10/12/07

Woulda... Shoulda.. Coulda..

I was going to post something the other day about a poor dead horse that keeps being kicked. When the Times ran it's cover story on the close of the RFP (request for proposals) for Mill Mountain, I laughed heartily - and really wanted to sit down and type out a massive response, but today I am vindicated.

Read this, and laugh along with me.

Valley Forward, who ostensibly had no financial interest in ANYTHING being built on Mill Mountain, was key in the development of the SINGLE proposal that came in.

Lugar: "We were in contact with two major regional firms and a smaller, respected local firm, all of which had interest and had the wherewithal to consummate something on the mountain," Lugar said. But "because of the [political] climate, they lost interest."

It's not the political climate, you lazy minded yuppie. It's the socio-economic climate. Despite all your flawed and skewed surveys, you still failed to realize that your concept is not something the people want. Granted, you would probably have more support from the masses were you to suggest a Mexican Restaurant or a Red Lobster.

You folks over at Valley Forward need to exit your glad-handing circle for a little while and see how the rest of the world lives. Not all of us own moving companies, work as pharma-reps selling to politically connected doctors, or are able to have both a wife and child, and a mistress or two.

Best case scenario? Drop the Mill Mountain thing, and choose a battle that would actually accomplish something. Raise funds for testicular cancer or something, but stop trying to be civic leaders when you live in a world of your own. You do not speak for everyone, work for everyone, or know whats best for everyone. But such is the conceit of the idle class.

Saving the world is a tiring job, let someone else do it.

In short, regroup and come back with something useful. We don't mind you - we just don't like you.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

AMEN!!!

Infinite Vision said...

But if they regroup how will they be able to say: "Look daddy, we got our names in the paper again! Are we all grown up like you are now?"

Anonymous said...

I agree w/ you. That yuppie group should go down in flames.

However you aren't doing anything more than they are to address problems that you complain about constantly.

Then again, me neither.

Anonymous said...

Maybe we should form "notvalleyforward" and present our plan at City Council and get 30 min.

hmmmmm....

CNA

Sean said...

Once upon a time your blog was quasi-relevant with its own distinct style of criticism. However muddled. Now, it seems that you are resorting to personal attacks and targeting people whose views differ from your own. John Lugar, a lazy minded yuppie? Hardly. He's a successful entrepreneur. He's created jobs for people in the valley. Like other entrepreneurs, he's willing to take risks. Some initiatives fail. Others succeed. He shares your sense of civic duty, but where he treats others with respect - even when their views differ from his own - your behavior is far less honorable.

RoanokeFound said...

Sean, you come from a far different world than I do, and you and I have never seen eye to eye.

Probably never will either, not sure why you keep reading this to tell the truth.

And sorry, I don't think Mr. Lugar treats others with respect - I'm not really sure anyone over at Valley Forward understands what respect really is.

My behavior might be far less honorable, but I am much more real and transparent. But I guess you would rather be fleeced than have to bear witness to the ugly.

Sean said...

I'm not sure I understand the different worlds comparison. Is it a right/left issue? I'm a Democrat. Is it a money issue? I was - by all accounts - pretty broke until 2003. Lived in a trailer on a farm in Vermont. Prior to that I lived in a 400 square foot apartment on the poor side of town. Prior to that, growing up, in a trailer park in the city. My parents were dirt poor. As a child I remember watching my mom fish salvageable produce from the dumpster behind our local grocery store. She was a housecleaner and my father was a blinded WWII veteran. I'm world's away from that place now. My father passed away before I made it here. My mom, I moved into a snazzy walk out apartment in Elm Park Estates this year. Now she has her own housecleaner.

I love learning what others' perceive as the truth especially when it differs from my own. It helps give me a better understanding. You're the rare vocal critic who blogs in this area. I enjoy reading your blog when you don't make personal attacks. If you can attack the idea, and not the person, then you'll actually win more hearts and minds. Its just a thought.

RoanokeFound said...

Think of Ender.

"The Gate is down" means multiple things to different people. But what really matters is how they utilize the information.

You and I do not think alike at all. It's not a political thing, I didn't even know your politics until you mentioned them. And it's not a money thing - for all anyone knows I'm the richest man in Roanoke - working behind the scenes as a instigator for my own devices.

It's a perception thing. And true, no two people will ever share the same perception - but there's different and then there is radically different.

I have the ability to see most (not all, I would never claim that) angles on a story - and the Valley Forward saga makes me itch with contempt. I have written my reasons before, which is not to say that I do not understand why they do what they do.

But without someone to question the motives, to antagonize the architects of plans - there is nothing but face value to go on.

Plus - I operate from a historical and sociological perspective, which is normally not part of any debate in the 21st century.

I have been accused of complaining about people who are trying to change things, and taking them to task for things they should be more involved with changing, all the while - doing nothing on my own to enact the changes I talk about. But the reality is, does anyone know that 100%?

Maybe I do more than people think - but I'm just not posting them online as a resume? Maybe I do less, but for other reasons than just apathy?

When I post, I drop a thought - and let it run far and wide. No more, no less. And I have attacked the idea - but none of those posts garnered the same response as a post like this.

Sometimes, you need to use a velvet glove on a steel fist to get people talking.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
RoanokeFound said...

Sorry - I don't accept spam, no matter how targeted.

Anonymous said...

Here's a thought. Why not let natives decide what goes on here. Not someone who just dropped in.
One day, Mill Mountain will have some development, whether you like it, or not. Currently, it's a waste of space. And as for the "Fishburn Covenant", ask somebody that knows, what happened to that piece of Fishburn Park on Brambleton Ave. that the city recently sold to a private developer for a tidy $um. Hmm, I thought that land was to be used for Educational Purposes only. They tried to sell it to the Lutherans back in the mid '60s, but an outcry from some observant citizens stopped that. I guess they weren't watching close enough this time. But you wouldn't be interested in any of that. It didn't happen in SouthEast.