Some friends and I have a tradition. We attend a local art class and follow it up by trying a new restaurant. Typically we like to try something that no one in the group has had before and the more we stretch the better. I’ve driven past Westport Road and Broadway numerous times, but until one winter day, I hadn’t noticed the quaint Merekesh Café tucked just south of the bustling bar district.

Flickering florescent lights, the smell of burnt coffee, and pleather chairs situated throughout a large awkward room at the end of what seems like a never-ending hallway. Yes, it’s the hospital waiting room. I look around and I see all the different groups, each doing something to bide the time—knitting, watching TV, blogging, nervously chatting—we all have our way of coping. The doctors, nurses, chaplains, aids, they all come and go with a routine like this is an everyday occurrence—but for each person sitting in the uncomfortable chairs it’s no routine day.

We all love our hometown. It is held in our eyes far above other towns—its qualities magnified and its downfalls forgotten. This phenomenon only increases if you have moved away. Which is exactly why when a good friend invited me to his hometown for a weekend, and talked about its magic and beauty I was skeptical—by the time we had to leave I couldn’t have agreed more.

With the weather heating up, you have probably walked through your house and felt that some rooms are stuffy—feeling like the air is stagnant and heavy. A ceiling fan can add comfort and at a reasonable price! We did this whole project for under $100.

As I sit on my front porch, cup of coffee in my hand, my two dogs watching the squirrels pass by with great anticipation, I pause. For there quietly blowing in the wind, with the sunrise behind her is Old Glory. Just seeing her takes me to a different place, a place full of memories, some of my own, and some of my countrymen. This 234 year old lady has seen quite a lot over the years, and brought us quite a lot too.