The Heartbeat of Broadway
Living on South Broadway in St. Louis brings distant memories to mind. The city never fully sleeps. From this lack of sleep Broadway brings on itself a colorful restless life. This is the street where nobody has a name and seemingly everybody plays their well skilled game.
Rising to my feet one morning I dared to catch the metro bus in the downpour of rain. And not to my surprise a homeless man asks me for some spare change so he may drink his breakfast. As I reached into my pocket, the frail man smiled. I gave that man what I had with a smile because by the grace of God there goes I. The man followed me into the “Shell” service station to buy his beverage and I bought myself a Mountain Dew. I payed for my drink and walked back outside. As I patiently wait for the bus beneath the canopy the old timer walks back outside and cracked open his tall can in anticipation for conversation.
The employees within the gas station know this man all too well. He’s been living on these streets for quite some time and in a way considered the ornament of Broadway. The bus pulls up to the stop and I climb aboard for another journey. Today I’m riding the route to learn where the bus will take me. The bus pulls away. Although these city streets are nothing new to me I can’t help but think about that old timer begging for change. An hour and a half later the bus pulls in to where I hopped on. No rain now, clouds in the sky promise more rain and my journey continues.
I make my way to “Broadway Bean”. Walking into this coffee house I am hypnotized by the stout aromas in the air. I order a coffee and find a place to rest and read. After a little Relaxation I head out for a stroll down Broadway. Countless times I’ve been approached on this street for change and the game continues. A panhandler offers me a compelling story about his car having broken down and needs a cab. This time I decide to deny and walk away.
It seems like everybody has a hustle on...