The Ural Pass

This is what my street looks like when the cherry trees are in bloom. The trees are rather old, and at some point are going to have to be replaced with spindly little new trees. I'm glad I happen to be living here while they're still big and magnificent.

The little pedestrian walkway in front of the church is technically a park. At one time it was a street, and connected what is currently Salem Street with Mattoon Street. The residents of Mattoon refer to this park as the "Ural Pass," and sometimes I do feel I'm on the other side of an unbridgeable divide.

When I was shopping for houses, I looked at a beautiful home on Mattoon Street, and one on Salem. I chose Salem Street, and I don't regret my choice.