On Havana Street. And Why I Hate Automobile Dealerships

When my sister Susan first moved to Denver after she sold her townhouse up in Fort Collins, we watched a number of television commercials about Havana Street in suburban Aurora. Those commercials told of an exotic world filled with fascinating shops and quaint restaurants featuring food from all over the world. I have lived in Denver for over 40 years, driven down Havana Street many times, and know what it is really like, but Susan still insisted on seeing it for herself. And, of course, once she did, never asked to see it again. I was thinking about that when I drove my car to an automobile dealership on Havana Street yesterday morning to have 3 recall items taken care of. I was thinking it would not take long, but was told it would be an all-day job. I had no intention of sticking around in the waiting room, but as usual, had no money on me for the bus. I decided to walk the 2 miles down Havana to my bank branch, and another mile to the bus stop, and got an up-close and personal view of all the car dealerships, strip malls, car washes, fast food outlets, and big box stores that exotic street has to offer. In fairness, there are a lot of ethnic restaurants on Havana, but they are mostly stand-alone buildings surrounded by large empty parking lots, which for some reason does not remind me of Paris. Or for that matter, the charms of Gary, Indiana. Who the hell put together that ad campaign, anyway? Surely no one who actually saw that street. Probably some ad agency in New York. The swine.