Elmwood Cemetery Walk

I took a walk this afternoon at Elmwood Cemetery, which is adjacent to downtown Charlotte. This is a big, old cemetery with graves dating back to the 1800s. It used to be segregated in the old days, with a section for blacks called Pinewood Cemetery toward the back. There are a lot of interesting old graves, plenty of trees, hills, and plenty of birds and squirrels. It's a great place for a walk, especially on a day like today when the weather is good.

Here are some interesting old grave markers:

A couple of squirrels were watching me from overhead:

Cemetery Walk

I've always liked cemeteries and I love cool, overcast fall days. So today I stopped at Forest Lawn cemetery near our house and took a nice long walk. The day was perfect, the temperature in the high 50s and many of the trees still showing their fall colors.

I like this little display of a wind chime and other hanging decorations that someone has created:

Fall colors:

I also like this monument, with a statue of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples:

And an arbor that a family has had built at their grave site:

Veterans Day was just a couple of days ago. I am proud to be the son of a WWII veteran, and I saw many graves of other WWII veterans decorated with flags:

This cemetery is a wonderful, peaceful place for a walk. I saw and heard many birds, including mockingbirds, robins, blue jays, eastern bluebirds, and crows.  I will definitely be going back.

Occupy Charlotte Divided

The Charlotte Observer is reporting on a split in the Occupy Charlotte movement, over one individual's attempt to control the movement and its online presence. A Charlotte businessman, Tom Shope, has been accused of misusing donated funds, controlling the Facebook page and website of the group, and has even registered the name "Occupy Charlotte" as a business in Mecklenburg County.

Karen and I enjoyed taking part in the Occupy Charlotte protest last weekend, and we support the Occupy movement 100 percent. I have not spent enough time at Occupy Charlotte to know what the opinion of most of the participants might be. However, I find it troubling that one individual is trying to impose his leadership over the local movement. My understanding all along has been that this is a leaderless movement in which decisions are made by consensus, so Mr. Shope's actions seem to directly contradict the spirit and the principles of the movement.

I very much hope that this split can be mended. This is supposed to be a movement for the people, not a vehicle for individuals to pursue their personal agendas and ambitions.

Photographs From Occupy Charlotte March

I took these photos yesterday during the Occupy Charlotte assembly and march on the Bank of America headquarters. It was exciting for Karen and me to finally have a chance to take part in this movement. Although Charlotte, a city not known for its political activism, has not had crowds as large as those in many other big cities, I was impressed by the energy and passion of the people who were there, a crowd that I would guess was about 200-300.

I am disappointed at the lack of coverage by the local media. A google search on Occupy Charlotte this morning found only this story about the difficulty that the occupiers in downtown Charlotte are having finding places to go to the bathroom. Hopefully some local business owner can be found who will open the doors to the occupiers.

This blog post by Sinister is one of the better commentaries that I've read on the occupy movement.

Photographs from yesterday:   

       

                                      

 General Assembly and tents at the Occupy site, Old City Hall

Protest at Bank of America 

The Scene of the Crimes:

Occupy Charlotte

This is a short video that I took this afternoon at the protest at the Bank of America corporate headquarters here in Charlotte. The protesters had marched from the Old City Hall where Occupy Charlotte is camped to BOA. I would estimate there were about 200-300 people there for the peaceful protest. I will post some photos later.

ProNet Charlotte

I mentioned the other day that I was attending an orientation at ProNet Charlotte, a nonprofit service to assist displaced professionals in their search for employment. After attending the orientation session, I have to say that I am impressed with what they have to offer, and very hopeful that they will help me in my job search. Here is a video about this innovative service.

Mass Transit is Good For Our Cities

A few years back, Charlotte had an ambitious plan to incorporate light rail into its mass transit system. One light rail line, the Lynx Blue Line, was completed a couple of years ago, before the economy collapsed. Unfortunately, it seems like the remaining lines that were planned have been stalled, and I have to wonder if they will ever be built.

I took the Lynx Blue Line from the park-and-ride facility at its southern terminus to downtown Charlotte today. Local detractors, those people who are against spending "their" tax money for just about anything, will claim that light rail is a waste of dollars, and doesn't make any difference in reducing smog or traffic congestion. From what I could see, the large three-level parking deck at the light rail station was almost completely full--this is hundreds of cars at just one of the seven park-and-ride lots, cars that would otherwise have been driving the twelve miles into the crowded center city. Multiply this times five days per work week, plus probably a slightly lesser number on weekends. And when there are sports or entertainment events downtown the trains are packed--I know because I used to take the light rail regularly to and from my job.

It's obvious to me that light rail is a benefit to a big and busy city, especially one that is spread out like Charlotte. We have become far too dependent on our cars and the fossil fuels that they require. It's just a shame that in hard economic times, it's worthwhile projects like the light rail that seem to get cut first.

The Lynx Blue Line at the South Boulevard and I485

Station

Job Search Assistance

I recently found out about a nonprofit group called ProNet Charlotte. Their purpose is to provide tools, resources, counseling and networking resources for out-of-work professionals seeking employment in the Charlotte area. I will be attending an orientation meeting this afternoon, and have also signed up for a resume coaching session next Tuesday. Reviewing the web site, it looks like this group has a wealth of resources, and I'm looking forward to getting started. I only wish that I had learned about them sooner!

Fresh Local Produce!

Near the grocery store where my son works, in south Charlotte, there is a little produce stand called Providence Produce Market. It's in the parking lot of a convenience store/Shell station at the corner of Providence Road and Ballantyne Commons Parkway (or maybe the convenience store is in the produce stand's parking lot). They sell primarily locally grown produce with awesome quality and incredible prices. I stopped by this morning and picked up a couple of HUGE red bell peppers. These are probably almost twice the size that you usually see in the grocery stores for around $2.50, and here they were just 99 cents each.

Also, a special surprise treat, they had fresh locally grown figs for 99 cents per pound. For the two giant red bell peppers, two sweet yellow onions, five fresh figs, and three large cubanelle peppers, I paid a total of $5.37. You can't beat that with a stick!