Walk this way, shop this way?

Man, weather like yesterday just really makes you want to stay bundled up under some covers. The last thing you feel like doing is getting up early on your supposed vacation day to go stand in the rain, which is exactly what I did.

I admit, it was my fault. That's what I get for being so freakin' nosEy (that spelling is for Joel who insists that the correct spelling for nosey is actually 'nosy.' But ahhh, according to American Heritage Dictionary, I'M RIGHT!) Anyway, skipping half of a vacation day to voluntarily get the scoop on the latest retail coming to southeast Shreveport just made sense to me at the time. I mean I LOVE being the first to know stuff and then telling it. That's just how I am. It's why I RUSH to get the CD the day it comes out. (Yes, I still buy CDs!) Or, if I'm lucky, I'll magically have a burned copy of it BEFORE it comes out. To sum it up, I just like to know stuff and I like to know it first. But yesterday morning, as my alarm was going off waaaaay too early in the a.m. and I heard the heavy downpour, I wondered what in the world was I thinking?!

Anyway, so if you read the paper today, you saw we're getting a DSW Shoes, possibly a Borders bookstore (yeah, like Youree Drive really needed another one of those) and a host of chain restaurants that we've heard of forever, but never been able to get to without traveling at LEAST 3 hours away to Dallas or some other major city.

I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed because I was hoping for something a little more in retail offerings like, I don't know, maybe a major clothing store like Urban Outfitters or something. But the shoe store is definitely a gain because we just do NOT have enough of those in this town at all.

As someone who's from here, went away to college and basically lived in New Orleans for 4 years and returned after graduation, I have to admit, this place has definitely grown when it comes to retail, but I still think we've got room for more.

This is what I scratch my head about though and lately, I've heard alot of people ask the same thing: Why is all the retail growth in Shreveport mainly going to southeast Shreveport instead of other areas? What do y'all think about it?