Change, A Bit At A Time

I've been catching most of the new PBS series on Appalachia and the early parts talked about the formation of the mountains in terms of Geologic Time. That's real slow, and sometime life seems to mimic geology a bit. However, there's plenty of examples of how things are changing with regularity here. It ay be in smaller increments than we might think we want to see, but I think it probably happens about as quickly as we poor humans can handle it.

Look at the rapid progress on the Don Gibson Theater. The roof on the special event center is up, the exterior walls are almost done,and the concrete floor done, all in about 5 weeks.

Sidewalk tables, with snappy orange shade umbrellas are now outside Pleasant City Wood Fire Grill, and it's now possible to enjoy a glass of wine or beer with your dinner. And across the intersection the fountain is back on since the drought emergency has passed us at last.

We had a great turnout for our outdoor movie here in Uptown, with about 150 people enjoying a night out. And attendance seemed to be good for the opening day of the Foothills Farmers Market, along with a great Arts on the Square show this year. The crafts and fine arts exhibitors were very strong, very professional in quality and presentation, and it was great to see such an explosion of creativity on our fairly staid Court Square. Something's going on around here, right?

And when change doesn't proceed like this, I suspect it's people that just cant' handle it. Someone once told me "People don't change much, but organizations will always change." I guess my friend was right. There are people who do things, and I suspect that their continual action is a perpetual motion generator that helps things happen around them. Others drift through, and some are in between. But thank goodness change is a constant, according to physicists and science teachers.

Sounds

It was a cool, misty Sunday afternoon. Sunday afternoons in the South have almost always been quiet in my experience. It used to bore me, but now I understand why all the adults I knew would take a nap on Sunday afternoon.

This Sunday was a little different as we had a concert scheduled on the Court Square by the Jinotega Music School's concert band. Thankfully, Central United Methodist Church gave us shelter, and about 120 folks came out despite the rain.

The concert was lively, bright, professionally done, and a real pleasant afternoon. And it was probably the last thing most of us would expect to be hearing on a quiet spring afternoon in the Carolina hills. Thankfully, I didn't feel like subjecting everyone to the spectacle of my dancing skills, but it did make me feel like bouncing around.

Monday

Oh, rainy Mondays are almost mythically Blue Mondays or at least difficult. I'm having trouble, but I think that could only be laid to my having enjoyed a long weekend for the Easter Holiday.

But work must resume and things must get done. There's a What's UPtown newsletter to be distibuted, reports and proposals to be written, and plenty of other tasks whether it's Monday or not.

At least the steady showers we've been getting lately should mean that our Farmer's Market on the 25th will have enough greens and other produce to keep customers happy. Last year's drought really made that tougher than normal. Lettuce, green onions and a good dressing, maybe even a hot dressing, will set me right.

Weird Weather

At the risk of sounding like Skip Foster's brother with talk about weather and such, I'm surely impressed with the cold temperatures this morning! It's enough to test a fellow's faith in the inevitable return of Spring. Or maybe it came along to remind us not to be lulled into taking spring for granted. All sense of complacency froze and fell right off my back this morning when I stepped out the door.

But the beautiful weather on Saturday was a real pleasure for all of us at Uptown Shelby. Several great volunteers (including Boy Scouts from Troop 101) helped roping off areas, hiding 7000 colored easter eggs with candy or toy prizes, and helping to manage hundreds of children and parents on hand for the spectacle.

Thanks go to our sponsors: Kidsville News, Pleasant City Wood Fired Grill, First National Bank, Victoria-Stephen, Shelby Savings Bank, Cleveland Headline News, Child Care Connections, and Buffalo Creek Gallery. And our special prizes in the metallic eggs were provided by Arnold's Jewelry, Christine's Baskets and Gifts, and Shelby Ice Cream and Deli.

The Easter Bunny (ahem!) was joined by Scoop Dog from Channel 33, and the huggable Dragon from Kidsville News. Lots of pictures, lots of fun. And it was all over in an hour! Happy Easter, everyone!

Under the Surface

It's a pretty quiet week on the surface, but that's total deception. The Easter Bunny is due to drop by later this week to get over 6000 eggs out of my office for placement on Court Square. Saturday's Easter Egg Hunt promises to be somewhat crazed, and so far it looks as if we may be blessed with the right weather.

The Don Gibson Theatre is taking form with the walls going up for the new exhibit and event space adjoining the performance space in the original State Theatre building.

There's more activity around the Uptown Shelby district, but nothing quite that large. However,some of the quiet shuffling and scurrying about are the big dreams of individuals launching new businesses or working on new ideas to achieve their goals.

Tonight there's a ribbon cutting for Simply Charming, a bridal registry and gift retailer at the corner of Graham and Dekalb Streets. The store has moved from Spartanburg!

I continue to be surprised with folks stopping by to talk with me about the process of starting a new shop or restaurant in Uptown. It keeps me busy, yes, but also pleasantly inspired with the level of optimism folks bring to their efforts.

Hope and Spring are a good combination.