Gloria Ferris

Each week on brewed fresh daily, George posts a link to the latest entries from Postsecret.  You can reach the link through BFD.   A few weeks ago, when I scrolled down past the postcard entries,  the abpve message caught my attention.  My first thought was Can this be true? My second thought was I should verify this statement before I post. I finally did today, it is. These are 2003 figures but I doubt that they are much different today– maybe plus or minus a percent or two.  For the suicide rate, I went here. And for the murder rate, I used this FBI site.  Please find other statistics that are different than these–2003 31,484 suicides and 16,303 murders. 

Here we have been told that we are a violent society but we are a self-destructive society.  Why is that?   Is it because we think that the best years of our lives are behind us?  Is it because we do not have hope for the future? Hopelessness leads to despair and despair leads to death.

Maybe we need to focus on the now.  All we really have is this moment in time.  The past is over, we cannot change it and none of us knows what the future holds.  What we can control is the moment.  We can choose to squander it, enhance it, or let it be. But we always should understand what we have decided to do with that moment in time.

“Be grateful for each new day-a new day that you have never lived before.

“Twenty-four new, fresh, unexplored hours to use, usefully and joyfully. You can squander, neglect, or use them.  Life will be richer or poorer by the way you use today.” 

I don’t remember where I found it or who should receive attribution, but I sure know that if we strived to live it each and every day we can change the world and we can give hope to future generations.

When I started this post, I felt despair and now I end it with hope. That’s life.         

There are a few things happening on this front and I thought it was time to bring everyone up-to-date on what I know.

!.  Councilman Cummins had a meeting with the County Engineer’s office and has a drawing of the final plans for the bridge.  I am sure that it is on display in his Ward 15 Office.  He is also continuing to ask for answers from the city to the questions we have.

2.  There is a new blogspot up and running called Save Our Land.  Stop by and leave a comment or sign up to become a ocntributor.

3.  A new website www.SaveOurLAnd.net is under construction and should be up and running in a few days.  The scope of the website will be more comprehensive than the Save Our Land blogspot.

4.  Faxed letters were sent to our area Congresspeople and Senators. One contact was made by phone when asking for the fax number–Steve LaTourette’s office said please send the fax and they would look into it.  Senator DeWine’s office contacted the Save Our Land group and expressed an interest in also looking into the project.  As many of you already know, Congressman Kucinich’s staff were in our neighborhood with a survey collecting their own data concerning the project.

And those points bring me to the GREEN RIBBON BRIGADE.  You may have noticed green ribbons tied to the trees along the Fulton Road Bridge or on tree lawns or in neighbors’ front lawns.  One of our neighbors suggested that we tie green ribbons to our trees to show support of our neighbors who are in jeopardy of losing land to the project but also to let everyone know that unanswered questions remain.

Those unanswered questions include but are not limited to:

Why will public access by limited to foot and bicycle traffic? No vehicular traffic from this side of the bridge.  This also affects our neighbors on the south side of the bridge.

 Was the historic significance of the bridge and the Historic ballfield and neighborhood properly considered?  This bridge is the last of its kind in the United States.  When it is gone, it is gone forever.

Were traffic patterns adequately explored?  During the time the bridge is closed, the ODOT Innerbelt bridge project will be underway, the Quigley Road Connector, the Jennings Road Project, the paving of Denison Avenue, the opening of Steelyard Commons will all take place during the three years the bridge is closed.

How will the bridge closing affect the impending loss of Ladder 42?  What will the emergency response times be for people living south of the Bridge who need the services of the 2nd District Police or EMS vehicles to reach the MetroHelath campus?

What are the economic impacts to the businesses south of the bridge that have already endured the Memphis Road Project?

So the questions that remain unanswered are many and are of a farreaching nature.  Granted, we all agree that we need to have that bridge repaired or replaced but remember folks we will be living with the outcome of this project not the ODOT officials that are driving this process.  And again was this a proper public process?

If you would like green ribbons for your trees, please let us know and we will see that you will get them or better yet, if you have access to getting your own ribbons, please do.     

Monday, April 3rd, 2006 is the last day to register to vote for the May 2nd Primary.  Visit Brewed Fresh Daily to get the details.

For those of you already registered to vote, now is the time to begin your voter education on the issues and candidates.  This year you have a new tool at your disposal to help you–Meet the Bloggers.net.  As many of you know, I have been working with a group of Northeast Ohio Bloggers to bring the candidates to you through podcasts.  We feel that television and newspaper articles do not offer an in-depth look at candidates or the issues that face us today. What began in Northeast Ohio has grown statewide.  We now collaborate with many statewide bloggers to bring you these podcasts and give you more information through blogposts.  Visit the Meet the Bloggers website and see if it has value for you.  We have transcripts of some of the interviews if you would rather read than listen.  Some people listen and read.  We do not have transcripts for all interviews, but we work tirelessly at trying to get them done.

I am also adding a page that will list political blogs so that you can click through and see if they add value to your quest.  My list will, of course, not list all available political blogs–just those that I have found useful.  If you have favorites of your own, please let me know.  I will add them to the list.  The beauty of blogs remains that they give you the ability to decide to read or not to read to get all sides of the issues or the candidates–unlike depending solely on newspaper reading in a one-newspaper town.    

When you click through to Meet the Bloggers.net, you may notice a lack of incumbents and Republicans.  We are working on that, and I would like your help. Let me know if you have contact with an incumbent or a Republican that you would like to see us interview.  Better yet, contact that person’s office, and ask why he or she has not yet Met the Bloggers. Refer them to the Meet the Bloggers website: http://www.MeetTheBloggers.net.

The rule of thumb in political campaigns and the news media is that the average voter does not become interested in political campaigns until TEN DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION.  Let’s prove them wrong.  The issues and the future facing us today are too important.  The decisions we make every time we vote affect not only us but our children and grandchildren–in other words, future generations.  We need to again become the government of “We the people…”

Vote on May 2nd, and ask your friends and neighbors to vote– and if you have teenagers who can vote, make sure they are registered to vote, and the little ones–take them with you so they know the responsiblity and the importance of voting.

It is time to take back our government from the pollsters, the mainstream media (“MSM”!), and the career politicians.  The more we vote, the less they can use statistical analysis to predict.  Make it so our govrnment again becomes “of the people, by the people and for the people”.

Wow, this got pretty radical.  Anyone for a tea party?