Stories

The Downtown Food Truck Scene: A Taste of What’s to Come

My first days in a cloudy downtown Toledo were underlined by a disjointing juxtaposition. Empty streets and buildings matching the sky’s overcast tone were...

Poetry for People Who Hate Poetry: #1

“I, too, dislike it.” Marianne Moore, “Poetry” But you don’t hate it. At least that’s what I hope you’ll discover as you read this column. I don’t want...

Living La Vie en Rose at Boyd’s Retro Candy

A few years ago, I heard a rumor about the city deciding to bring in public opinion before it embarked on a project to...

Becoming Michael’s, from Ellis Island to Toledo

When I was in third grade, I remember my parents being asked at a parent-teacher conference why I always talked about “hanging out at...

Rustbelt Coffee: Brewing Post-industrial Authenticity

The endless rectangles of glass skyscrapers reflect light onto empty pavement. One parking lot, however, houses cars continuously. This stubby brick building might struggle...
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A Moment of Silence

Join Midstory in a moment of reflection as we remember those lost 17 years ago. After that day, unit members of Toledo's very own 180th...

Memoirs of a Toledo Childhood: Hand-me-downs

My parents’ house payment was $52 a month back in the '50s. We had nothing, and there were no extras; we had one pair...

Toledo and World Emoji Day: A Culture of Relevance and Permanence

What are emojis? Are they faces or words?  Even the world-debut of Emoji’s definition from a major reference (Dictionary.com) is cautious in its description....

Finding a Midstory in Environmental Crisis: The Toledo Plastics Project

Everyone now knows that there is an island of plastic sitting in the middle of the ocean, and, most recently, that companies like Starbucks...

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