The Wandering Dude: On the Banks of the Ohio

Yesterday was  a day of travel, first to Atlanta International Airport, then to Cincinnati, Ohio. It is one of my favorite cities for I have one old friend there and many new ones.

There are two approaches to the city from the south, one on I-75 that offers a breathtaking view of the central business district, the other by a ferry that deposits you near where I am staying. The sailor in us usually opts for the ferry although the city planner in me appreciates the drama of the skyline.

The city oozes history. Every famous person in America, it seems, has some story here. A prime stop on the Underground Railroad, it was here that Harriet Beecher Stowe began writing "Uncle Tom's Cabin. The Ohio River figures in American Foklore right along with the Mississippi. It is amazing to think about all those who have followed this river to their distiny.

Did you know that Cincinnati was ther first city in America to have a professional baskeball team? It's true. They used to have also, it is said, flying pigs. One story is that the legend came about when they would drive the pigs through the early moring fog to the river for transport and, with only their upper bodies visible, they appeared to be flying.

My profession honors Cincinnati native and attorney Alfred Bettman, who mastered the Supreme Court ruiing in Ambler v. Euclid, a ruling that gave American ciities the right plan and enact zoning to carrry out those plans.

But I like Cincinnati most for its people. They like to have fun. You might say we all do, but there were times past in the backwoods of Arkansas, from where I come, that having fun was considered sinning. We still carry, I afraid, some vestiges of that, so it is always nice to be with folks who have made the process of having fun into an art form.

So, more later, right now we're going to enjoy ourselves.