day in court

I worked in downtown St. Paul for almost twenty years. We moved the office over here to Minneapolis seven years ago, but I find that I still have a certain fondness for downtown St. Paul. I just don't get to stroll the skyways over there much anymore, where once it was part of the daily routine.

Today I had to go over to St. Paul to testify in a client's divorce trial. I was sort of nervous about that -- it's kind of a contentious divorce -- but I stayed remarkably calm and relatively articulate, and, on some perverse level, I ended up enjoying being up there on the stand. Before I went to the courthouse, though, I had some time to kill and walked through the skyways and reminisced. Or maybe I just was missing being seven to twenty-seven years younger.

Stopped for lunch at a cajun fast-food place where I used to go there in the skyway (they have great bourbon-chicken), and the same people are still working there, and the lady was happy to see me.. "Long time no see!"... Then after lunch, I was walking by the security desk at our old office building, and the security person, a wonderful woman named Sabrina, called out to me and seemed excited to see me again.

There are times when it's nice to be anonymous in an urban setting, but it also feels kinda special to be recognized and remembered.