Friday Follies...
Another weekend is awaiting us....
So, we're going to jump right in with both feet today and get it all going.
We're hearing about even more drought down in Texas.
There is an interesting story about a town called Robert Lee.
Here's the link to their plight:
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-08-02/us/texas.town.drought_1_water-supply-drought-contingency-plan-water-sources?_s=PM:US
Granted, the story is dated 2 August, but little has changed for the population of 1171, sad to say.
I'm hoping they get relief from somewhere soon...maybe a few rain dances couldn't hurt at this point.
(Hey, Obama, stop pointing that HAARP array at the USA)
*** Speaking of small towns and other places...
Do you remember the saying "You can never go home"?
How many of you are currently living in the same CITY you were BORN in...the same STATE? The same COUNTRY (even)?
Those of you that managed to remain in the same city all these years...I applaud you all.
It's certainly NOT easy to stay put because in the last 30-40 years, we've become a lot more "nomadic" people, and by that I mean (many times) we have "to move where the work is", or maybe we have to relocate for health conditions (they still do that), or even just to get the hell away "from the rat race" (where often times, the rats seem to be winning).
Our highway system, wonderful as it is, has made moving from *A* to *B* a lot easier - a small consolation.
Yet in today's crazy world, complete with recessionary parameters, tenuous incomes, no guaranteed pension or retirement, and once-secure jobs moving away from US (mostly AWAY from the USA), WE have to figure out how best to proceed with OUR lives, and the lives of our families.
I know when I was growing up, we moved around...a lot (it seemed).
I attended THREE different elementary schools (George L. Horn, Watson Comly, and Edwin L. Forrest, all in Philly), because we were (dare I say it?) ...RENTERS. It wasn't because Dad's job was moving all over....it was simple economics (read family income, or the frequent lack thereof).
Dad didn't quite make enough money in those days to BUY a house outright (even if they only DID cost around $12K...man was that ever a bargain, looking back), so we went from house to house, dictated by either rising rental costs, or lousy landlords (my folks WERE a tad picky with where they lived).
Still, in those days, a ROW HOUSE could be rented AS CHEAPLY as an apartment.
Dad finally managed to buy a house in 1966 (when I was in high school), and we settled in...finally.
Time passes, as do loved ones, and eventually, I found myself here in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
And that's about 1100 miles AWAY from a lot of what I knew (both people AND places).
So, the other day, I brought up some online MAPS of the neighborhoods I used to live in back in Philly. Was kinda curious.
What I found was considerably more disturbing than what I remember...
Most all the old areas were looking a lot more GHETTO than urban, if you get my drift.
Gone were ALL the places I recall, like Phil's barber shop, the corner deli, the TV repair shop, and the "five and ten" (Dan and Ann's).
Cripes, even the Victoria Bar was no longer open...now that amazed me.
Replaced by "nail shops", credit places and BBQ joints...some stores were even converted into housing. The streets were filthy (in the day, store owners would be out front SWEEPING DAILY as we went to school), and the cars were all too many in too small an area.
My old house in Frankford had been "tagged", and I could only imagine WHAT was living there now.
In another neighborhood, it looked to have fared better...didn't look nearly AS ghetto as the first place I "visited".
In fact, the house had some nice AWNINGS on the windows, and the block was relatively clean.
In still another neighborhood, the evidence of Section 8 housing was apparent.
Houses on the block were starting to look a bit less "friendly", and a lot more "government-sponsored".
The vehicles on that street told that tale...
And I know people that still live (and work the streets) there, and THEY say the areas are going downhill real fast.
That's a damn shame, because you remember your childhood, and that you had some great times with playmates in those areas of the city.
You were mentored by teachers in schools that USED to be open in those neighborhoods.
You were protected (and chastised) by neighbors who once looked out for one another.
That has changed...all of it.
And it makes me really sad to see it.
So, I suppose that old saying IS true...
You CAN never REALLY "go home"...again.
I certainly would never recognize the area these days.
And I definitely would NOT want to live there.
Gee, that almost makes where I live NOW kinda sorta worth it....just a little, mind you.
My wife can attest to much the same, as she grew up IN the house we now own, and knows what this neighborhood USED to be like when she was attending school. And what SHE sees today is also a far cry from the way it was.
One school she went to closed (Geier), the hospital she was born in closed, and in just the 14 years we've lived in Fort Wayne, she has seen over a hundred businesses go "bye-bye" from the SE side of the city, as have I.
Places we used to frequent when we first were married and living here are gone, like Frank's Nursery, and Southtown Mall. Even the Richards restaurant along with Casa D'Angelo and Lambros are all closed now.
It seems even when you "stay put"...too much changes around you.
Some would argue that change is GOOD.
I would agree, PROVISIONALLY.
If it's change that makes things BETTER for EVERYONE...works for me.
But, if it's change for change sake...I can't deal with that nonsense.
That simply helps no one but the damn developers, and the cash cow they create in the wake of such "progress".
(and we all know what the OPPOSITE of PROGRESS is, right? LOL)
Sometimes, even when you DO "go home", you never really are THERE totally.
You might be PHYSICALLY there, and you might even enjoy some emotional presence, but when you look about you and see what has happened over the years, it does wear on one's mind.
What we wind up doing is nothing different as how we deal with getting older...we ADAPT.
We adjust our lives accordingly, so that we might maintain a level of serenity, while acknowledging the fact that the cities we live in WILL "evolve", if such a concept can be attributed to them.
To me, evolution is about moving FORWARD...becoming BETTER (and not bigger like a lot of cities choose to pursue).
And as WE, the human race evolves, we don't do it peace-meal.
Our bodies evolve, our minds evolve, our technologies certainly evolve (often outpacing our ability to properly utilize them) and our goals may also evolve as we view the cityscape.
What we need to realize, is that evolution may include leaving things alone for a time...let them settle in and get comfortable (like a pair of shoes you're trying to break-in).
Evolution of a species OR a city cannot be "helped along"...it happens in IT'S OWN TIME...to prolong it's existence...period.
That's just the nature of the universe.
So, maybe we should stop trying to change so damn much so damn soon, and for all the wrong reasons.
Maybe, it would be better if we DID learn some lessons from times past, instead of sweeping it all under the carpet.
Then, perhaps we could stopping chasing our nomadic existence, and sink some roots into the soil...for a change.
That would involve this nation reclaiming it's place in the world...when we made more things, had more people working, had less poverty, and basically did a lot more...with a lot less.
And we seemed a lot happier.
It's just a thought.
Have yourselves a great weekend.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and as always...
Stay safe out there, America.