I wanna celebrate when 38th Street is finished (Hoppe, “Things I Don’t Get,” March 29-April 5).

I returned to Indianapolis over a year ago. I am living near 38th and Meridian, a major intersection, bordered by North United Methodist Church and Starbucks. Heading west on 38th from Meridian and along Crown Hill Cemetery to the Indianapolis Art Museum, heading east past the Monon Trail to the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 38th has been torn up, dirty, dangerous and confusing — for over a year and a half.

Eventually the businesses along this route will be anchoring a beautiful boulevard through the city; until then they experience a decline in business. And those of us using the northern Indianapolis traffic artery get our tires re-aligned, our hoses busy washing our cars, our windows hard to see out of and our customers hesitate to cross the dips in gravel for a road.

There are plans for flowers and trees and safe sidewalks. How lovely. The sidewalks are for walking (see Jane Jacobs’ The Rise and Decline of Great American Cities ’61) I would like to see a parade to celebrate this road RE-finishing finished. On my travels I have enjoyed many parades and often joined in with the music and dance on the streets. Back home again in Indiana; I would like to walk with my neighbors, both business and residents, smiling and waving.

Meet up at the corrals for the horses (they will bring up the rear of the parade and the farmers behind them to collect manure for their summer gardens). Offer pony rides for the city kidlings, meet at the Interchurch Council, meet at Crystal DeHann’s, meet at the Monon Trail, meet at Crown Hill, meet at Starbucks, meet at the Peace and Justice Center, meet at NUVO, meet at the Art Museum, meet at the Girls Club, meet at the Greek Church, meet at Ace Hardware parking lot, meet at Burger King, meet at Melody Inn, meet at ____________ — you get the picture/s?

What is needed for a parade? Smiles and waves. handsome fellas and gals in convertibles? Clowns, music, bands, balloons, children and candy, clubs, neighborhoods, dancing ... I would smile big if there was Willie Nelson singing “On the Road Again,” or the Beatles singing “Why Don’t We Do It In the Road?” A parade. A celebration. An acknowledgment.

Thanks for the time and effort, the money, the planning for EVENTUALLY a beautiful street. I feel like we have plenty of time to prepare, to consider our songs, our dances, our costumes.

And, David, I-69 will be done in time for the peak oil to be past peak ... what will our children be driving on that deserted highway to soothe some Evansville movers and shakers (besides the dull fellows who are building roads and making more money than they ever imagined). June Ellen Noble Indianapolis