August 23, 2007

renewal and rebirth

I'm glad to see activity in the group. I even learned something in reading Scott's posts. I didn't know Blue Moon Lagoon was in the neighborhood.

I'm eager to learn more about the RUN steering committee.

I'm sorry to learn of Keri's move out of the neighborhood - hopefully, like me, she'll stay nominally active as a former resident.

I hope the start of the school year is going well for all the schools in the area, and I hope that everyone is finding a way to be involved in the education of our future generation. Perhaps RUN already has a group for the Hands On Nashville Day (www.hon.org) in support of MNPS locations throughout the district.

August 15, 2007

Scott's Blog - Global Warming Hits the Nations!

another post by Scott Gillihan--a RUN resident who lives near West Park...

I have a couple apple trees in my backyard that I’ve tended for several years. It’s been a tough year for those trees, as it has been all over the region. My apple trees usually are in full bloom on April 15, tax day. This year they bloomed early because of the mild winter only to be bit hard by a late frost. Now those trees, and all of us, are suffering through the worse drought and heat wave in memory.

The effects of this heat are everywhere. From the smaller tomatoes at the community garden to the parched Maple trees in front of St. Luke’s to the trickle that used to be Richland Creek. It’s a global problem, but it hits very close to home. And I believe it’s only going to get worse as we keep putting our coal mines in the atmosphere.

There are two courses of action we must take. First, let’s make a real effort to cut to amount of electricity and gasoline that we consume. Remember to recycle, reduce and reuse.

Secondly, we should try to look ahead and plant trees and bushes that are more heat tolerant. I’m an amateur naturalist, and I’ve seen how my hibiscus, a tropical plant, is surviving much better that my viburnum which is better suited for northern climates. I’ve seen a lot of “trash trees” like sumac and elms thrive, while the pines are suffering.

It will take a lot of work to plant and care for the fauna of the changing climate, but it’s better than watching the trees burn without a fire.

August 14, 2007

RUN Election Results

At the August RUN Neighborhood Association Meeting, officer elections were held. Here are the new officers for the neighborhood association:

President : Mr. Billy Walls
VP, Robertson Area : Ms. Cynthia Black
VP, Urbandale Area : Mr. James Bradford
VP, Nations Area : Ms. Gina Ruff
Secretary : Mr. Scott Gillihan
Treasurer : Ms. Norma Hand
Steering Committee : Mr. David Wascher
Steering Committee : Ms. Bernadette Ash

Congratulations to all!

Scott's Blog - A Trip to the American Market

another post by Scott Gillihan--a RUN resident who lives near West Park...

If you are looking for a fun night out do what the wife and I did recently, and head down to the Blue Moon Lagoon and the American Market right here in West Nashville.

Now the Blue Moon Lagoon is a new restaurant and bar down at Rock Harbor Marina. We parked on Basswood, not wanting to pay for valet parking, and walked down to a floating restaurant right at the harbor. It was a Friday night and the place was packed. While we didn’t eat, the food looked good and the beer was cold. We stood on the rail and watched the expensive yachts come and go. The new owners, including George Strait’s manager, have put a lot of money in the place. They have a waterfall over a little bluff with a neon sign in the background. It was all very pleasant.

After a while, the opulence got a bit tiresome. The band wasn’t very good and the clientele seemed kind of snobbish. I didn’t see any locals there. I did notice that all the customers were white, and the bus boys brown and all the cooks were black.

On the way home, we stopped at the American Market on Robertson Road. Now the American Market is a seedy dirty little place with bars on the windows and garish beer and cigarette signs. They sell pipes labeled “for tobacco only” and scales “for jewelry only.” I made my purchase from an East Indian before he waited on a tipsy Mexican buying lottery tickets.

On the way out I noticed a family, Mom Dad and two small kids sitting on the hood of their old Delta 88. They were just kind of hanging out. Now why would anyone spend their Friday nights in a dirty greasy parking lot? Were they homeless…or did they just come here for fun?

Boy a lot can change in a mile or so. Welcome to West Nashville in the 21st century.

August 8, 2007

Night Out Against Crime

I'm sorry I missed the festivities at C&S this year. I was apparently overly busy at Oakland Acres in Madison.

I was very disappointed with the Tennessean coverage. The article is about Edgehill with the photo of Sylvan Park.

Any comments about RUN's event, or the countywide celebrations?

August 3, 2007

election comments?

Now that the election is over, I'd appreciate whatever reactions anyone cares to share about the district race, vice mayor's race, or Tim Garrett's victory in the at-large race.

The politicking is still going on for four at-large positions and the mayor's race, so please refrain from commenting about those in this public forum.

Thanks.

July 3, 2007

hello???

I hope this project takes off, unlike many other projects in many other organizations that I have experienced in the past where the words of interest do not necessarily match the actions of interest.

To kick off some additional conversation, I'd like to know what has been the neighborhood experience with the Italian market on 51st. I haven't yet had the opportunity to go there and would appreciate any personal reactions from people that have been there.

Thanks.

June 18, 2007

some ideas to kick around as we kick off!

I'm very much looking forward to staying in touch with the old neighborhood through this means of communication. Hopefully, I can also add some things to the conversation that may be useful to the neighborhood and its residents.

As a multilingual neighborhood, I think it would be wonderful if some bilingual folks in our midst would think about translating these posts into their native language so this important means of communication is open to more people.

As this project takes off, perhaps a brief educational session during one of the upcoming neighborhood meetings would be beneficial for those that are more apprehensive about computers than some of the rest of us.

Keep up the great work!

Scott's Blog - The Lost Boys

What follows is the first blog post of the RUN Neighborhood Association website. It was written by Scott Gillihan--a RUN resident who lives near West Park.

Sometimes, here in West Nashville, you will see the Lost Boys of Sudan—young men who fled a brutal civil war in East Africa. They are easy to recognize. Tall, black, and think with a certain sad look in their eyes.

But we also have a group of home-grown lost boys. I know you've seen them. They are in their late teens to early twenties. They are black, white, and mixed. They favor bandanas and long shorts that sag off their hips. They listen to rap and hip hop music. They drink 40 oz malt liquor and smoke weed.

I personally know some of these young people. Many have big hearts and are quite likable. While they are not war refugees, they are lost boys all the same. They are often unemployed and sometimes homeless. Prospects seem dim for them becoming productive citizens. Some people complain that the problem lies with the parents. True enough, but what if their mother or father is dead or in prison? Most of these young people have been abandoned by their families.

The early twenties can be a difficult time. When I was their age, I had some reckless tendencies too. We all know classmates like those lost boys…some survived, some didn't.

I saw a nature program on TV once about elephants. In one herd, all the adult elephants were killed for their ivory. The juvenile elephants would fight and rove in gangs and beat up weaker elephants. The announcer on the program pondered if these young animals would learn the survival skills they would need when times got tough.

I think those young elephants are like the lost boys of the Nations. But if they have nowhere to go for guidance, you can't hardly blame them. Where are they to go for examples of the honorable life, when our elected officials are racked with scandals? Can they find them in out athletes or educators or business leaders? Or even in our houses of worship?

All I'm saying is maybe society has failed them as much as they have failed to fit in society. It is in our intent to turn young people into decent taxpaying citizens for the future of our city. It's better than having them end up in prison...or on welfare...or in a hospital...or in a graveyard.

I don't know how we can do it, but let's help these lost boys be found.