Cincinnati, OH

I rode a Greyhound here after taking the rental car back to Pittsburgh. As we approached Cincinnati, a young black woman in the back seat was carrying on a steamy telephone conversation with her significant other. Clearly her phone had a poor signal because she kept repeating herself, and speaking ever more loudly and slowly, seemingly oblivious to the fact that everybody else could hear the whole thing. Indeed it got to the point that the whole of the rest of the bus was plunged into an awkward silence. We all listened, eyes wide and facing squarely front, while she repeated herself one barked word at a time in a steely deep-fried Southern twang. "Baby. I. Can't. Wait. To. Touch. You. And. Taste. You. What? Say what? WHAT? I said, BABY! I! CAN'T! WAIT!..." And so on.

I got off the bus at Cincinnati, but I think she was going all the way south, so to speak.

Cincinnatus was a Roman leader in the 5th century BC who was famed for renouncing the supreme office, after a string of military victories, in order to return to his farm. George Washington followed his example in 1797 and voluntarily gave up the US presidency after two terms, once the survival of the republic was assured. The two-term limit was observed informally for nearly 150 years, until the exigencies of World War Two prompted Franklin Delano Roosevelt to go all the way to a fourth term. This in turn prompted the 22nd Amendment, eventually ratified in 1951, which enshrined the two-term limit into law. And now, 65 years later, the 22nd Amendment has prevented Barack Obama from running for a third term which he probably would have won, and we have The Donald instead. It only goes to show, doesn't it? Indeed there was recently a half-hearted campaign for 'Repeal The 22nd', to which Trump supporters responded with 'Repeal The 19th'. The 19th is the one that gave women the vote.

Anyway, Cincinnati is named after Cincinnatus. (Welcome to my blog, where It's Fun To Find Out.) It's quite a nice place; it's one of those mid-sized cities that's big enough to have an impressive skyline, but small enough that you can wander around and be the only tourist in sight. One revealing comment from a local is that Cincinnati is often used in movies as the stereotypical unremarkable American city. If a character is introduced as being from DC then they're probably a politician; somebody from LA will be in movies; somebody from Texas will be an oilman. Introduce a character from Cincinnati and you have a blank slate.

Personally I will always remember Cincinnati as the place where I watched the 2016 presidential election, and I will always remember the Roebling Suspension Bridge as the place from which I contemplated throwing myself into the Ohio River as I walked home after the result became apparent. The river marks the state line: Cincinnati is in Ohio but my AirBnB is in Kentucky. These two are the 15th and 16th states I've visited so far on this trip, and there's a few more to go yet.

Downtown Cincinnati.
From the top floor observation deck of the 45-storey Carew Tower

This photo is taken from the far end of the right-hand bridge in the photo above

Cincinnati by night from the Kentucky side

Wall mural at West Court Street

Ban this filth

Edd vs Fast Food #13
Kentucky Fried Chicken
In Kentucky!!
Yay!!

Edd vs Food #43
Cincinnati chilli at Skyline
The most disappointing piece of 'local speciality cuisine' I've tried since chicken Parmo.
Basically it's grated cheese, over tinned chili, over tinned spaghetti.
I used to get served better meals than this at Hill View Junior School.