Swanton Way Decatur, GA (pic submitted by Stephanie)

Doing what they do best, a recent Onion op-ed satirizes nostalgia for the “old suburbs” while simultaneously raising a very apt and difficult question for 21st century America:  when does “convenient” become “too convenient”?

Long ago, in the Time Before the Best Buy, before the interchange expanded to six lanes and brought travelers and their foreign customs from Piedmont and Parkwood and Oak Grove, in that time before, there were park-and-rides as far as the eye could see and only two traffic circles. Now there are things called Game Stops and massive sprawling Wawas that tempt and delight with warm fluorescence and the promise of snacks and convenience.

There is nothing wrong with convenience, my children—indeed, it is the reason our ancestors trekked to Pine Bluffs from a place far east of here, past Route 9 and four more exits beyond, lo so many years ago in 1987.

But how far is too far?  Will this world around us become so convenient that we neglect the very fabric of our souls and DVR How I Met Your Mother to watch “when it’s convenient” rather than together, Monday night, over microwaveable McCain Ellio’s pepperoni pizza, as we have since time immemorial?

A couple weeks back, Mr. Chris Billingsley encountered a woman along Church Street who was wondering why city employees had recently removed all the vegetation from the old Church Street Bridge. (It is apparently located off the parking lot of this apartment complex.)

Well I for one had no idea there was an old Church Street Bridge!  So I followed up with the city about the clean up but have yet to hear a response, so for now Mr. Billingsley’s pictures will have to be “news” enough.

As the first pic after the jump shows, the bridge is engraved with the date 1899 and the name of DeKalb commissioner A.J. Freeman.

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Interested in starting a yoga practice?  Already doing some yoga but would like to deepen your understanding?

This week’s Free-For-All Friday is brought to you by Iyengar Yoga Decatur, offering a free Introduction to Yoga class series to one Decatur Metro reader.   The Introduction to Yoga class series meets 3:00pm-4:15pm for 5 consecutive Sundays beginning August 22.

To enter, just send an email with the subject line “Decatur Metro Giveaway” to .  Make sure to include your name and address in the email.   Iyengar Yoga Decatur will pick the winner at random on Monday morning.