactions: a chance to
take out our headphones, pause our busy walk down the pavement, and be with the
people with whom we share that pavement. We enjoyed the chance to share that
space, and look forward to the next step in the journey!
Questions for community:
-
When was the last time young people on your block put
up a lemonade stand?
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Have you said hi to a neighbor today?
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Have you heard a good story today?
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