Here’s a You Tube film detaiing the flooding in my little corner of the peninsula.
This was filmed December, 18th and 19th, 2009.
The city of Charleston website reads, “Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. is widely considered one of the most visionary and highly effective governmental leaders in America.”
So how’s that working out?
We will spend almost $100 million on a slave museum. We need $147 million for drainage.
What part of this makes any sense at all?
In this morning’s Wall Street Journal Online, Peggy Noonan writes about the uneasy pall that sits over our beloved land from sea to shining sea. She acknowledges the economy (after all our credit rating could be downgraded, there is 12.3% unemployment in South Carolina) accounts for much of the malaise.
However, she makes the point, “But something tells me this isn’t all about money. It’s possible, and I can’t help but think likely, that the poll is also about other things, and maybe even primarily about other things.
“Sure, Americans are worried about long-term debt and endless deficits. We’re worried about taxes and the burden we’re bequeathing to our children, and their children.
“But we are concerned about other things, too, and there are often signs in various polls that those things may dwarf economic concerns. Americans are worried about the core and character of the American nation, and about our culture. “
She picks Adam Lambert (see video) as the exemplification of coarseness, but as far as I’m concerned, one could swing a swordfish and whap something out of whack in this culture.
She makes interesting and relevant points.
Read it all here: http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html
At the end of her piece, Ms. Noonan asserts, “I’d like to see a poll on this…”
Okay. Your wish, my command and all that.
(A shoutout to Chip Dowis.)
Here are her questions in poll form. It’ll be curious to see what the results (though woefully unscienticfic) are.
Columbia, S.C. – December 11, 2009 – With regard to Jenny’s public statement,
Governor Sanford had the following to say:
“While it is not the course I would have hoped for, or would choose, I want to
take full responsibility for the moral failure that led us to this tragic point.
Jenny is a great person, and has been a remarkable wife, mother and First Lady.
She has been more than gracious these last six months and gone above and beyond
in her patience and commitment to put the needs of others in front of her own.
While our family structure may change, I know that we will both work earnestly
to be the best mom and dad we can be to four of the finest boys on earth.
“I will join with her in asking the press to respect our shared desire for
privacy as we quietly move forward. We respectively ask for your prayers.”
In an official statement from the Governor’s office:
“As so many of us know, the dissolution of any marriage isa sad and painful process. It is also a very personal and private one. Because Mark and I are public figures, we have naturally had less privacy with which to deal with our difficulties than do other couples. Indeed, I know it will soon become known so I choose to release this brief notice that I am now filing for divorce. This came after many unsuccessful efforts at reconciliation, yet I am still dedicated to keeping the process that lies ahead peaceful for our family.”
To see the whole statement, go to:
http://media.charleston.net/2009/pdf/jsanford_statement_121109.pdf
From Babs Ambrose: “The Irvans have dropped the lawsuit against us. The FARMER has prevailed! Your support and contributions have been instrumental in this battle and have generated the heat that has caused the Irvans to leave the kitchen. They have put their house on the market and are going BACK to NC.”
Please click on thecharlestontimes.com’s message board below to read both Mr. Walker’s and Ms. Townsend’s letters in Wednesday, December 10th’s P&C.
http://www.thecharlestontimes.com/YAFNET/default.aspx?g=topics&f=30
Please feel free to add to the discussion by creating your own topic if you wish or put your two cents worth. No foul language. No ad hominum attacks. You can’t just say that David Farrow is an idiot (and frankly, I’d like to keep that kind of talk to a minimum); you can say that Farrow knows not whereof he speaks because…
You can use screen names. I will know who you are, but no one else will. I’d love to have you register and return whenever you have a point to make.
This the real “new media” of Charleston. Come join the discussion. Create your own topics. Together, we just might figure it out.
I write a column for Lucky Dog Publications . So often I wait for the day of the deadline to consider it. Last Wednesday, I saw an article in the Post and Courier about Petey Abrose’s plight.
To sum it up:
Pete Ambrose has plied the same earth for 35 years. He is one of only roughly five fruit and vegetable farmers left in the area. Ambrose owns and operates what is known as a community supported agriculture” farm or CSA. Rockland Avenue LLC is a 130-acre farm where people purchase a “share” at the start of a growing season and then pick up their supply of fruits and vegetables each week.
In economic hard times, Ambrose truly lives the life of a farmer. He makes a living from the soil. His U-Pick business thrives for only two months a year.
Kim Irvan and her husband, Ernie, a former NASCAR driver whose career included 15 career Winston Cup victories and a terrible crash at Michigan Speedway in 1994, have decided to sue. The reason? As many as 60 cars an hour roll down the dirt road in April and May to pick berries. Ernie and Kim were shocked to find “The cars are noisy and stir up dust,” Ambrose’s customers even had the temerity to “wander onto her land to pet her horses.”
The civil suit seeks attorneys’ fees as well as a declaration that the covenants of the Selkirk Property Owners Association to which both parties belong are being violated. They prohibit retail and commercial activities but allow “generally accepted” farming practices. Ambrose says selling shares and running a U-pick berry business are basic farm practices. The Irvans maintain that the practices are commercial activities; an injunction has been filed to stop the on-site commercial activity.
On Saturday, I was perusing what I had written and decided to post that column. The response was visceral. Among the comments:
Jackie Balish: “Guess we need to change our way of life to suit others. Ever heard of due diligence when buying property? Pete Ambrose was farming there before they even thought of buying.”
Gina Cullum: “I think the Irvin’s are just wrong. When you buy property you check the area you are going to. If they didn’t take the time to do their homework, shame on them. Farmer’s have a hard enough time paying the bill’s. Should they really have to deal with a couple of rich stick in the muds. Irvin’s, please move, Charleston is too classy for you!”
The comments ran pretty much along that vein.
The one that resonated with me came from Collin Hodges who wrote:
“It is confusing to me that the Irvans have chosen to act in a manner that will undoubtedly ensure they are not thought well of for the remainder of their stay in the Lowcountry. Even if they do win their lawsuit, they will have succeeded only in placing themselves in one of the most uncomfortable positions imaginable: that of being surrounded by a community that detests you and thinks of you forever as an outsider.
“The Irvans must have thought, because of their NASCAR affiliation that they would have no trouble fitting in. The problem is, neither of them appears to share the values that the surrounding community does, and instead of being respectful of other peoples heritage, they have chosen to act like every other ignorant fool in America and demand that the community change, rather than themselves.
“Admittedly, the Irvans have provided us one valuable service: They have reminded us of how truly selfish and arrogant we can be when we are blissfully unaware of the fact that we are not the center of the universe; that the world does not revolve around us; and that everyone is different.
“I commend them for providing us this service, as it will undoubtedly serve as a most effective teaching tool for many parents in the Lowcountry wishing to raise their children with a sense good manners and respectful tolerance.”
Mr. Hodges has hit on something. In the past generation many who came from other places who have suddenly made a lot of money have moved to the Lowcountry. The population of Charleston County in 1980 was 276,974. Today it is 342,973.
Much of the farmland we took for granted in 1980 in Mount Pleasant or James Island has been converted to cutsey sub-developments with names like Heritage Trace. Daniel Island was inhabited by pelicans and seagulls.
During the past 30 years, the country has become crasser. We have defined deviancy down. 3G technology has allowed our society access to everything good, bad and ugly.
What might be more interesting is the fact that the country has become urbanized and culturally homogenized. What is missing the reverence for the farmer.
The afternoon I posted the article about the Ambroses, I caught the movie The Day The Earth Stood Still, the remake with Keneau Reeves. To coin a phrase, it sucked. I liked the 50’s version okay, but this was just another Hollywood tip o’ the hat to evil humans hell bent on destroying mother earth getting their comeuppance.
At the end of movie the price for our survival was disabling our electronics, everything from power plants to car batteries was rendered useless (so much for NASCAR, hmmm?). The last scene was the protagonist , a very pretty Jennifer Connelly who plays a noted astrobiologist (a quick word: is there a great call for that profession?) and her politically-correct stepson standing in the middle of Central Park at noon watching the invaders go back from whence they came.
Considering that the two nearly got erased, one might imagine they felt somewhat relieved what with the human race being saved and all. As the scene faded to the universe, I thought about the previous scene. Evil oil refineries and bulldozers were shut down… as were tractors and combines.
What were our little astrobiologist and her stepson going to do for lunch… for dinner… next week?
For a long time I have maintained we are undergoing a psychic break. Where in the hell do you think food comes from?
One of the only reasons the Lowcountry survived the long nightmare that was the Yankee occupation was because we had food. Even the poorest ate.
Today, slowly but surely, we undergoing another occupation (this time with the Atlanteans). A century and a half ago, we rejected Northern society, but today we try to emulate the crass mega-McMansion lifestyles of C-list celebrities such as the Irvans.
I get castigated for this, but I maintain that in the last 50 years, the sacred loam that feeds us has been converted into real estate. Farmland has been converted to a 5,000 square foot house on the 17th tee.
Farms like the Ambrose’s have become an oddity which is evidenced by the stunningly shortsighted position held by the Irvans. The Ambrose family has become the canary in the mine.
Their battle is symptomatic of the country at large – a country many of us no longer recognize. The beauty of our part of the country is that most of us were taught manners. It wasn’t just a sign of graciousness; it was the personification of the Golden Rule.
Everyone thinks the great recession is over, but maybe not. I hope so (what with 16 jobs in District 45), but the ever-increasing population brings with it an ever-increasing appetite. Before when times were hard, truck farmers across the rivers fed the peninsula. You didn’t have far to go to hunt game, and in the city, a fishing pole could easily render a flounder or at least a couple of spot.
Today, you take your life in your hands to drive 45 minutes to hunt in a three-acre spot fortified with 40 high powered rifles. Petey Ambrose has been a major contributor to the food chain.
You see, the farmer is the ultimate capitalist. The concept of risk and failure is the essence of putting seeds in the ground and hope it germinates and grows is with the farmer every waking hour.
The U-Pick farm may longer be a quaint luxury. It may be a necessity.
I have always said there are certain people one should not go out of their way to antagonize. The list includes trial lawyers, newspaper columnists and cops. Let me add farmers for it is they who provide our daily bread.
We would all do well to remember that; all of us – including the Irvans.
To help the Ambrose family fight this frivolous lawsuit go to:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=191899304699&ref=mf
For years, I have been ranting about the changes in Charleston. The area has grown like Topsy.
The municipalities and county have been trumpeting “green jobs.” What an absolute load of palaver.
We are talking about a group of people who closed down the incinerator for the sake of reducing our “carbon footprint.” Okay, fine. So what do we do with the trash? Oh, that’s right. You haven’t a clue.
Boeing is coming… Jobs, jobs, jobs. Green jobs? Well, maybe not. A single Boeing 787 generates an annual carbon footprint of 7.6m. tons.
Well, at least the stimulus is working. Go to Recovery.gov and you find that the 45th congressional district of South Carolina, alone, saved 16 jobs with $1,070,000 in federal stimulus funds.
Wow! That’s one of my favorite parts of the state! I savor the memories of lolling in a Pawley’s Island hammock while the tidal creek jumped with shrimp and pelicans wafted above the pristine salt marsh.
The district is also known for its high paying jobs. Those sixteen people alone make $66,685 a year. Whew, dodged a bullet there.
I was thinking of moving when I realized, “Wait! District 45 doesn’t exist.”
The stimulus was supposed to arrest unemployment at around 8 percent. How’s that hope and change working out for you?
Well, at least there are no terrorists running around. Yet.
“Green jobs” is a branding scheme. Let’s be up front: I think global warming is a scam. The earth might be warming (although, from what I can see, the global temperature hasn’t risen in 10 years.), but I don’t think a tsunami is going to wipe out the Cooper River Bridge tomorrow.
It should not surprise you that I think cap and trade is malarkey as well. That doesn’t mean that I don’t think we shouldn’t be good stewards of the earth. Do you not find it ironic that the very group, the city of Charleston, who pats its head publically about the creation of green jobs is encouraging developers headed by friends of the Charleston administration to build a small city surrounding a 2,000 year oak tree?
Probably the best quote I have heard about the Boeing plant was from my mother Emily Ravenel Farrow. She is 94. She’s cogent of her surroundings, but she doesn’t spend a lot of time watching the news.
When I told her that Boeing was going to build a plant, her head whipped up.
“Where?” she snapped.
“North Charleston by the airport.”
She was visibly relieved, “Well, as long as they don’t build it in Charleston.”
She would be what we call a “been ya”
Although I carp about the changes round these parts, you might be surprised to learn that no one called me to ask if it was all right. No one questioned me on my opinion on any of this… not one bit.
Well, I’ll just used the free broadband we were promised five years ago to contact the “powers-that-be.” Darn it, that didn’t happen either.
Hmmm… I wonder when the next boat leaves for District 45.
Why do people spend scads of money to move to a place they consider a unique, idyllic garden spot, then work with all their might to change it? Why do you think some sort of minor celebrity entitles you to demand that everyone change for your benefit?
Pete Ambrose is an anachronism. In a country that demands designer lettuce, the truck farmer has plied the same earth for 35 years. He is one of only roughly five fruit and vegetable farmers left in the area.
He owns and operates what is known as a community supported agriculture” farm or CSA. Rockland Avenue LLC is a 130-acre farm where people purchase a “share” at the start of a growing season and then pick up their supply of fruits and vegetables each week.
In economic hard times, Ambrose truly lives the life of a farmer. He makes a living from the soil. His U-Pick business thrives for only two months a year.
If former NASCAR driver, Ernie Irvan and his wife, Kim, have their way, Ambrose will have to close up shop because the couple who bought the 49-acre lot next door three years ago feel inconvenienced — they’ve had enough.
Kim Irvan told the Post and Courier, that “she and her husband didn’t know about the U-pick operation when they moved in three years ago.”
Apparently, Petey Ambrose’s business is causing the Irvans pain and suffering and they want it to stop forthwith. In a grotesque scene straight out of “The Amityville Horror” as many as 60 cars an hour roll down the dirt road in April and May to pick berries.
As traumatic as that scenario may seem to the average American, imagine Ernie and Kim’s astonishment and dismay when they found that “The cars are noisy and stir up dust,” Ambrose’s customers even had the temerity to “wander onto her land to pet her horses.”
For God’s sake, when will the madness end?
The farmer whose family spans generations in the area points out the remarkable observation, “farms tend to stir up dust.” He also allows that the Irvans might have had a clue that their part of the shared road might be a tad dusty what with their building their barn and other buildings along the dirt road instead of another, less dusty part of their property and all.
Perhaps not.
Kim Irvan bemoaned their dire straits with the comment, “I don’t want the fighting. It’s tearing us up,”
She and her husband, a former NASCAR driver whose career included 15 career Winston Cup victories and a terrible crash at Michigan Speedway in 1994, have decided to take control of the situation the old fashioned American way.
They are going to sue.
The civil suit seeks attorneys’ fees as well as a declaration that the covenants of the Selkirk Property Owners Association to which both parties belong are being violated. They prohibit retail and commercial activities but allow “generally accepted” farming practices. Ambrose says selling shares and running a U-pick berry business are basic farm practices. The Irvans maintain that the practices are commercial activities; an injunction has been filed to stop the on-site commercial activity.
One might honestly inquire whether Irvan’s Horse Farm is a non-profit organization.
Petey Ambrose believes he is facing ruin if the Irvans win.
“We’d just have to give up,” he said. “I can’t see how we would make it.”
The issue is of course the interpretation of the covenant. Be that as it may, no matter how it shakes out legally, the farm was there long before the NASCAR couple were.
It just goes to prove the old Charleston axiom, “You can’t buy graciousness. It has to be beaten into you at a very young age. “
