Inscriptions

Sidewalk at the Intersection of Center and Main, Formlee Tattoo.

At Formlee Tattoo. Mostly low rise concrete block and poured concrete buildings,  walls inscribed with chalk art and spray-paint symbology. Sidewalks offer up a colorful array of pithy remarks. Myriad neon signs, static and flashing, complete the visual cataract. Some years prior, we visited the berg and lunched in a cafe where the menu was inscribed on the waiter's right arm and the wine list on his left. Bemoaning his impending unemployment, he'd verbally assailed the chef's decision to remove beef and pork specials in an attempt to court the growing population of chicken and fish aficionados. (Note that some of the wait help had accepted skin grafts and others had reverted to skin colored sleeves to remove listings and other decorative accoutrement. Ours, a refugee from the 60s, summarily refused to take part in anything that smacked of a coverup.)

Government grant money has proved woefully inadequate as residents of the berg attempt to disabuse walls and sidewalks of utterances and commentary. Our remembrances of the neighborhood will be as indelible as the art. (Excerpted from Travels With My Aunt)