C Street

I've heard some call Portland a small, big city. In lots of ways, that oxymoron works for me. One sure indication that it's not all that big is that every school has a name. We have no Public School 250. As a matter of fact, to my knowledge every school in Maine has a rightful moniker. Now, we have no 42nd Street in our claim to fame, but we do surprisingly have three of the oddest street titles. Just behind the Greyhound bus station, you'll find A, B, and C Streets. These street names have been there forever, and I have always thought it a bit of a joke that a city of this size had to resort to letters of the alphabet for 'creative names'. I do so love a good book or article filled with the assorted 26 letters of the alphabet, but these three streets in my book just have to go. Heck, I could throw some names in the direction of the city fathers. How about Birdman Lane or Birdman Drive? There, that took me about three seconds to come up with. I wonder what they are waiting for--- the perfect name?

By the way, rest easy tonight, I recently read that the three aforementioned streets are getting real names this summer. I wonder why it took our city so long. To me the idea that all streets should have real names is as easy as A, B, C.