The primary objective I have with both people and things that I encounter is to discover their true essence. I abhor facades, am able to see through most of them, and will not be sticking around long when I can’t get to what’s real. Alleys, backdoors, back roads…that’s where my soul is drawn. If I’m talking with another human and they are fronting me more than the usual amount that we all front, my interest will quickly wane, and the same applies to places and things. For instance, as a kid I loved theme parks. But as a grown man, give me a natural park full of blooming azaleas, or a mountain hike full of blazing Autumn colors any day over a fake creation that charges me 2.4 billion dollars for the privilege of walking in its fake malarkey.
Alleys are peeps into the fullness of a place. That’s where the trash goes, the cook and a waitress go to smoke on their break, it’s where staff (or people that don’t want to draw attention out front) come and go, and basically, an entirely different world within the world out front is taking place. I dig that. I want to know that world, too. If I’m going to love something, like a city or a street, I want to see the ugly, too, not just the beauty. I want to see the whole picture. Which brings me to the Governor…
For the first time since my youngest daughter began attending Florida State University, I was exploring downtown Tallahassee last week. It was the end of her first year and I was there to move her out of the dorms. I have now seen and walked most of the beautiful campus, and I’ve attended a football game (though in 2020 and both the team and Covid made that a huge disappointment). I now have a good feeling for the essence of the university and I like it. Although, the dorms provide a great example of what I’m talking about here. She was in one of the newer constructed buildings and it had a pretty and fancy name, and from the outside its construction was pleasing and pleasant to the eyes. But on the inside it might as well be a prison. The outward beauty only conceals the cold uninspired interior, and that is what I’m always digging to find out. Is this person or place gold, or are they/it just fool’s gold? That dorm is fool’s gold, but it was paid for and got the job done for one strange year during a global pandemic. Next year she’ll have better accommodations and a more blossoming experience. At least that’s my hope. So anyway…my hotel was right in the heart of Florida’s Capitol, and I took a long morning walk to see what makes this place tick. I very much enjoyed myself!
There are many cool little alleys in between the buildings and side streets, such as the one I am using as the cover photo for this article, which is a beautiful use of such an otherwise tiny dark space. And then from the other side of the street I spotted a wider alley that looked like it had a lot of character, so I made my way across the crosswalk and headed that way to take some photos. When I turned the corner to look into that alley, there was a well dressed man carrying a briefcase walking towards me. I saw him, looked away, and then did a sharp double-take…
“Hold on…is that the Governor???” When I did that double take, the man, whomever he actually was, Governor or no, smiled in that way that famous people do when they know they’ve been recognized. Here’s the part where I’m now kicking myself…
My default mode of operation in a circumstance like that is to just mind my own business and keep on strolling. And that’s exactly what I did. But the more I thought about it, the more I wish I was more obnoxious and would have just gawked long enough to determine if that was really him, because the circumstances hold a lot of evidence to the very real possibility that it was. I was in the area where all the government business is going on, that alley was very well taken care and looked like a shortcut that important people use to move around without easily being seen, and just the way he looked at me when I double-taked as I noted, which was acknowledging I recognized him. He was all alone, which would be unusual for a Governor, but that’s the greatness of alleys. “I’m just going 30 ft down the alley. You can relax. I’ll be right back,” he probably said to the security. Who knows, but in my head, that was the Governor I’m nearly certain.
And if I was more aggressive? It would be a selfie of me and the Governor of Florida as the headline of this piece, and not another alley that isn’t even part of this story. That guy very well might be President one day (DO NOT BOMBARD ME WITH POLITICAL COMMENTS – I’m just telling a story here) and I could’ve had a rare pic like that. Ah well….but it just proves the point. Alleys are magical. You just never know what’s going to go down in the alley. The next time you walk by one take a little peek. You might see a huge cat. Some cool art. Maybe even a dadgum major political figure 🙂
Gary A
BONUS ALLEY COVERAGE…
This is my favorite alley in the world – the alley between the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN and Tootsies Orchid Lounge. Nowadays it’s pretty well known and even has its own neon sign as shown above. However, I’ve been hanging out in that space when I’m in Nashville since I was 19 years old. What makes it unique is (in magic alley style) famous people come into the Ryman often through the side door located there, and back in the day, a lot of the stars that would be performing that night would pop over through the alley to Tootsies to get a quick beer or whatever. It’s a really cool spot. The reason I started hanging out there had nothing to do with stars. I just really hate slammed to the rafters tiny places, and Tootsies is always slammed to the rafters. I love the bar, I just can’t take that tight of crowd for too long. So, almost every time I’ve ever been there, eventually I’ll work my way through the throngs and out into that alley. I love it out there.
You can still see and hear the band playing on that floor as it’s open air looking in from the drummer’s pov (which being a drummer, I find cool). You have plenty of elbow room and can actually breathe. And best of all, there are always people out there smoking (because it’s an alley) and some of the best bar conversations with strangers I’ve had happened right there. I have a blast every time. My brother always has to come looking for me when he wants to move on down the street, but he always knows where I’m going to be. Right there in that alley, and usually in an animated conversation with a group of people.
Alleys are magic 🙂
Second Place is for Winners... 