The Best Thing That Happened This Week

Photo | Brad Maule

The Schuylkill Expressway was deserted, coming and going. There were no backups on I-95 or the Walt Whitman Bridge. The parking garages were silent. In the warm, lovely autumn air, no bros gathered in obnoxious throngs at outdoor bars to ogle underclad females. Cyclists meandered along Market Street, not fearing for their lives. There were trash cans everywhere — and public toilets! As of Friday, you could score a Saturday-night reservation at Vetri. Or Vernick. Or Vedge. Time slowed down. Kids tossed footballs in the streets. Drivers waited for pedestrians. Security guards smiled as they directed the occasional bewildered tourist. For a few sweet days, we were a city even we were happy to be in — though it was a little reminiscent of The Walking Dead. Thanks, all of you who lit out for the week leading up to Il Papa. Any chance you could stay away?