Ghost Town, NY

With the exception of Saint Jerome and his twin sister, his whole family, generations in fact, were born and raised in Niagara Falls, NY (the twins were born in Buffalo). Anyway . . .

Driving back to Junie's house, we passed through downtown Niagara Falls. Once a bustling metropolis, it is now a ghost town. Actually it's worse than a ghost town — it's a ghost slum. Driving down Main Street, it was kind of disheartening to see 98% of the storefronts boarded up. The only buildings that didn't seem to be boarded up were the new, poured concrete library (that looks like a prison) and the brand, spanking new Police Headquarters.

Maybe things will get better with the casino there now that you need a passport to go to Canada and the casinos there.