Pope's Visit: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Philadelphia: sales, shop)

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

Also to tell you the complete 100% truth.. nobody ever even checked if I had a ticket. I emptied my pockets and went through a metal detector, but straight nobody ever asked me for a ticket or scanned mine.

Some checkpoints were for general public, some were for ticketholders only. I had to go through a ticketholder only one this morning (but as an employee of a building) at the INHP area. They were definitely checking for tickets.

Also about that Onion article. Anybody thing there may be a twinge of seriousness to it? If you recall, the Onion was briefly on Philly streets, but they wound up pulling out of the market and having some important staff member getting the snot beat out of her by a roving mob on North Broad Street.

When I first moved to Philly I wondered why they didn't have it here - and then it didn't last long when it was here.

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by FamousBlueRaincoat

Anyway a couple of obervations from my only day down there.

1) The BSL was nowhere near capacity at 8 AM or 7 PM when I was on it. I way overestimated how much extra time I'd need to get to work, even though I had to go through a checkpoint to get there. I essentially made it in as quick as usual. Didn't even take that much longer to get home than usual either, even though I had quite the walk from Washington Square to Walnut Locust.

2) Market Street was busy. Chinatown was dead. A ghost town. I felt bad for all those small businesses, some of which had nice displays outside selling food, and not gouging the prices at all. They must have made nothing. Even the chain restaurants around 12th and Filbert were empty. Reading Terminal wasn't especially busy - some vendors from inside the market were out on the sidewalk with pushcarts hocking food until they realized nobody out there was interested in buying either. Gave a bunch of food to some homeless folks so it wouldn't go to waste.

3) SEPTA's website that it forces you to view does suck because even though it answers all your questions about what's different, you can't get information about things that stayed the same. For example, I can take the H or L bus. They were running regular saturday schedules - totally inaccessible on the website and app - you needed to have a paper schedule on you like some kind of old folk, they only give you headways for buses that are running modified schedules.

Also real time inforation on buses seemed to be turned off - couldn't access it on the subway or the app. So it's just wait and hope. No idea where it is, no idea where it's supposed to be. Luckily the buses were empty and on time.

4) The SEPTA regional rail plan is so absurd and complicated the Transit Ambassadors at Market East station didn't understand it. They told people looking for the Media Line and Chestnut Hill West line to "go to 12th street" - when those lines only were stopping at University or 30th respectively. Had to take out my phone to convince the extremely confused natives and the transit ambassadors about where those lines stopped.

That's about all. A lot about this seems kind of disappointing so far - but these catholic folks were very nice and friendly folks to have around at the very least. Perhaps lots of people had unreasonable expectations about how much money they were going to spend at yuppie restaurants with little appeal to people coming primarily for religious reasons.

Heard a couple horror stories about it taking hours for checkpoints and moving through the crowds for workers along the parkway....glad that didn't affect me.

You are pretty much spot on if I was viewing it from a different perspective. No one could figure out the stupid website. literally no one. What if baffling, is one day I found an article from philly.com that actually had every single transit line listed with the status. I never could find it again after I saw it once. The ambassadors tried, but were incompetent for the most part.

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by FamousBlueRaincoat

Some checkpoints were for general public, some were for ticketholders only. I had to go through a ticketholder only one this morning (but as an employee of a building) at the INHP area. They were definitely checking for tickets.

I don't doubt they were checking tickets. But where did they check them out? At the security points? I wasn't in the "seated" area, but I had a general admission ticket and I sat in the next section behind the seats.

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by kyb01

I'm getting more and more pissed at the people who baled....who went to the shore or wherever. Look at this picture! So pathetic. It should be filled with people at least on the sidewalks. All the Negadelphians AGAIN!

I am with you lol.. We care too much , it is okay.

Philadelphia right now is like a little baby. If you change anything, even for a second, the baby cries.

For me though, its about the message: Pope to U.S.: Avoid a 'superficial quest for unity' - CNN.com

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

I don't doubt they were checking tickets. But where did they check them out? At the security points? I wasn't in the "seated" area, but I had a general admission ticket and I sat in the next section behind the seats.

When I got to the security checkpoint they asked me for a ticket - I told them I was an employee in Building X and they directed me to a separate line for employees.

Maybe it's just part of the confusion of mass security. I got through fine, they barely gave my bag a glance. Yet one of my co-workers had part of his lunch thrown out (and it wasn't possible to re-enter the secure zone at a certain time for a certain time - pretty ruthless). Different agents different experiences.

[thedirtypirate]

I got pretty close. I will always remember today as "viva la papa!" lol

[Lyndarn]

Responce to OP~~

The GOOD~~
Promotes Love of fellow man..promotes compassion..promotes Make a difference..Promotes seek common ground/dialogue..Promotes embrace those different than yourself..promotes less focus on material things but spiritual things...and so on!!

The BAD~~
Points out all the warts of materialism..points out the creating divide versus inclusive attitude..points out constant demand alternative cultures being blamed for whatever ills Politician's love to point to a THE CAUSE of problems.. (Yikes Trump comes to mind with his labelling all Immigrants..yet says it's ONLY the illegals SMH)

The Ugly~

Is what hateful..bigoted rhetoric that gets typed out by narrow minded folks!!
Hate is a very strong work..but without even using that term..the rest of such hateful diaries speaks volumes!! If the shoe fits..you wear it..IF it doesn't then you are NOT narrow minded as many love to post behind their anonymous screen!!

This is what I have gained and observed since Pope Francis arrived in USA!!

[rainrock]

Festival of Families seems like a let down so far.We'll see what happens tomorrow. Part of the smaller than expected turnout may be due to the hype and extensive security, and maybe Philly just overestimated the demand for this festival.

And of course the Pope having just spent 4 days in DC + NYC also may have played a part in the apathy.

Still hearing estimates of 1 M people tomorrow? Id be shocked if they got anywhere near that.

ABC 6 showed a night time shot of 13th Street which is usually jam packed with people dining and drinking. It was empty. They said the pilgrims werent spending alot of money.

[Janszoon]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

Also Stephen Starr is the most successful restaurant owner in the country (also one of the city's most prominent Jewish residents). Please don't ever say you feel bad for him ever again. Is it really that sad that all the hipster's left fishtown and aren't buying there $15 soft pretzel this weekend at Frankford Hall? Maybe everyone shouldn't have gone to the shore?

Is this directed at me? I never said I felt bad for Stephen Starr, I just said his comments were pretty telling in terms of how this event hurt restaurants downtown. I went out to eat in center city both last night and Friday night and the empty resturants were very noticeable.

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Is this directed at me? I never said I felt bad for Stephen Starr, I just said his comments were pretty telling in terms of how this event hurt restaurants downtown. I went out to eat in center city both last night and Friday night and the empty resturants were very noticeable.

It was directed at you and Yes, I did too go out. Of course it is noticeable more empty. My question to you though, what do you think we should care more about? The fact that one of the most famous people in the world is here and generating front page international news or that Stephen Starrs second most important market is at 40% capacity for the weekend?

I was wrong though, you never said you feel bad for him. Some people are blaming the pope/Catholics and that really is wrong in my opinion. It isn't their fault the normal yuppie philly people aren't spending money.