First Friday

In a recent blog I ranted about how poorly Galesburg compared to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Today I want to praise Galesburg for at least getting one thing right. On the first Friday of each month from May to September they close off South Seminary street from Main to Simmons and have a bit of a party. This is the view from the north side of Main looking toward south Seminary street.

The restaurants and shops on Seminary Street are open and they get a fair amount of additional traffic. There is always a live band playing and often they get pretty good groups. The entertainment this time was Jera and the Absolutes.



Jera and the Absolutes are a rock and roll band who most often cover songs from the 70's to the 90's. I will admit to enjoying bands with female lead singers. Groups who owe their success to Joan Jett and Leta Ford, The Bangles and groups similiar to them. Didn't we all at one point or another want to walk like an Egyptian. We all know that Cindy Lauper was right and girls just want to have fun.

 

Just past the band they had set up a super sized Jenga game. The game used pieces of 2 x 4 lumber sanded smooth about 10 inches long. The game drew a fair number of voyeurs interested to see how the kids did with the game. I will be honest, they were young about 20 or so years old but given my advanced age any more kid refers to anyone under 50. I'm not so sure the game was as exciting as these kids were trying to make it. The competition was fierce and vocal taunting was allowed. 

The young fella to the left was the eventual loser. The young man barely in the frame was the winner. I must give him credit, he worked quickly making his decision and not hesitating when he pulled out a piece.

No game is complete without a woman trying to tell the men what to do. The good news is that she was trying to direct both of them so there was no way she could lose.

The crash and burn. Maybe they should try that to add another level of excitement to the game. Flaming Jenga. It will probably never happen, my idea for a high voltage version of Operation never caught on with any of the toy companies.

There was a vendor in front of one of the shops trying to sell these unique looking musical instruments. They would have to be a decorative item for me as I have zero musical ability. They tried to teach me in junior high school but my inability to determine if a note was higher or lower than the previous one and my refusal to practice made my participation in band short lived.

The group this month manning the area was Carl Sandburg College. They had various groups of students out honing their skills. I agreed to allow a couple of the nursing students to take my blood pressure. It was somewhat higher than it should be and they expressed concern. I responded with my usual comment that as long as I had blood pressure I was okay. High might be a concern but no blood pressure was a far more serious issue. I was above none so I figured I was good. They also had students there from cosmotology, paramedic and dental programs. I didn't want the full treatment so I stopped with a blood pressure check.

So Galesburg, in your battle to win tourists and get people downtown, not a bad attempt. It is clear that one Friday a month will not be a game changer. So think of things for the other three Fridays. Maybe a special deal on Saturday morning now and then. Perhaps something outside of Spring and Summer.

The best part of the experience was that a cold beer at Budde's was just a short block away. I could drink my blood pressure down or at least go until I forget it was high.