Friday, March 13, 2009

Save our history! Save our 200+ yr old tree!

This post is dedicated to my lifelong BFF & her park/ tree/ family- fun loving' dad and mom (whom my kiddos lovingly call Yia Yia & Papou) and to the city in which I grew up.
See that gianormously gorgeous tree behind the lovely lady in the hat? Well, that tree is about 200 yrs old. As Papou says in his op-ed to the local paper: "On Feb. 11, the Canton park commissioners gave approval to destroy one of Canton’s city parks, which includes five magnificent oak trees. Four of the oaks measure 11 ft in circumference and are estimated to be 125 yrs old. The fifth oak measures 16 ft 2 inches in circumference and has been estimated to be between 200 - 220 yrs old, making it one of the oldest oak trees in Ohio. A 200 yr old oak means that the tree was in its young life when Thomas Jefferson was president. And if a few years older, it was growing when our Constitution was signed."
That gianormous beauty, and the 4 other mentioned lovelies, are located in a nice family friendly park that offers "free" fun for families in the form of a basketball court, an ample field area to run and play ball, and the dazzling bounty of such old and sublime and stately trees. This park is directly next to an architecturally old yet sound and beautiful brick firehouse (in the hot days of summer, the firefighters frequently chat to fascinated kids that naturally gather in amazment of the awesomely cool firehouse), the park borders on a large retirement home, and also happens to be smack dab in the middle of a quiet middle-class neighborhood.
The problem? The former Mayor (Janet Weir-Creighton (R-lapdog) whom is locally famous for getting a Bush "position" after her mayoral defeat in '08, getting a personal phone call from Karl "I should be a convict for all the crimes" Rove , the rotting whiff of GOP corruption *gasp!* and for posing for a newspaper pix while puckering up & kissing a Bush bobblehead... I knows... I knows... position, pucker, kiss, & Bush bobblehead connote ALL kinds of horrific images... must not vomit... must not vomit) arranged to have these trees axed down before her defeat so a spanking new firehouse and firefighter training facility could be put up.
Now don't get me wrong. I love lives to be saved and cherish fire safety as much as the next Smokey the Bear, but in this ravaged county, which can proudly boast of a massive 10.4% unemployment rate, finding any free, family friendly and lovely spots of brightness and beauty are far and few between, while finding large rundown areas and bazillions of foreclosed/ abandoned homes that could be used for a new firehouse and/or fire training center, are literally everywhere. Not to mention-- can I tell ya again-- that one of these freakin' trees is 200+ yrs old?? That the other 4 are at least 125 yrs old?? Historical preservation anyone??
One would think that when your citizens are and have been economically suffering as much as Cantonians are, that the old mayor (along with her mythical conservative GOP family values) would have wanted to save as much money as possible, foster "free" family entertainment, and preserve as much precious heritage one could. But in Canton, where Repuke rule had an ironfist stranglehold for a looooong time, such virtues are chucked, especially given that the money set aside for this wreckage of natural beauty and old architecture, can only be used for this particular wreckage of natural beauty and old architecture, and nothing else.
Sigh... I fear for these majestic beauties, and for the families who enjoy the park, but maybe the new Mayor, William J. Healy II (D-economically downtrodden), can be convinced to save the gorgeous trees, the family friendly park, and the lovely old brick firehouse? Maybe...
Mayor William J Healy II
P.O. Box 24218
Canton, OH 44701
Phone: (330)438-4307

CANTON CITY COUNCIL
218 Cleveland Ave SW
Canton, OH 44702
Phone: 330)489-3223
Posted by Tina :: 10:00 AM :: 17 Comments:

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--------------------------------------- Friday, March 06, 2009

Note to self: Remember to drink and pee

Illness has hit our home like a ton of bricks for about 5 months now. Seriously, since Halloween of '08, I have taken my kiddos to the pediatrician about every 2.5 weeks. It is so bad, that when I call, the receptionist recognizes my voice. I've gotten sick a few times from my precious germy little bastards (.... that's not really true. Hubby and I were married a full 2 yrs before we conceived BabyGirl, and were married at least 6 yrs before Lil Man came into the picture, so bastards they are not... but I digress) so I've seen my own doc a handful of times in this reign of illness, too, although I really would rather seek homeopathic care while sick (colloidal silver sprayed into sinuses when yucky snot is present, probiotics to build up immunities, and d-mannose to keep e-coli flushed from bladder) but I do resort to medical expertise when all else fails.... and sometimes things do fail. Badly.
For example: 2 wks ago, I picked BabyGirl up from school, and she was sporting pink flushed cheeks and a 103 fever, which quickly developed into a wicked respiratory ick that has infected all of us now. This particular ick knocked us on our asses (and BabyGirl has asthma, so every respiratory ick can quickly turn to pneumonia and full blown asthma attacks so serious around the clock breathing treatment care must be given), but given that I am the mom, I have to take care of everybody else and furiously clean to keep the germs at bay... all while nobody takes care of me. In fact, while flitting around in nurse-gear, I often forget to eat and drink. Well, that chicken came home to roost... and it left me in a shitload of hurt in the process.
I was busy playing Florence Nightingale to my kiddos and hubby, while hacking and coughing up a lung myself, and scrubbing my hands like Det. Adrian Monk and Lysoling everything in sight when I noticed that I had this killer back pain and felt hot and feverish. I figured I was just really really tired and blew it off.
About 2 days later, this back pain was becoming truly unbearable and my fever was now full blown and I was miserable. I called my dr to see if I could get in, but no luck. Ya see, my dr is in a practice with his dad, and unbeknownst to me, his father had just suddenly passed away 3 days earlier, so they were beyond swamped and probably felt about as bad I did, so I really did not want to "bother" them given what was going down at their office. Wrong.
Flash ahead 2 days even later, I can now barely have anything touch my back, I am peeing what I think is blood, I'm feeling like death would be a welcome relief, and I'm actually considering going to the emergency room, so I call my dr again, explain how bad this is, and they tell me that they have no appts, but that I can come in and they'll somehow squeeze me in. Great.... especially since our insurance fights us tooth and nail if we "dare to have the audacity" to go to the E.R., but now all I have to do is load up Lil Man with my broken back and get there.
Long story short: I was peeing blood, my kidneys were what was making my back hurt like I'd been hit by a Mack truck, and I have NEVER ever had a urinary tract infection like this before (and I've had my fair share of 'em) where the urge to frequently pee "lava" was completely absent and yet the infection hit me like a tidal wave, and as far as I'm concerned, I could live my whole entire life and NEVER ever experience this again, and I really really really hope this Cipro Rx does the trick.
So, I guess the lesson learned here is this: While playing Florence Nightingale to everybody else, please please please remember to drink and pee, drink and pee, drink and pee... or else risk suffering this ungodly fate again.
And of course, while waiting in the waiting room with my Lil Man, every freakin' person in there was hacking and coughing and tossing their damned germs around my precious kiddo, and he is now freshly sick with god-knows-what new illness (thank the gods we have health insurance, although if ya ask Repukeycans, health coverage is a mere want, NOT a need, and it certainly ain't a right cause to them it is "a privilege" ) ... sigh... but I'm so damn sick of being sick... grrrr.... and please please please remember to drink and pee, drink and pee, drink and pee....
Posted by Tina :: 5:00 PM :: 9 Comments:

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