5 on Friday - sinkholes, blue blocks and such

Five things that are on my mind this Friday:

1. Aldi is coming to our neighborhood! We’re in a bit of a grocery dead zone, hence the excitement. The new store will be located on Pleasantburg near the Home Depot. About the brand - Karl and Theo Albrecht founded Aldi together in Germany, but a disagreement in 1960 over selling cigarettes caused a split; the stores north of the Rhine & in part of Europe would become Theo’s Aldi Nord, and Karl’s Aldi Süd would be in southern Germany, the U.K. and Ireland. Today both companies operate in the U.S., Aldi Süd as Aldi, and Aldi Nord as Trader Joe’s. And I bring this up because both companies sell French and European products that we grew to love while living in France. For those curious as to what a French expat living the US would buy at Trader Joe’s, please read French Girl in Seattle’s Trader Joe’s 10 Best French Finds. 

Source here

2. The new trolleys officially have their new route and now their new signs indicating trolley stops. We’ve not taken the trolley since last year, but look forward to many future trips. To download the map showing the trolley route and stops visit the Greenville City website here. Now if only they had an app utilizing GPS, showing potential riders where the trolleys are located at any given time…

Photo on left courtesy of the Greenville Police Department's facebook page

3. We had to reroute our usual way to the library due to a giant sinkhole! The picture on the left is from the Greenville Police Department's facebook page, I didn’t get to it until repairs had begun – picture on the right. I’m not bringing this up because of having to reroute to get to the library, instead it’s the nature of sinkholes that gets me; one day a giant chasm just opens up! Luckily this one didn’t swallow any cars (that I know of).

4. The Children’s Museum of the Upstate has brought back the blue blocks. I was hardly able to write that, much less say it! (brought back the blue blocks, blought black the brue bocks…) The boys are happy, I’m happy. The Simple Machines exhibit is an introduction to engineering teaching children to recognize and understand six types of simple machines (levers, wheels and axles, pulleys, inclined planes, edges and screws) as they design and build structures of their own. The exhibit will be in Greenville until May 17th.

Mr. Bobby Parker, source here

5. On a more somber note, our neighborhood butcher Mr. Parker has passed away. Reading his obituary told me so many things I didn’t know about the kind man who always welcomed us into his store with a smile and hearty hello. Mr. Parker was originally from Mississippi and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Afterwards he lived in Detroit and was a decorated officer of the Detroit Police Department for 17 years, also attending Wayne State University. Having moved to Greenville in 1970, Mr. Parker founded Parkersway Food which has served customers in the North Main area since. I’m embarrassed as to how little I knew about a man that was always so kind to us, always took the time to tell me he valued our business and was happy to see us. Mr. Parker taught me that here in the South a spatchcocked chicken is called a ‘split chicken’ and his freshly ground beef always beat the stuff to be had at the big chain. Even during his illness he always had a smile for the boys. My condolences to the family… He will be missed.