Dream, American

Hunter S. Thompson's 'savage journey to the Heart of the American Dream' originated here in Louisville. Although born and raised here, the city has been loath to acknowledge or celebrate him. Ain't entirely sure why that is but I have some suspicions.

With that lack in mind it seemed a little investigating was called for, so I set out to see if I could find the American Dream here in Louisville. Headed for the part of town known as the Highlands which coincidentally was HST's old neighborhood.

The neighborhood is home to a weird mix of wealthy liberals, hippies and hipsters, artists and alcoholics, and Mitch McConnell. Despite that last denizen it is the deepest blue dot within this decidedly red state, which makes for a unique place to search for the American Dream.

Although I was ultimately unsuccessful in locating the American Dream I did find signs of it. Or signs of something at least...

Still not sure exactly what, weirdness maybe. A while back there was a "Keep Louisville Weird" campaign that turned into a cliché, it's ubiquity matched only by its insincerity.

None of that explains this. Not sure what 'Arts & Crafts Dental' consists of and I'm not exactly eager to find out. The name conjures up thoughts of Elmer's glue and glitter and there's no way you can associate that with dentistry and it not be terrifying. Across the street, right next door to the hardware store, was it competitor, Gentle Dental, which was it's own sort of suspicious.

No American Dream would be complete without the mail. You have to be careful though, if you get within 6 feet of them they're liable to go postal. The vehicles also have the nasty habit of bursting into flames. Sounds about right to me.

Speaking of things going up in smoke, we have that locally cherished establishment, the head shop. In the state of Kentucky marijuana is entirely illegal and likely to stay that way for at least a few more years. Meanwhile the city is refusing to prosecute petty weed charges so within the city limits it is effectively legal. Only in a dream would this situation seem reasonable, right? Does that make it part of the American Dream? _{^{H/T to George Carlin}}

I think a cereal killer lives here. Maybe they'll make a true crime TV show about it, or at least a podcast.

In this land of competitive consumption you can hardly look for the American Dream without at least a cursory search of a shopping mall. Here at Mid-City Mall the lights were as dim as it's future and it was hard to see much of anything.

Searching for the American Dream is exhausting and my rides here, hope you enjoyed this #wednesdaywalk.