Upon returning to Shelby from my holiday visit to Mount Airy, I was ready to put the mind in neutral and coast through some mindless television watching. Mindless is the operative term there, of course, and there was a surplus of it.
Seems that some folks in the TV business were focused on the word "Recovery" and I'm left wondering if those people have completely lost it. Everyone seemed to be running a holiday recovery marathon or series. Is Christmas such a festival of wretched excess that we have to enter formal recovery to go on with life in the aftermath? Are we at a point where the entire nation is watching Dr. Drew's Sex Rehab on MTV? (I'm not, by the way.) Are we a REHAB nation in the worst sense of the word's current usage?
Well, I hope we can take up the Rehab banner in a very different light here in 2010. Rehab as in working on strengthening our historic building stock, replacing roofs and windows, painting, converting unused second floors to residential or office uses, and so forth. Let's rehab unused industrial space for some new businesses that make solar panels or naturally-derived cleaning products. Let's use an old warehouse for a new brewery or a facility to prepare and package new locally-grown foods.
You see where I'm going, of course, leading back around to the locovore idea of sustainable living. If we can strive for that improved balance and activity we can get to the point where we don't need to run off for REHAB or RECOVERY in the first place.
The rant is ended, go in peace.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Time Races On
Always seems to be my theme around the holidays. Even this year when I've got most of my shopping completed and there's nothing that's way out of control in my life, I still feel the fleeting nature of time. Maybe its the rarity of daylight. Yeah, that's the ticket!
I was so amazed by the Suzy Bogguss concert at the Don Gibson Theatre on Saturday. I'd been familiar with her music from radio, but the woman in person was so much more interesting. Jeans, straight hair, straight talking too. She was just getting over a cold, but man does she have some serious lung power!
When the music started, I felt like I was transported someplace special. Like New York or LA, or like the feel of a very slick TV concert presentation in some far away location. But no, just the music hall down the street from my home or office. She also seemed to be real serious about making sure that we were in on the joke of life, as well as the more serious emotions in the songs she wrote or sang. Major talent!
Plus I had the best pizza before the concert. Chicken, Basil, Mozzarella, garlic chips, olive oil. . . The joke was that it was a group creation at Pleasant City, but it was a creation that woke up my taste buds.
See, even when the clock and calendar are racing, life can be quite fine.
I was so amazed by the Suzy Bogguss concert at the Don Gibson Theatre on Saturday. I'd been familiar with her music from radio, but the woman in person was so much more interesting. Jeans, straight hair, straight talking too. She was just getting over a cold, but man does she have some serious lung power!
When the music started, I felt like I was transported someplace special. Like New York or LA, or like the feel of a very slick TV concert presentation in some far away location. But no, just the music hall down the street from my home or office. She also seemed to be real serious about making sure that we were in on the joke of life, as well as the more serious emotions in the songs she wrote or sang. Major talent!
Plus I had the best pizza before the concert. Chicken, Basil, Mozzarella, garlic chips, olive oil. . . The joke was that it was a group creation at Pleasant City, but it was a creation that woke up my taste buds.
See, even when the clock and calendar are racing, life can be quite fine.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Holiday Season Gets Rolling
It's a sunny, chilly crisp Monday, so there's no lingering weekend sleepy-headedness for me and that's a nice change.
Friday was a very nice evening of carriage rides in Uptown Shelby, and there seemed to be more people out just to enjoy the lights and walk about the area. Most of the stores have their own light spectacles to brighten up the night time, and First National Bank really has done a great job of lighting up their buildings along with their Santa's House. The FNB sponsored Toyland in the old Court House is another sparkler in the very heart of Uptown Shelby and I hope everyone goes to see what they've managed to accomplish.
We even had a saxophone player performing some improvisations on familiar Christmas tunes for a little while. I don't know who the fellow was, but he was good and it sounded great. The mystery sax lent an air of big city feel for a while. Urban and urbane!
Then Saturday's Art Around Town gallery crawl was a great chance to sample a few of our arts businesses here. I still am impressed that we have so many gallery and studio operations in the Uptown district. It's more than most similar sized citie that aren't in mountain or seaside locations. I got a few handmade ornaments, Christmas cards, and a couple of pottery items as I got a start on the shopping.
Saturday night I went up to Fallston to hear Flint Hill play at Leatherwoods. Good crowd and good music! Steve Leatherwood kept live music in Uptown Shelby for several years at his former location on Court Square, and I hope he can enjoy similar success in Fallston with a schedule that should be a little easier to keep up.
The week ahead looks way too busy. But that's usually the case this time of year. Take a deep breath and let it fly!
Friday was a very nice evening of carriage rides in Uptown Shelby, and there seemed to be more people out just to enjoy the lights and walk about the area. Most of the stores have their own light spectacles to brighten up the night time, and First National Bank really has done a great job of lighting up their buildings along with their Santa's House. The FNB sponsored Toyland in the old Court House is another sparkler in the very heart of Uptown Shelby and I hope everyone goes to see what they've managed to accomplish.
We even had a saxophone player performing some improvisations on familiar Christmas tunes for a little while. I don't know who the fellow was, but he was good and it sounded great. The mystery sax lent an air of big city feel for a while. Urban and urbane!
Then Saturday's Art Around Town gallery crawl was a great chance to sample a few of our arts businesses here. I still am impressed that we have so many gallery and studio operations in the Uptown district. It's more than most similar sized citie that aren't in mountain or seaside locations. I got a few handmade ornaments, Christmas cards, and a couple of pottery items as I got a start on the shopping.
Saturday night I went up to Fallston to hear Flint Hill play at Leatherwoods. Good crowd and good music! Steve Leatherwood kept live music in Uptown Shelby for several years at his former location on Court Square, and I hope he can enjoy similar success in Fallston with a schedule that should be a little easier to keep up.
The week ahead looks way too busy. But that's usually the case this time of year. Take a deep breath and let it fly!
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