Comments by Hammermito
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Posted on October 4 at noon (Suggest removal)
We migrated here from south Florida to be closer to family. Back when I was growing up down south, it was rural and beautiful with beaches on one end and miles of everglades on the other.
There were horse farms, dairies, unpaved roads, and quiet.
Then, folks began to discover our paradise. Horse farms disappeared, dairies closed and new housing developments sprang up. People didn't appreciate unpaved roads or miles of everglades. So, blacktop went down and the everglades were paved over with more and more communities and shopping centers.
The beach went through "improvements" so that long established tourist places were razed and in their place, towering expensive condos stood.
Properties values went through the roof with the real estate bubble and popped.
Much of what they had to build up stands foreclosed and empty.
And the everglades keeps disappearing still with the next project to "improve" the area and stimulate the economy.
In the words of that 1970s song, they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
Moving to Alabama has been our "secret." Oh, family and close friends know. But, whenever anyone mentions the exodus from south Florida, they talk wistfully about the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee....
That's the way we love it.
See, Alabama IS the beautiful. It is a very diversified state in that it generates revenue via mining, farming, and the beach.
We want it to stay a secret, though. Perhaps, selfishly.
We love the rural environment, the good salt-of-the-earth folks who call this paradise their home, and we love that not a lot of folks are flocking here.. to make it their rendition of paradise.
We may not wear a heart on the Alabama tag. But, Alabama IS in the heart of us. :)
Posted on September 30 at 10:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Showdown2, I hear this year they're going to feature a float in the back of the parade reserved for the Grinch....so you'll have a place to sit.
Posted on September 3 at 12:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I remember those days! It was when the only warning sign you had about playing too close to the full sized television set on top of a thin aluminum tv tray was when it came over on top of you. You not only got a lesson in physics but swatted hard by your parent for venturing too close to the tv in the first place.
The only remote control channel changer, (for 3 channels), was the youngest or closest kid in the room.
Mom used to get so mad at us because no matter what Santa brought for Christmas, we'd have confiscated the cardboard boxes they came in and were happily playing in and with them outside in the yard. The brand new toy was abandoned under the tree.
There was no bus line to catch. Unless you had the money for a cab, you walked or rode your bicycle. Often that was a hand-me-down.
We walked pretty much all over town and the next one over.... and back again, That was the day. Never mind requiring exercise programs, Mom would lock you out of the house most weekend days and you had to amuse yourself. There were no videogames.
The big event was the traveling circus or carnival that came to town once a year.
There we consumed popcorn, cotton candy and soda right before venturing onto the upside down feriswheel.
And those were the days when soda bottle caps paid your way into the Saturday matinee at the local theater.
This was not SE Alabama but could have been in any small town and the life that we lead back then. More simple, less pressured.
I love to watch the old classic movie "Picnic" with Kim Novak and William Holden.
It takes me back to a more simple time.....
Posted on August 21 at 10:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
In 1950 something, when I was a little girl, the big scare was the asiatic (sp) flu.
In 1976, they were screaming about the swine flu.
Everyone was up in arms, anticipating not enough anti-whatever for flu shots.
What I found out is that if you take some reasonable measures, you can pretty much cut down your chances of getting the flu.
The regular: eat better, rest, and decompress from your stresses.
Then, you can carry that anti=germ stuff to wipe your hands with after touching grocery shopping cart handles, door knobs in public places, the gasoline nozzle, etc.
The doctors say you want to avoid antibacterial soap, (it kills good germs too), but use that hand stuff.
My eldest son's dad passed away way too young from staph infection in a hospital.
His immune system was already compromised from surgery, but the SAD and preventable thing was that it was people caring for him didn't WASH THEIR HANDS between patients and it was spread that way.
We all don't need to be paranoid of germs. But, we do need to be aware of what we touch and cleaning our hands afterwards.
Oh, and a new one. Instead of sneezing or coughing into your hands, you're supposed to cough or sneeze into the crook of your arm.
I don't know what's more gross with that- wearing sleeves- or not wearing sleeves. But, if it works, go for it.
Posted on July 23 at 8:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Horse owner here too. Wonderful story. RIP Donna Gail.
Posted on February 23 at 6:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh and P.S. It doesn't make any sense to put a town out of business, (with the exception of the college), in order to create 30,000 temporary jobs building this toll road.
Posted on February 23 at 3:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
>While, most businesses agree they would be affected if an I-10 connector road was built, Director of the Center for International Business and Economic Development Judson Edwards said that may not be the case.
“All of the businesses that are dependent on traffic versus the local market would be hurt by a local bypass,” Edwards said. “But, it’s not any different that when the 231 bypass was created.”
“It shouldn’t hurt many of the restaurants because they are based on the existing market,” Edwards said.<
I would love to know what studies this individual and his company have done to support what he has stated.
Posted on February 22 at 10:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If they want to build a truck route, let the state of Alabama fund/sponsor it and run it parallel to 231 with exits onto main roads in every single town along the way. That way, the truck traffic is reduced on 231, but truckers and motorists will all have access to 231 in order to patronize local businesses along their route.
Posted on February 22 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Cross-post from previous pro-toll road Messenger article:
Research Florida and their Sunshine State Parkway aka Florida Turnpike.
Their promise was, (besides creating jobs), that once the road was built and the tolls paid it off, there would be no more fees to travel on that road.
HOWEVER, what really happened was when the road was finally paid off, (some 30 years later), they said that they couldn't suspend the tolls because now the road was older and needed upkeep and repair.
That road now costs $50 in tolls to travel from Ft. Lauderdale to Wildwood, (near Ocala), one way and not counting gasoline expenses.
The theory here is that once paid, each county would "benefit" from the tolls in their jurisdiction. Ok, that means each county would have to maintain their own section of the highway, hire personnel to collect the tolls, create and maintain the paperwork/tickets that motorists carry with with them to track how far they've traveled on it.. So, does this mean that motorists would have to stop in EVERY county to pay a toll? In addition, each county would require added law enforcement to patrol the road, investigate vehicle accidents and crimes related to motorists who would otherwise use 231 to get through the area.
What if one county has enough $ to maintain and repair their section of toll road but the neighboring county doesn't?
It just does not make sense. They will be taking revenue from Troy and all the other cities and towns this road bypasses and giving it to the county in theory.
How many businesses and jobs will be lost because motorists will no longer have to go through our towns and shop at our businesses?
Other than the college, what draws people to Troy?
This is special interest talking and a few people who want to make it rich by selling a toll road from Montgomery to Dothan and affecting to the negative, the revenue Troy and other small towns benefit from by people traveling through our area.
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Posted on November 19 at 3:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't know anything personally about this group. I do know about NAMI, (National Alliance on Mental Illness).
The truth of the matter is that as far as society has come in accepting mentally ill people, it is still a subject that's depicted negatively in movies, (ie: mentally ill killer, mentally ill person who is childlike and dependent on others).
How many times is a former insane asylum depicted as a scary place where evil exists.
The reality is that very few mentally ill people are violent or deadly. Very few, (when talking statistics), are child-like and need to be supervised or tended to.
The facts are that most people with mental illness are right out there in society, working, being married, having families, functioning just like everyone else.
The only difference is that they are on medication and in counseling to control/treat their mental illness.
Contrary to popular belief, mental illness is not a lack of self-discipline or weakness. It is a brain disease caused by a chemical imbalance.
One day, we may have a magic pill to "cure" people from mental illness. But, until that time comes, there are going to be folks that suffer from it and whose lives are disrupted by it.
I am talking both the person who suffers from it and their family.
The speaker who is schizophrenic and bipolar has my immediate respect. She has two significant mental illnesses that she is dealing with and she wants to share as an inspiration to others who are also suffering from mental illness.
I wish her all the best.
On Mental health seminar to be Nov. 21