Things Will Be Great When You're........Downtown

I am really amazed today at all of the traffic that was in downtown Janesville today. I think if I were the Janesville Downtown Business Association, I would have had a field day today! It always seems like the members of this organization are always clamoring for people to come and visit. Well, today, they have people and have nothing to entice people to spend....spend....spend!

What's ironic to me is people are there not to shop or visit the businesses, but rather to gawk at the river, which has become a swollen ribbon of water wending it's way through the center of the city. I am also amazed at how people are naturally drawn to potential disaster, like a moth drawn to the elusive hue of a lightbulb, or a lemming to a cliff.

If you haven't had an opportunity to gander, our Traxler Park is 2/3 of the way submerged under water, and no doubt businesses along the river are getting pretty panicky. Yet, everyone and their left-handed grandmother is out for a stroll along the riverbank, despite warnings not to do so. I guess it's no different from me sitting at home while the tornado sirens are going off, hoping to catch a glimpse of the ever-elusive tornado as I stand outside in the middle of my driveway. What draws us to such disaster?

To top it all off, have you ever noticed how people gawk at others' misfortune? I know I do. Perhaps it's our curiosity, or our need to self-validate that our lives could be worse. Whatever it is, I think that now would be a good time for two-for-one margaritas in the "Barmuda Triangle" downtown (can we still call it that with "Quotes" now there?), or perhaps offer a "catch of the day" special at a local eatery in celebration of our 100 to 500-year flood. Why not make it a family outing? Bring your kids fishing. Why not!

Instead of wallowing in our misfortune, again, make lemonade from life's lemons....and make a dime or two in the process! That, my friends, is what America is made of! Nothing says America like a grand (and soggy) sidewalk sale (or John Cougar Mellencamp)!