Chautauqua 2014

Responsibility

67C.143bRemoval of elected officers of consolidated local government --
Hearing -- Vote of council -- Appeal -- Vacancy.
Re: Removal of Metro Council
I believe the statute is fine as is. To push the responsibility to a citizen group is shirking of responsibility and snarls the process.

Christmas Wishes for the South Louisville Community

1.  No one is homeless.


2.  Hunger is eliminated.

3.  A livable wage is available to all.











5.  No one is deprived of medical care.
6  A popular restaurant opens at the former colonial gardens site.
7. Thornberry's Pie Shop comes to New Cut Road.

8.  Representative Butler and Senator Clark work with Kentucky's Transportation Secretary to correct Palatka Road Safety issues.

9.  Iroquois Park is fully funded and resumes normal operating hours.









10.  New Cut Road streetscape for the 5400 block is fully funded for the first time in 50 years.
11. Area transportation needs be fully funded.
12 South Louisville business partners to create a neighborhood development corpo
ration.
13 Suburban neighborhood walkability is improved.





14.Iroquois/Jefferson Forest be marketed as a regional tourist destination.

15.  The Centennial Celebration of the Auburndale Chautauqua be celebrated.







16.  TARC develop a plan for in ridership.

Teen Suicide

Thinking about the recent incidents of young people taking their own lives and those who push them over the edge.  A learned behavior right?

Grocery Shopping and Disability

Thursday - Went shopping "for a few things"in a trip that took 2 hours.  As many of you know I have a neurological condition that keeps my head pointed to the floor.  What I discovered is this:  most of what I needed was on the top shelf (why is that?) and there is not map of store layout.  In addition the store employees were all helpful and customers gracious..  Conclusion, yes life is more difficult but there is goodness in the world if we just reach out.  We need one another. 

Frontier Thesis Run Amok?

Sitting here tonight composing a letter on a computer, not pen and paper, to be transmitted over a cable system that has since swallowed about a dozen or so smaller systems, while I hear all around me about billions spent on bridges by jurisdictions having no money on a community that has long since deindustrialized and not recovered while planners frantically scramble to slice and dice the once thriving remnants of neighborhoods into smaller and smaller compartmentalized areas divided by asphalt and concrete.  When is it time to stop, look about and say no more?  If this is progress, I fail to see it.

A Strange Encounter with the Courier-Journal During the Past 24 Hours

Friday Reflections

 

It has been about a month since unplugging from the CJ.   Since then I received the usual flood of calls pleading for me to ressubscribe.  Yesterday, I received an email offering the promise of $250 if I would participate in a 2.5 hrs. Focus group. Well and good I would have done so for free.  Called the number and the other end put me on hold and finally went to menu. Called once more and voice said we ‘DON’T REALLY NEED YOU”.  Well file it way.  However received another call while writing thi snote, to which the voice replied I was told to follow up.   The conversation ended when  told once again, “ We really don’t need you”.  Unplugging was the  right decision.    

Celebrating the Old Ways My Grandparents "Dee and Gram"

Minnie Estelle and Henry Walker West June 1916

Some 50 years later mid 1960's


 Rediscovered these photos this morning.  Sort of jumped out at me with remembrances of by gone days.  Notice the similarity of poses after 50 years.  Sitting and standing, but always SIDE BY SIDE. Gram and Dee's as we all called them rather than grandma and granddad WWI generation parented Americas' Greatest Generation the men and women of WWII.  They have been gone nearly 40 years now but how their memory lives on.  Simple lives with kind, generous, stern but  loving hearts to the end.

Todd Whitener - The Man and His Music

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Equality of Opportunity or Being Managed?

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 Friday Reflections
Assuming this piece of information that flies by us (one of millions) each day is accurate it brings to mind the question of equality of opportunity. Does in fact everyone have... an equal chance or is that a manipulation? If the wealth squeeze continues where will it end. Idealism comes into question.. We hear about the data mining underway to protect us from terrorism, well and good. But what about the millions of bits of data we freely provide over the internet each day, Are we quietly being managed and where will it end? What are the signs of change?  Remember the subtle command "log on to learn more".  Yeah right!

June 7 1944 - Have heard No mention od D Day

I  have heard no mention of the day today. 

."No Man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation." General Douglas MacArthur

Gotta Watch Those Bad Habits

Coming up on two years of retirement. I must say that life has not gotten any simpler,  However,  I have had the opportunity to redirect..   workday time, that is 60 hours of commute and workday to personal community service

One carry over bad habit involves procrastinate, that is an inbox containing complex issues.  It was beginning to grate on my nerves.  So Monday I eyed that ugly stack of "to do's" sorted, alphabetized them,  Than came developing WORK PLAN. 

What I have learned is this,  stall cannot say no to volunteer'  HOWEVER THE BRAKES ARE ON AFTFG SEEING POOR QUALITY WORK PRODUCT.  THAT  IS CHANGING;
SO BEAR WITH ME,

Metro Budget - Another Perspective

Today's CJ editorial begin with "Things are looking up ..." .  Well and good and I commend the Mayor for the document.   However each of us need to be reminded to look down, that is at the wreckage created by the great recession of 2008.  To the first timers who experienced loss of everything including homes.  To the countless thousands of homeless,  To the families that live two and three deep to keep a roof over their heads.  To the elementary school child that comes to school with a candy bar for breakfast.  To the Moms and Dads who seldom see their children due to need to work 70-80 hours per week just to meet basic expenses.

The Old Testament says it very simply:

Leviticus 25:35

³⁵ “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you.

 

Certainly care for the needy includes state and federal obligations.  However answering the cries of the heart is a community wide effort and Louisville has the tools to address it.

Friday and Several Houras to Go!

To Do List

Dr.  Appointment  Done

Surgery - Scheduled

My medicine - on Schedule

Trolley hop Details - arranged

Yoga exhibit - access arranged

Unexpected med test - Scheduled

Time with Cindy - Some

luncheon - missed

Exercise - None

PERSEVERE

Luke 12:22

 

Do Not Worry

²² Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.

Friday Wrap-up

When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alexanderg409116.html#tPdMeoFEm4rii0C4.99

Whether Bell or Keller said it first, it is useful.  It's Friday afternoon and I have a half dozen or so projects at various stages, the latest being the Centennial Chautauqua Celebration and with the continual development of Parkinson's I am spending more time at he computer.  Working TO DEVELOP the children's portion of the program and a 1 minute promo video.  It came together and I thank GOD each day for the chance to serve..  NEVER GIVE UP

In the Shadow of the Twin Spires

Friday Reflection -
As a child living within a few yards from Churchill, Derby time came to be part of the routine of every day living. Sure the house we lived in is long gone and so are many of the shops, stores and restaurants (A&P, Earls Barbershop, Downs Cafe and Cozy theate)r. However the bugler call to the race at Derby time lives on. A special thanks and welcome to all the race fans that have helped this City and CD continue to shine on our Kentucky home.

Trolley Hop – the Day Before

 

Woke up this morning to the sound of cargo planes in the far off distance and the occasional automobile on the “new cut road” (early morning don’t ask) as it was referred to nearly 100 years ago.  Not much more than a muddy wagon road periodically flooded by that pesky little stream called the Ohio River.  Today we.re putting on the final touches on our shopping, parks and entertainment venues for the New Cut Trolley Hop while 100 years ago south Louisvillians were clearing field and raising tents for the eagerly awaited Chautauqua events, a popular series of events at that time.

During 100 years the Auburndale Improvement Club has been replaced by the Auburndale Neighborhood Association, the roadhouses that became notorious during prohibition are no longer here (although liquor sales available just extended) and that pesky Ohio is behind the floodwall.  Some things remain the same.  We still read the morning Courier-Journal, experience the warmth of South Louisville hospitality, and feast upon the beauty of Iroquois Park from my front door.

We’re not raising tents for a Chautauqua, but rolling out the trolleys.  We’ll see you tomorrow.  We’re rolling out the carpet and showcasing our best.

We've Struck an Iceberg I Think?

Living in Louisville all my life has been a rewarding experience, I love this City but I must ask is everything as it should be?  Well no and let me explain.  A few observations.  We are a number of cities created and split by highways.  That is I 65 from north to south and the Watterson from east to west.  These concrete curtains and something called the "southwest outfall" charted Louisville's course.  Yet there were countless other factors I could not get a handle on.

I read an article recently that helped to shed light on the City and how it evolved  Here are a few terms that I both troubling and enlightening that describe Louisville:

Issue #147, Fall 2006

Privileged Places Race, Opportunity and Uneven Development in Urban America By Gregory D. Squires and Charis E. Kubrin

Here are but a few examples: 

• Place and race continue to be defining characteristics of the opportunity structure of metropolitan areas.

• Dominant features of metropolitan development in the post-World War II years are sprawl, concentrated poverty and segregation (if not hyper segregation).

• Clearly, these are not separate, mutually exclusive patterns and processes. Rather, they are three critical underpinnings of the uneven development of place and privilege.

• Spatial and racial inequalities are directly associated with access to virtually all products and services associated with the good life – e.g., health, education, employment
• Compounding these troubles are the “mental maps” many employers draw, in which they attribute various job-related characteristics (such as skills, experience, attitudes) to residents of certain neighborhoods.

• Such decision making is framed and limited by a range of structural constraints. Individuals exercise choice, but those choices do not reflect what is normally understood as voluntary.
  
• The end result is often an unintended subsidy of private economic activity by jurisdictions that compete in a “race to the bottom” in efforts to attract footloose firms and mobile capital, starving traditional public services – like education – for resources in the process. A downward spiral is established that further undercuts the quality of life.
  
• Colorblindness is often a euphemism for what amounts to a retreat on race and the preservation of white privilege in its many forms. In a world of scarce resources, class-based remedies dilute available support for combating racial discrimination and segregation.
  
• Many suburban employers are unable to find the workers they need, in part because of the high cost of housing in their local communities. Often there are local developers who would like to build affordable housing and lenders who are willing to finance it, but local zoning prohibits such construction

To access article click here:

If policy is largely responsible for getting us where we are today, then policy can help us pursue a different path toward severing the links among race, place and privilege tomorrow.

To me these descriptors apply to Louisville.  Are we turning a blind eye?  Maybe we do not have it so good.  The solution or acceptance?



 

Evil in the World and America - 73 Years Ago

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A Gratifying Day

Nothing really specific to "reflect" upon  only that life goes on.  Sometimes you look at life as one large chocolate pie not really sure where to take the first slice from.  It all looks good.  So the slicing begins.

Put out a few paragraphs  about flooding in the south end over the years and its affect on how the area developed.

Continued development planning for the South Louisville Community Ministries.

Heard that a dear friend passed away earlier in the week.

Had a great lunch at PRP Pizza with Mike.

Saw what a unifying force that basketball has on this community,

A positive visit with my allergist.

Enjoyed the eternal friendship of my Wife

Encouraged to see progress as the Trolley Hop Develops.

So t seems that life is a continual process of looking back, reacting to the present and taking stock of the future, thus the chocolate pie.  The common thread seems to be with God's help, Serving.  Come Monday, time to begin slicing once again

Technology - Abuses and Dangers

I am ending the week with the knowledge that:

Secretary of States Office on-line registration system has allowed a business to be created and allowing that company to remain unchallenged in use of my home address.

You say BIG DEAL!  However consider this:

The company is an unlicensed electrical company.

The phone number  I called looking for the company is false.

Unfortunately, a number of Internet companies in a rush to sell services have identified it a going concern. 

Check your address to make sure your home has not suffered a similar abuse.  It appears that a business can be created using false identify and remain unchallenged.

I keep thinking about that group that was caught in Bowling Green a few years ago. 

Remember the phrase used in the banking  crisis "to big to fail"?  We've reached another plateau.  "to big to care".

Quality of Life and Time Saving Gadgets

Today is spent devoted to my desk top computer.  It seems that an updated browser was not agreeing with one of my programs.  I took the advice and switched to another browser.  Well and good  that was settled temporarily.  I later discovered that other programs had passionate dislike for this new  kid on the block.  Tried again only to discover the browser three had clip and paste and video compatibility.  Advancements?  You are kidding me!   We're turning our lives to technology at a frenetic pace.  I say it is time to "reboot"!

Mayor Fischer's Give a Day Week

I want to commend the many thousands that participated with the projects accomplished during this past week.  However I want to call attention to the thousands of heroes that remain unsung.  Those each day who deliver meals to the elderly, pack food pantries, volunteer to answer phones, devote hours to neighborhood causes and mentor at local schools.  Volunteerism makes a big impact on the quality of lives of some many.  The reward is service.  We need you. 

Memories Come in All Shapes and Sizes

A family member posted this picture on Facebook today.  You may ask why?  Believe me like each of us it is all aging. 

The paint is peeling and the plumbing leaks.  However like this home we are filled with loving memories that cannot be erased,  They are there for eternity.

Troublesome Terms - Truth or Fiction?

 OPPORTUNITY: a favorable juncture of circumstances <the halt provided an opportunity for rest and refreshment> 2: a good chance for advancement or progress

equal opportunity 1) n. a right supposedly guaranteed by both federal and many state laws against any discrimination in employment, education, housing or credit rights due to a person's race, color, sex (or sometimes sexual orientation), religion, national origin, age or handicap.

_________________________________________________

We have been hearing of late such terms as redistribution of wealth, access to opportunity and see all the latest charts and graphs on such worrisome subjects as the fiscal cliff and financial Armageddon.   Well I question if this is anything new or are we simply becoming more aware in this age of digital journalism?  If so, what are the consequences? 

I ran for office many years ago having the idea that opportunity and access were there for the taking.  Upon doing so I discovered an invisible structure of power and influence to be n place that people closed ranks around the incumbent and the opposition infiltrated the campaign.   In fact a member of the opposition was discovered serving m campaign.  Log before "dirty tricks",   I must admit in my innocence that such tactics caught me totally unaware.

Point being, it is my belief that wealth has controlled democracy from the beginning and opportunity and access are only a dream.   The question being will America survive selfish interest?

PD Anxiety

Traveled to the Community Ministry today where I sit on the board of directors. Stopped by a local grocery for coffee. While there some folks stepped aside to allow me a faster access. Arrived at the office and a persons shouted across the lot, "can I help you". All with compassion. If I had been in their shoes I probably would have done same. In a restaurant I feed myself differently.  Leading Sunday School on rotation. More diffickt than befire bt akk are understanding.  I have discovered the most difficult are those who do not know how to react to me.

Sure there are giggle an stares and always will be, but they do not control mine or your life.

A few weeks ago I walked into Church and saw the greeter in the distance and (with my head slumped forward called out I need a periscope". I heard a giggle in response and the stress was gone. About 15 years ago I was walking the corridor of City Hall. I sensed someone behind me. Turned around and discovered it was Muhammad Ali. As I approached the door I opened it, extended my hand as said "hello Champ" to which he gave a gentle smile.

Little did I know. . .

Sometimes a PD public encounter is like the first date jitters. Once done, its OK.

The Village of Louie – the beginning

 

In this modern fable we hear the story of Louie, the quiet village by the river.  All was peaceful until several years ago when Louie attacked the surrounding lands.  From that victory came the Kingdom of Louie.  All went well for several years until the King noticed the treasure room was becoming increasingly bare.

“What shall we do” asked the King of his advisors who replied “more tribute is needed.  Many serfs are suffering and the countryside is in need of repair”.  The King asked in a frustrated manner “where will the tribute come from.  I have my priorities and cannot be bothered with these everyday expenses . . . “  to which his advisors replied “your ruling class does not want to be bothered or responsible, Let’s go to the serfs who must purchase their products”.

Rather than levy a tax directly against the serfs it was decided give the serfs the power to tax themselves.  In the end everyone felt good, the serfs became poorer and the kingdom of Louie’s treasure room was refilled.  For a day all were filled with that warm and fuzzy feeling and the Kingdom of Louie was filled with treasure.  The King was happy and the ruling class relieved.

Reflecting upon Wednesdays Families Helping Families Event

 

In SLCM Strategic you'll read a quote Michael Harrington who states in his seminal work

The Other America, "It is an ethical proposition, and it can be simply stated: In a nation with a technology that could provide every citizen with a decent life, it is an outrage and a scandal that there should be such social misery....We must perceive passionately, if this blindness is to be lifted from us. A fact can be rationalized and explained away; and indignity cannot."

SLCM whose mission states

To exist as an interfaith association of churches, established to coordinate the efforts of various services to the community in order to enhance the religious, educational, social, health, economic and community development to improve quality and dignity of life.

Simply stated, I could not agree more.  Since the great recession of 2008 cities across America have looked inward for ways to revitalize, renew, and redevelop themselves or whatever you want to call it.  Inwardly urban America is dealing with deteriorating infrastructure, housing in place long after its projected life cycle and thousands of families left behind in America's urban core. The SLCM community of 80,000+ occupies that core and we're the operating paradigm that renews our community.

On February 27 families, many with deep South Louisville roots, corporations such as Churchill Downs, and Saints Mary and Elizabeth Hospital  joined Annual Fund co-chairs Dolores Delahanty and Tim Firkins in what  will be a turning point in South Louisville history.  

So Little Effort

Received a bill this week for part of a medical procedure that I did not receive.  The doctor made the decision at the last minute that it was not necessary.  Apparently the system broke down.  It was a small mistake, but nevertheless an error.  I had signed a form a few minutes earlier granting permission.  After all was done I told my Wife that I did not receive the service but thought that we need to check billings as they arrived.  Well sure enough we were billed. 

I later checked with insurance who paid the bill and  informed me they were they had the invoice in hand indicating the service had been performed ($400),  Rather than the company following up I was told to "call the doctor's office "who performed the procedure.  When told of the error their recommendation was for me to contact the invoice  originator of which I have done.   Well it is not a lot of money, but no one seems to care.  Since then I have written the originator noting the error and asking for correction,  What is disappointing is the fact that no one in the billing cycle seemed to care.  It would have taken so little effort.   How much more could be controlled simply if someone cared enough to follow up?

 

Feb 15 - My Birthday and other Stuff!

Havin' Fun

Birthday memories?  I am not sure why I was thinking of this particular one, bur my 10th birthday came to mind.  It was 1959 and I was sitting in our family car, 1954 Chevy Bel Air.  Parked at the Zorn Avenue location it was early afternoon; Mom and Dad were visiting my Uncle recovering from back surgery.  Don't know why it stood our because I cannot recall any other events that day.  But I acted responsibly. Fast forwarding 7 years my father was killed and I reached ot to my Uncle as a special one until his death is 1991.

Fast forwarding to 1989 my 40th birthday.  Cindy and I had met her 3 years prior and proposed to her on Valentines Day 1991.    I know today will be filled with surprises.  40th birthday!  Oh my gosh, a long time ago.

Is Facebook Evolving?

Feb 1
Sitting the den today and out of the bitter cold and filled with miscellaneous thoughts.  The unintended consequences of Facebook and other social media always amaze me.  Posted a photo of a neighborhood from my childhood and discovered a former work colleague had family members in the area.

Yesterday I met with area business owner about an idea that will enhance value and potential of the New Cut Trolley Road Hop.

Discussed with another individual the issue of poverty, impact on families and ways to eliminate needless “silo thinking”.

I am reminded of the parable in the book of Matthew:

4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Our words have value.  Sow them wisely.