As one of the editors of Arlington Today magazine, I help proofread the pages before they get to your hands. And in this issue, the “All Star issue,” I have been going over each All Star recipient with much zeal. I love this issue. It’s always amazing to see what readers love about Arlington.
And as proud Arlingtonian, I agree with our readers on the
All Star choices.
I had a problem, though. I needed to write an “All Star” column. I picked a topic, but it wasn’t gelling. I couldn’t figure out what place to highlight this month.
Until I came across a proof page about Dixie’s Charms and More.
Man. Seeing that name kicked me into the past.
When I was a pre-teen, my mom bought me a charm bracelet. I filled it with charms of things I loved or wanted in my life. Looking at it reminded me of when I wanted to be a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heel and play soccer there (solely because Mia Hamm did). Become a doctor. See France. Live in New Orleans. I had charms for all of these ambitions and more. And though I didn’t do all of these, it was still fun to reminisce.
I had an “aha” moment. I would write about Dixie’s. It would be a nice nostalgic piece about what –
Then I came across a proof for Texas Live!.
When I first went here for a work outing, lunch and drinks with colleagues, I found myself lost and kinda overwhelmed by the shear coolness of it all.
Dorothy, we weren’t at Globe Life Park anymore. And this multi-hyphenate venue is a regular Emerald City. And the wizard has happy hour deals.
I had a blast the couple of times I’ve been there, and loved the food, fun and atmosphere. Even one of the bathrooms had this really cool baseball floor tile.
How cool is that?
Now, I was leaning toward writing about Texas Live! Write a piece about the future of Arlington and it’s quest to –
Then I came across proofs for Mac’s Bar & Grill and El Arroyo and Prince Lebanese Grill and Pet Resort in the Gardens and…
You get the idea. Place after place that made me fall in love with Arlington kept showing up in my inbox to read. And I found myself trying to write about one All Star, but realized that it was too hard to do so.
Because Arlington isn’t a place where one person/business/organization shines – hundreds do.
The city is known as the American Dream City, and man, do we deliver. It’s a place where all these “All-Stars” create a diverse hub for well … everyone.
It’s a city where I can still get charms for an 18-year-old charm bracelet from the original store, and I get to watch a sports game on a giant screen in the coolest social complex that rivals things I’ve seen in Orlando or Las Vegas.
It’s a city that understands it’s nothing without its All Stars and the people who voted for them.
So instead of picking one place to highlight, I would rather recommend trying them all.
You won’t be disappointed.
Sara Pintilie is a distinguished writer, editor and photographer who calls Arlington home. In her column, she offers a millennial’s take on things local.
