Earlier today the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette rolled out a nice piece on the very best fountains in Pittsburgh. Notably, Franktuary did not make the list.  And that’s exactly how it should be.

Since 2007, Franktuary has been without a soda fountain.  Those of you who go far enough back may remember the one that used to call our counter home.  What I’m sure none of you remember is the time its water line exploded overnight causing the entire kitchen to flood.  We used a giant squeegee to move water to our drain which, brilliantly, was installed at the high point of our floor.  But that has nothing to do with why we gave our fountain the axe.

It had to go because all of the soda options it offered came with a healthy dose of high fructose corn syrup.  Today we’re proud to say that not a single beverage in the store –soft drink or otherwise– contains HFCS.

Of course, we like fountains of the kind the Post-Gazette references every bit as much as the next frankfurter emporium in the back of a historic gothic cathedral.  Don’t for a moment think that Franktuary doesn’t appreciate a good public display of artistically flowing recirculated water.  In fact, we know the perfect place for Pittsburgh’s next great fountain.  Right across the street from us, where that half-demolished dusty, debris-filled malodorous eyesore of an abandoned building currently sits.  Yes, that would be a welcome change.

As Tim and I were about to leave the Cathedral this evening, the building’s fire alarm was triggered. It is usually activated by less-than-reputable folks who smoke crack in the bathrooms, yet we didn’t see anyone exit the building from that direction. A grill at Franktuary once set off this fire alarm during the most holy day of the year, Good Friday, in the middle of the most somber church service known to church goers. The building was evacuated. We felt really, really bad.

Today, however, the fire alarm was not our fault.

Also not our fault was the altercation outside between the arriving firetruck from Greensburg Fire Department (Greensburg is far!) and the black, heavily tinted Mercedes van with Russian plates. On the sidewalk directly outside of Franktuary were mingling Tim and I with our bicycles, at least 10 Russians in casual dress, the Cathedral custodian, a priest, and 5 fully suited firefighters. The van driver was trying to navigate out of his parking spot past the firetruck, the firemen were trying to figure out why there wasn’t a fire, and the Russians were talking amongst themselves and listening to us say “Welcome to Pittsburgh! Welcome to Pittsburgh!” We waited in hopes of shooting a photo with the Russians, the firemen, the diplomat van, the firetruck, the priest, and ourselves, but sadly, the van disentangled itself from the chaos and parked 20 feet further up the street. On the sidewalk. Almost immediately, the firetruck roared away. The diplomat van then rocketed off the curb in reverse, backing down the one way street past the Oliver Garage entrance while one of the Russians directed traffic from the middle of the street, waving his arms until the diplomat van pulled into the entrance and disappeared underground.

Apparently the Oliver Garage, directly across the street from Franktuary, is parking headquarters for the Russians. No joke, a priest told me!

Follow all of our stories, loosely gathered as “G20 Sights”, at www.twitter.com/franktuary.

Recently I was participating in a personal fitness class next to a young woman who was expressing great anxiety about the upcoming G20 Summit here in Pittsburgh. Granted, there have not been many advance details. The Downtown Partnership is doing a great job with their website, but let’s face it, the climate of the event is largely unpredictable. Who can know what will happen? Hence the lack of details. However, you should not miss this exciting multi-layered interactive security map, since your tax dollars most likely funded it.

There is a lot of fear in the air. Fitness Class Lady was talking about her fear of going to work, being at work, and getting home from work. My assumption that she was employed Downtown turned out to be false – she works about 4 miles from the Hard Perimeter (I learned this phrase from Jack Bauer.) I then assumed that she must live downtown to warrant her paranoia, but no, she lives 17 miles outside of the city. Seventeen! And her path to work doesn’t take her anywhere near Downtown, or through any of Pittsburgh’s famous tunnels.

Meanwhile, the entire staff here at Franktuary is wondering if we will be allowed to cross over the bridges into Downtown to get to work. We will be carrying IRS proof of employment and photo IDs. We’re waiting to hear if our bicycles are considered “vehicles” and therefore required be inspected at security checkpoints. We have heard, though it could be rumor, that we can’t wear scarves, hoodies, or certain colors. Costume animal heads are definitely out, so probably the hot dog suit won’t be kosher either.

It all makes me wonder why Fitness Class Lady is so afraid. Why are Americans so afraid? We’re the most comfortable people on earth. The G20 Summit is certainly causing the city some inconvenience, but I just can’t manage to be afraid of it. Of anxiety-producing situations, my husband and I ask ourselves, “What’s the absolute worst case scenario?”

Worst case scenario? Call me uncreative, but I can’t get much past Downtown being blown to bits. Which is certainly tragic and frightening to consider, but if you will think back to September of 2001, can happen to unsuspecting people anywhere, G20 Summit or not. I read a few autobiographies recently about lives in wartime: Germany in the 1940s, Iran in the 1970s, the Sudan today. There are truly unsafe places to live in the world, but we are not anywhere close to experiencing similar threats in Pittsburgh.

Which leads me to this simple conclusion: do not be afraid, people. Do not choose fear.

In fact, you don’t even have to be afraid of not finding a good meal on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th of September. We’ll be open extra late, just because we can, 10 am to 5 pm.

Franktuary is not afraid.