Herban Sprawl

The local Democrats are experiencing a lot of upheaval lately. In the county, they have accused their chairman of malfeasance. The chairman has responded with a lawsuit.

In the Star City, the Democrats have had a huge schism for a few years now. So much so that a trio of candidates, truly good Democrats, ran as independents and were endorsed by the Democratic mayor and vice-mayor. This irked the Democratic Committee to no end, but they set themselves up for a coup and that’s what they got.

I can’t speak to the county’s woes, nor do they concern me overly. The county is its own worst enemy and they get what they deserve. The city’s issues do concern me, though, because it’s where Big Kitty and I pay our taxes and vote.

Several years ago we elected some very forward-thinking members of city council who managed to take a stand and push a project forward without a ton of dithering. (This town is famous for its dithering.) What was going to happen is that a train wreck of a stadium, which was rotted out due to being in a flood plain, was going to be relegated to the ministrations of the wrecking ball, and a new stadium was going to be built near the Civic Center. This was a hunk of city-owned property that needed to be cleaned up and the stadium project would provide the impetus for using that property to the city’s advantage. Then a bunch of outraged citizens decided their obsolete and crumbling stadium needed to be saved. They elected two new councilmen, who ran on the platform of saving the Wreck of the Hesperus, and this knocked out two progressives who had voted for the new amphitheater. And that’s when it started to get really ugly on council.

Before leaving office, a progressive changed her vote, or we’d have an amphitheater on that brown field today. When I asked her why she did that, she replied she had had enough and decided to let the dynamic duo have to live with the consequences of trying to get something done in the face of opposition. I still haven’t forgiven her. She made it personal instead of doing something that was in the city’s best interest, which was her job as a councilwoman.

Once again it is time for spring council elections. The Democrats started the ball rolling by overthrowing the committee hierarchy and electing someone with no baggage who they hope can bring the party back together. It’s time for these yahoos to come together and do what’s best for the citizens and not their personal political fortunes.

The list of Democrats who are trying to get on the ballot is getting longer by the day. I wish I could say I was excited about any of them, but I’m not. It’s not that I’m a one-issue voter, but I keep thinking about that piece of land they graded and readied for an amphitheater. I haven’t heard any of these people suggest building on the site that’s already prepared, using a plan that’s already been designed. Instead, they are all talking about putting an amphitheater right back in the same flood plain where the whole mess started.

I woke up to a beautiful snowy day. This is the way it’s supposed to look on January 17^th. Here in SW VA we have been rather droughty, so a major snowfall like this is quite welcome. Big Kitty’s van got stuck on the little hill that climbs out of our holler. He came back for a snow shovel, grousing because the people at the end of the street are stupid enough to park their vehicles right at the corners. Well, if someone slides into them, they’ll learn, I guess.

Normally this is a day when I’d fire up the gas logs (allowing all the heat from the radiators to go up the chimney), make a huge pot of tea and pull out Pride and Prejudice for the umpteenth reading. However, I dug around for my boots (vintage 1980), parka and headed out to take a few pictures. I was actually going to see if BK was still stuck, but he’d gone on and a Beamer was instead spinning in his place.

I love to see a Beamer spinning. It reminds me of the jerk who, driving on a suspended license, bashed into the back of my Pontiac at the corner of Fargo and Greenview during the Blizzard of 1979. He got a dent on his hood and tried to blame me. Unfortunately for him, he ran into a girl who knows a dipstick when she sees one! (My nephew is doubtless scowling and muttering epithets, but then he is an anomaly as BMW owners go.)

In 1967, we had our first snow day on January 16^th. (And the only snow day in the entire 12 years of my school days.) I remember this because I rode to the bus stop on the hitch of my dad’s snowplow tractor, hanging onto his buffalo check jacket and trying not to lose my velvet Beatle hat or books. When I got there, I stood around in the space he plowed for me until Julie finally stuck her head out her front door and screamed, “There’s no school, you idiot! Get in here and thaw out!” Coffee, Herb Alpert and Julie. It was a great day!

So a snowfall for the 17^th is normal and proper in my worldview. And, since it is Benjamin Franklin’s birthday, it is an auspicious day to launch a blog dedicated to topics that sprawl all over the place.