text by Dave Lewis, photos by Roberta Foss
The destination is Mount Philly to view and learn about its world renowned Mural Arts Program.
The vehicle is our chock-full fairly new bus, segregated with second-stop Lumberton fans consigned to back seats. The sound when hitting a pothole was eerily reminiscent of long ago trips to the opera on the old bus.
The “Trolley” was to transport us from Center City Philadelphia through North Philly and safely back home. Our guides were an enthusiastic and knowledgeable young woman narrator and a driver who steered our trolley through impossibly narrow congested intersections of Germantown Avenue. Their mission was to show us many murals, beautifully displayed on the walls of every size and shape building.
The history starts with those graffiti artists who were filling their nights defacing buildings and public transportation vehicles. Mayor Wilson Goode supported a plan that would beautify the city and would involve the same artists. The art would enhance and relate to its neighborhood. Quality would be emphasized. The results have made Philadelphia world famous. The explorers enjoyed the trip.
The meal came because we needed to be fulfilled physically as well as aesthetically. So it was off to Reading Terminal Market for lunch. Picture, if you can, a scene of chaos, seemingly a million hungry diners and a thousand different food providers and only a hundred places to sit and eat. I was intimidated, but followed Barbara H. and Jean N. who had plunged confidently into the maelstrom. We found seats and food (even curry for Barbara), and I realized that my earlier anxieties were unwarranted.
So home again, home again, jiggity jog, safely back in the care of our Driver, Bob C.