It’s an American flag. It’s a horseshoe. It’s a … wait … is that a … a blue sunflower bending in the breeze? Some of the designs in the window-light displays of the Indianapolis Power and Light headquarters may take a while to decipher—ahh, it’s a capital P for Pacers!—but for locals, downtown visitors, and millions of people watching blimps-eye cutaways of the Circle during nationally televised sporting
What makes this Columbus institution really sweet is the counter-side charm of Wilma Hare and her fellow soda jerks, who will pull you an ice cream soda the way it was in 1900 and serve it with a side of sass: “When that ice cream hits the carbonation, it will explode like a volcano. And I will laugh at the look of panic on your face.”
FOR YEARS, TOYIN AYANGADE HAS been careful. She works early mornings and late evenings so she won’t have to drive past bustling parks and playgrounds. She stays in on holidays so she won’t have to dodge trick-or-treaters or see the columns of smoke rising from backyard family barbecues. Even in Walmart, she hurries past the bulletin board of missing children and takes detours to avoid the racks of kids’ clothing and towering shelves of toys.
