Close the gate

 I have had or heard this conversation several times in the 6.5 years that we have lived in Wilmington.  Here is a replay from today.

I was taking my morning walk in River Lights.  It is a new community that will eventually be 2400 homes.  To build the homes closer to the river they even moved River Road.  It has several communities within the development.  Recently, they started building condos and town homes within the front part near the road.

So, I pass a person on a bike who begins complaining how terrible this is and how all kinds of people are moving because this is not why they moved here.  Now theses are not really cheap as they begin at about 250k.  In addition, they are connected by another new road to the village which has about 6-8 multi story townhomes and apartments.  This includes a retail center and a park.  A park we frequent and enjoy (including movies and concerts with Luthor).

So, why do people move to an area and start to complain about everyone else moving there.  I see this all the time.  There is no magical gate to close.

The city has a long range plan that endorses more compact and dense design.  This type of intensity is intended to make our community more walkable.  Walkability is a desire expressed in almost all cities with a master plan.  Which means it is a desire many of us have.  It can also reduce car us which is the leading cause of greenhouse gasses.  I think of the neighborhood I grew up in and often express to planners and council members how I could walk to small commercial hubs on 99th or 103rd st.  On my block there were many 2 and 3 unit building mixed in with single family.  Today this is called the missing middle because so many communities have zoned them out to favor single family homes on large lots.

So, closing the gate to people who want to live in our community is not the answer.  Perhaps better design 20 years ago was the answer.  And perhaps better design and a little more of an open mind can find room for the missing middle.

Who can lead US to a Sustainable Future

We are quickly approaching critical points in our nation's future.  We are not alone, the world is on a path where the world we are leaving our grandchildren will not be as livable as today's world.  Here are a few things to ponder as you think about the current crop of Presidential candidates.

Food supply and world population
Refugees due to ocean rise
Clean water shortages
Social Security and Medicare
Equal rights and equal access
Health Care
Transportation
Innovation and technology
Education

There are no easy solutions to any of these issues.  We all know they are broken, yet when there is talk of fixing them a common response is a version of "not in my backyard" or don't touch mine.

Here is my short look at a few of the issue.  I know that many will disagree and I admit that I am not an expert, but you do not have to be to understand these issues.

Social Security and Medicare:  I think everyone agrees there is a lack of sustainability in these programs.  However, the solutions are very divided.  I along with many of us, do not want to see our benefits reduced or the amount we pay increased.  But something has to give.  From my view, we should continue to deduct SS from paychecks for all wages and saleries.  Ending the limit, currently around 115k, will not really impact anyone's current financial situation.  I always found it ironic that the CEO met this oblication in his 1st paycheck.  The workforce is also changing.  Many more people will be self contractors or free-lance professionals.  Since employers pay 1/2 of the SS tax, some thought should be given to this group and how the SS tax impacts them.  How do we sustain this for future generations?

I admit that I have a lot to learn about Medicare and health care.  There are many facets to consider.  We in the USA have many health care systems from employer based to medicaid to medicare to the VA.  Each has it's own rules and organization and things they do well and things they do not.  Some groups are pushing for a single payer system like Medicare to be the norm.  Others, even those on Medicare, want the government out of the market.  I don't know the solution, but we need to share in it.

Food Supply:  I recently attended a class led by agriculture experts.  One of their points was that given the forecasted population growth, world food production needs to increase by 70% over the next few decades.  Wow!.  What can we do?  We should probably all be growing veggies in our backyards and teaching this as a school class.  Beyond polotics and government, sustainability can be improved with little actions.

Clean Water:  At a recent event, experts discussed the risks to clean water in SE North Carolina.  Salt water as well as pollution pose risks to our clean water.  The water system purifies surface water that we use and returns it even cleaner downstream.  Should we re-use our now clean household water?  In many ways we, who live downstream, already do.  In addition, all the stuff collected by stormwater that goes down the sewer, ends up untreated in our rivers.  Think about that when you want to send leaves and fertilizer down the street sewer.

Education:  With all the challenges ahead, why do our leaders continually attack education, educators and education funding?  NC is now about the worst state for teachers, yet the governor wonders why companies are not locating here.  We all need to invest in the future.  This also means that as parents,we need to be learners and educators at home.  Life-long learning, whether in formal classes or online or MOOCS is a great avenue.  I truly wish I had started years ago, but did not always have time or commitment.  However, when the kids were little, homework was stressed as was reading.  I think this sets a good foundation.  Also, go to the kid's school.  We used to have to pick up report cards at school and then the teachers were available to talk with.  I bet that over 1/2 of the cards were never picked up.  We  made it a point to always go and talk to the teachers.  And we saw the same parents each year, hello Cunnunghams.

The point is, which candidates have real solutions.  Do some fact checking,  Question candidate.  Go to meetings.  You can influence the outcome.  Do not be afraid to question.  Get involved.  Vote.  Talk to your community.  This is our future.  Lets make it livble and sustainable.

The World is run by those who show up....and vote

The 2016 Presidential campaign has begun.  Although in realty is has never really ended.  However, we now see states like Wisconsin, where we moved from, to North Carolina, our new home, that are making it harder to vote.  Those pushing this agenda are claiming it is to prevent voter fraud.  However, there are almost no proven cases of this happening.  In reality, it is a move based on fear to preserve power.

Voting does matter.  In the last County Commissioner race, the results were close enough for recounts.  You may say, it is only a county race, but county and local offices hold significant power.  They can control money on a local level and also have a wide say in education matters.  This ranges from banned books to the AP History class.

The county board also controls (at least to some degree) permits.  Sometimes these permits control what type of industry moves in.  In New Hanover County, there is widespread support to never grant a permit to Titan Cement.  And, while they would have to go through a federal process, the last line may be the county commissioner.  So, it is important to register and to vote.

And from my view, some of the potential candidates have views that should scare all of us.  I do not want to go back to a feudal society, but I truly believe some want to take us there.

If you have not registered to vote, go do so now.  There is no reason to wait.  It is a simple, but important process.  And when the day comes, go out and vote.  It is a right that was hard fought, not just as the USA was formed but as recently as the women's right to vote.

The world is run by those who vote.  Vote so you can rule the world.  It makes a difference.

Environmental Awareness and Advocacy in North Carolina

We have had recent opportunities to attend several informational sessions concerning environmental issues in North Carolina.  These have been focused on the proposed Titan Cement plant, proposed wind energy areas and proposed drilling areas off the coast.  We were not aware of these challenges or the opportunity for wind energy when we moved here, but have learned quite a bit in the last year.  Some information was obtained at the meetings with Bureau of Offshore Energy Management staff as well as several advocacy groups.

After a recent meeting I was asked by an advocate from the NC Conservation Network  http://www.ncconservationnetwork.org/to write a letter to the editor of the Wilmington NC paper concerning the proposal to allow oil drilling off the Carolina coast.  We were also asked to create a sign which is included on the http://environmentnorthcarolina.org/ facebook page.

I am looking to become more involved with some of these advocacy groups.

Listed below is my letter.  So far, it has not been published, but it has only been a few days.

To the Editor:

Oil drilling off our coast is not the answer.
Over the last week, I was able to attend two meetings conducted by the Bureau of Offshore
Energy Management (BOEM). The meetings covered the potential for wind power off the North
Carolina coast as well as the potential for oil exploration in the Atlantic, including the North
Carolina coast. The BOEM team provided a good deal of information on the proposals and
the process they will follow. A good part of that process involves public input. This is our best
chance to make the BOEM and our elected representatives aware of any concerns we have.
And I have concerns, grave concerns.
I also had the chance to hear advocates from both industry and environmental groups. After
carefully listening to all involved, I conclude that oil drilling is a bad deal for North Carolina.
The environmental risks are awful, especially when safer, more viable options are on the table.
The main clean option for our coast is wind energy. All oil wells leak or seep poison into our
ocean. This proposal puts oil rigs close to the Gulf Stream which would carry the devastation
worldwide. The only resolve the industry could say is that they are better than in 2010 when
they permanently poisoned the Gulf. Yet, incidents occur on a regular basis.
Let’s face it, North Carolina is facing environmental attacks on many fronts. These range from
Titan Cement, to fracking to oil drilling to coal ash spills. These are threats to the air we breathe
and the water we drink. Sadly, many of our elected representatives seem blinded to these and
have more allegiance to their sponsors than to fellow citizens. I want energy independence as
much as anyone, but we should be focused on achieving it with renewable energy not by using
poison to drill for more poison.
Please make use of the comment period to contact BOEM and also your elected
representatives. Let them know that North Carolina can be a leader in renewable energy and
we do not want oil drilling off our coast. Let’s leave a clean North Carolina for our children and
grandchildren.

Challenges of finding your spot

How do you find your spot?  This is a question we face from pre school through retirement.  In retirement it is what group to join or what volunteer activities to give your time to.  Lets face it, there are a lot of organizations that do good work and have good people, but some are just not a good fit for you.  I am coming to that conclusion with a group I have working with for several months.

I am also taking a very interesting class through the library.  It is called "Follow Your Heart and success Will Follow".  It is really geared to finding a career that makes you happy, fulfilled and does not seem like work.  But the class really applies to retirement and finding what your "next career" will be.  The class takes you through several exercises designed to find your skills, values and what you like.  Today I completed a session on your values and also your skills.  While doing the exercises, I came to the conclusion that I do not like disorder among those I work for.  Believe me I experienced enough of this at work.  I don't like it when there is a vacuum of leadership that says "You all work it out and I will be good with it", even when you are quite far apart.  That is what leaders are for, to set some direction.

So, I am coming to a conclusion that I need a different group.  I have put some solid effort into this group, including working on a new narrative for the tours I lead.  This was basically a redo of the entire tour to make it more interesting and more accurate, but part of the group wants to continue with a tour that is something less than a complete truth and the leaders seem ok with that.  Retirement is supposed to be fun, not frustrating, and it has been, except for this part.  So, rather than continue to be frustrated, I think it is time to finish my commitments and move on.

As I said, there are plenty of organizations, doing plenty of good work.  It is still a bit of trial and error to make sure the mission and the people match.  We do work with two other groups that do match.  They have teams with a clear message and they seem to be good people.  I think we will spend more time working with them.

We will also continue to goof off, take walks and bike rides, do work on the house and yard, plan a few vacation trips this year and be part of other fun groups and in general enjoy life.  I joined a book club at the library that meets tomorrow.  I have not been part of this type of group before so it will take me a little out of my comfort zone, but that can be a good thing.

I will keep posting on how this works out.

Looking forward to 2015

December 21, 2014

We recently sat down and took a look ahead to 2015.  The last 12 months have included:

• Selling our house
• Retiring
• Moving to a new state and all the things that go with moving from getting used to a new house to finding new doctors and other professionals like electricians and plumbers
• Having family visit
• Helping family members move
• Volunteer activities
• Travel and many other fun things

So, do the next 12 months look like we will be sitting around watching the grass grow or the waves roll in?  While we will make sure that we have beach days, we have a lot of other things on our minds.  These include:

• Travel
• We are going to the Orlando area in February.  This is for fun, but also part of our time share look.  We have been to several timeshare stays and presentations over the years, but are edging closer to buying into the program.  If anyone has pro or con stories for us, we would love to hear them.  The people we know who own timeshares, all love them.
• Nashville to visit with some friends of Jan's.  We met up with them a few years back and had a good time.  Nashville is about halfway between the Chicago area and Wilmington.  
• Marianne's graduation and move.  She is graduating from the Masters program at ECU in the spring and most likely moving, so we will be proudly watching her graduate and the helping her relocate to a new career.
• A midwest trip to see Diane (she doesn't know yet) as well as family in Minnesota and Illinois. (they don't know either)
• We also want to go to Roanoke VA and would like to go to Washington DC among other places.
• Day trips
• Family and friends visits.  Our door is always open.  Part of why we chose this area was the fun things to do.  We are close to the beach here and only an hour or so away from Myrtle Beach.  The Outer Banks are only a few hours away.  We would love to have you.
• Home remodels and yard landscaping will always be part of the plan.
• Volunteer activities are fun and a good way to learn the area and meet some cool people.  We have worked with the NC Coastal Federation and the local historical and preservation groups and will continue to do so.
• Lifelong learning opportunities abound.  The local colleges offer a good number of programs.  However, I have so far found the library here has some great opportunities from book clubs to topical discussion groups to a wide variety of on line classes.
• HOA, I was recently elected President of our HOA.  I am still working on understanding the role.  Jan will be working to get some HOA social activities going.  For Halloween, several neighbors gathered to have a common candy area (and some adult beverages) and it was a lot of fun.

And those are the highlights and the fun things.  I am sure some will seem like work, but we will mix the work and play to a good combination.  We are enjoying retirement and being able to set our schedule as we want.

Holiday Weekend

We are celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas this weekend.  Marianne and Diane will both be in Wilmington, so we are celebrating.  We are all able to be together only 1 or 2 times each year, so we try to make it special.

We will have our traditional Christmas Eve fondue on Saturday evening.  I suppose we should include a few North Carolina items like, oysters, shrimp or bar-b-que, but I am not sure how that would work out since not everyone, including me, likes seafood.

Sunday, will be Thanksgiving with the traditional turkey.  I am sure there will be enough football, and maybe the Bears can cap it off by beating the Packers

It should be a lot of fun.