PYGMALION

No place in San Diego is more colorful than the cluster of stores, restaurants and coffee shops on Fifth Avenue between Robinson Street and University Avenue. For many years I have watched as small businesses have tried to adapt to changing market trends. Beginning and completing a short section of the avenue, two Starbucks coffee houses are successful where Gap and a couple of other clothing stores have opened, struggled for a few years, and finally gone out of business or moved to other locations. Two second-hand clothing stores have managed to stay. Although I’ve never actually gone inside either of them, I walk by often to enjoy their window displays. At “WEAR IT AGAIN SAM,” the clothing is said to be “vintage,” not “used” or “second-hand.” The mannequins in the windows change their costumes often. I’ve never been on the street when the change occurs; but when I pass and see them in different clothes, I think of Pygmalion and imagine the window dresser falling in love with the mannequin that obviously gets the best costumes. She’s the one with the Mona Lisa smile. She knows something.