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July 2006
What makes a great dog park?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jigger Houdini Bass, or better known to some of you as just “Jigger,” is without a doubt my pride and joy, complete entertainment and at times the fuel to my high blood pressure. Nevertheless, I am convinced that fate meant us to co-exist together. (Jigger’s photo is below.)
When I was looking to buy my first home two years ago, my intention was to get one with a yard or some sort of space for him to run around in circles like he uses the living room and dining room in my house as an obstacle course now.
Unfortunately for him, I went another direction and got a townhouse with no fenced-in yard. But I promised him at the time that I would take him to the off-leash area at Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta at least once a week until the day I did have a house with a yard.
The last time I took him to Piedmont Park, however, he showed me that I should never take him to any off-leash park ever again.
It was one beautiful Sunday morning and I took him there and just let him run around and be a dog with the other dogs. But Jigger is not always as interested in playing with the other dogs as he is with walking around sniffing and marking EVERYTHING.
Well, on this one particular visit, there I was talking to another dog owner who I thought was - well- very attractive.
What does Jigger do? Walks up, sniffs their legs and proceeds to lift his leg in what I assume was an attempt to mark territory for his daddy.
I was never so horrified or embarrassed. I appreciate that Jigger may have been trying to help me out, but I think that would have turned into an ugly situation had he been successful.
That was about two years ago, and I haven’t taken him back since, and hopefully you can understand my reluctance for doing so.
I think it’s important for a dog to have that kind of area where they can run around freely. Unfortunately, the closest thing resembling a dog-friendly park in Gwinnett County seems to be Ronald Reagan Park. Not exactly what I would call “close by”.
Enter Graves Park, currently under construction off Graves Road and set to open Mid-September. It will include four sections of off-leash areas (one for large dogs, one for small dogs, etc), a watering hole and a general dog run that connects them.
In an area riddled with condominiums and apartments, I am surprised that a place similar to what they are building at Graves Park hasn’t been constructed long before now.
Graves Park will not only be a great new addition to the area for its human citizens, but surely a welcome addition for its canine citizens as well.
How would you design a fantasy off-leash area for Graves Park? What would it look like and what features would it include?
Permalink | Comments (21) | Categories: Woody Bass
Lesser of two evils: McKinney or Reed?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I would like to send out three thank you’s.
First, I thank Denise Majette. She got a little bit of a big head and decided to relinquish her seat in the House of Representatives for Georgia’s District 4 and run a failed bid for the open Senate seat vacated by Zell Miller, thereby allowing Cynthia McKinney to once again rear her ugly head in public office.
Second, I thank whoever decided that a smidgen of Gwinnett County should be included in a portion of District 4, which meant we have to be represented by the likes of Cynthia McKinney.
Lastly, I want to thank the person who encouraged Ralph Reed to enter the Lieutenant Governor’s race because this totally perplexed and confused me going into the July 18 primary election.
Who is the lesser of two evils? I thought.
Should I vote on the Democratic ticket and against Cynthia McKinney in the race for District 4 House of Representatives? Or vote on the Republican ticket and against Ralph Reed for Lieutenant Governor?
Both, in my eyes, are very dangerous in their own way.
Cynthia McKinney has been a disappointment and an embarrassment and inept at dealing with issues that really matter. Need I remind you of her violent act against a Capitol Hill police officer? First she admitted no wrong doing and then “somehow” escaped any sort of punishment.
She was absent to vote on at least 20 bills on the House floor in 2006 alone according to GovTrack.us, and WSB AM750 reported that she missed every House vote last week.
What concerned me about Ralph Reed, a former leader of the Christian Coalition, is how he might use his elected position to push his extreme fundamentalist Christian agenda.
I wanted to vote FOR a candidate rather than AGAINST one, but, alas, no such candidate stood out.
There is no happy medium in politics anymore. Candidates are either extreme radical right (Ralph Reed), or the extreme radical left (Cynthia McKinney).
Are moderate and centrist ideas completely extinct? Is the object no longer to unify the country but instead further divide it?
My definition of a centrist/moderate would be someone who is fiscally conservative and socially liberal. Neither Reed or McKinney, nor most of their alternatives presented in the primary, fit the bill.
But I had to make a decision.
So I decided that Casey Cagle probably had the best chance to overcome Duluth resident Ralph Reed to be the Republican nominee for Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor.
Then I took a deep breath that was followed by a long moaning sigh and checked the box next to the Democratic Party.
Once at the voting screen, I voted against McKinney and for Hank Johnson.
I made my way home, walked Jigger, ate dinner and wondered: Did I make the right decision?
Returns on tv told me I had, when I watched Ralph Reed concede to Casey Cagle.
But my turmoil was far from over.
I awoke the next morning to discover that the pain and misery I had endured would endure at least another 3 weeks. There will be a runoff election between McKinney and Hank Johnson on Aug. 8.
By then I’ll have donated to Johnson’s campaign and asked my neighbors in District 4 to also “Vote for Hank.”
How about you? Did you have to choose between the lesser of two evils? How did you feel about the outcome of the primary elections?
Permalink | Comments (36) | Categories: Woody Bass
A tale of two Norcrosses
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There are many who call Norcross home who do not necessarily live inside the city limits of Norcross.
The “true” citizens of Norcross are sometimes very quick to tell me that when I use the city as a geographic reference, the “problems” I write about don’t exist in their community.
I wanted to know if the quality of living within the city limits really lives up to all the hype in comparison to unincorporated Norcross.
I spent a Saturday morning driving around the city of Norcross and just observed “life on the inside.”
I began my trip through the city on Holcomb Bridge Road via Atlantic Boulevard. I was bowled over by the sudden change of scenery and small-town charm. I saw an obvious sense of pride in the community.
Approaching the city center, I spent some time in Thrasher Park and the adjacent business strip lined with antique shops, cafes… and the citizens of Norcross all coming together.
I stopped at the Northern Star Coffeehouse on the strip and spoke with employee and 17-year Norcross resident Anna and 20-year Norcross resident Joseph. Both were young and, in my eyes, they represented the city’s future. They embody the proud, tight-knit community they live in.
“Huge difference,” said Joseph when I asked him about the differences between the city of Norcross and unincorporated Norcross. Anna agreed with him and said the city has a more peaceful atmosphere with mostly friendlier people than those who live beyond its boundaries.
From the inside looking out, Joseph stated he thought the biggest problem with unincorporated Norcross was there was no sense of community.
It took Historic Norcross 136 years to nurture and develop its identity, style and atmosphere. The small-town charm cannot be replicated in unincorporated areas of Norcross such as Gwinnett Village.
The Village is going to have to find its own unique identity.
I left the historic district of Norcross feeling surreal as I took Lawrenceville Street, passed the surprisingly magnificent City Hall then over to Buford Highway. I felt as if I were instantly awakened from a beautiful dream and reality was punching me in the face.
That reality exists while still in the city of Norcross. While beautiful at its core, it is faced with some of the same problems as unincorporated Norcross, such as crime and community decay. The city hase a smaller portion of these problems in comparison, but the same problems nevertheless.
While having plenty of reasons to be proud, Norcross residents should be concerned with the goings on in the fringes of its city limits as well as in communities that surround the city,especially in Gwinnett Village.
They will only be able to hide behind their rose-colored glasses for so long before these problems penetrate their utopian shroud.
Norcross Mayor Lillian Webb obviously sees the importance of Gwinnett Village to the city of Norcross. She sits on the board of Southwest Gwinnett Village Community Improvement Association, which deals with Gwinnett Village issues. She understands that what is good for Gwinnett Village, is even better for the City of Norcross.
What do you think are the biggest differences between the city of Norcross and unincorporated Norcross? Should Gwinnett Village incorporate as a city?
Permalink | Comments (20) | Categories: Woody Bass
Beyond Harry Potter: Who should decide what children can read?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Good versus evil. Healing of the injured and curing of the sick. Calls for aid and protection. A lesson in the power of love.
Care to guess what I’m referring to?
The Harry Potter books, which Loganville mother Laura Mallory says should be removed from Gwinnett County school libraries. She claims they send bad messages to children and promote witchcraft.
If she finds books with the above themes objectionable, couldn’t the same argument be used against the Bible? The Bible includes these themes.
This is a controversial comparison, no doubt. However, the point of the comparison is not to compare Potter to Jesus, but instead to point out the hypocrisy in Ms. Mallory’s argument against Harry Potter.
Laura Mallory wasted Gwinnett taxpayer dollars and took her agenda before the school board without having all the facts to support her argument: She admitted that she’d not read any of the Potter books in their entirety.
Thankfully, the school board had some common sense and turned down Ms. Mallory’s request.
But she didn’t stop there. She appealed to the state.
Officials announced about a week ago that the state Board of Education will hold oral arguments Oct. 3 over whether the Potter books should remain in Gwinnett’s public school libraries.
Why is Ms. Mallory causing all this grief? Because she didn’t want her children to read those books.
She has a right as a parent to impose her rules on her offspring, but she shouldn’t try to impose her beliefs on others people’s children.
I doubt very seriously that any teacher is mandating Harry Potter as reading material for any student. And if they are, let the parents discuss the issue with those teachers.
If Ms. Mallory had read the books thoroughly she would realize just how little “witchcraft” actually plays a part in the plot of the story.
Certainly she isn’t suggesting that fighting evil and the power of love is detrimental to her and everyone else’s children?
All Laura Mallory needed to do to avert the controversy was seek permission to transfer her children out of J.C. Magill Elementary School in Loganville or enter them in a private school.
If I were the principal there I probably would tell her to have a nice day and not let the door hit her on a certain part of her anatomy on the way out.
What do you think? Who should decide what children in public schools can read - the libraries, the school board or the parents?
Permalink | Comments (51) | Categories: Woody Bass
Do we use our time on this earth wisely?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I find myself in a frustrating position: Now that my life is better I have less time to enjoy it.
I got a new job this year and while that was a very positive turn in my life, it has meant more responsibility and demands than I can ever remember having.
Add to that writing this blog, taking care of my dog Jigger, and suddenly I’ve no time and very little energy left. My exhaustion is starting to affect my poker game and I’ve even considered hiring a maid to clean my house.
Is it healthy to be counting the days when I can retire so I can relax and have fun?
What happened to enjoying life NOW?
So, in search for my lost time, I decided to calculate how typical 9-to-5-ers like me spend their week, based on what we should be doing and based on our habits.
We start a five-day work week with 120 hours:
According to WebMD.com, while individual needs may vary, they recommend eight hours of sleep per night.
Rrrrriiiiggghhht. But ok, I’ll play along. That leaves:
80 hours left.
Let’s figure about 6 hours a week (and yes I accounted for the more esthetically pleasing individuals) getting ready for work each morning and for bed each evening. This would include everything from showering and brushing your teeth to ironing your clothes.
74 hours left.
According to Arbitron, the research firm, in 2000 the average commute time to work was 31.1 minutes. That is about right for me going to work, but some days my trip home is nearly double that. Guesstimating that that is typical for my fellow Gwinnettians, we’ll say the total weekly commute time to and from work is 8 hours. These are things we have to do - not time spent on hobbies or something else - and already theres’ only:
66 hours left.
Then we spend approximately 42.5 hours (including a minimum 30 minutes for lunch) of our week making money to pay our bills and support our shopping habits.
23.5 hours left.
Figure in about an hour and a half per day cooking and eating a healthy, well-balanced dinner.
16 hours left.
Average time spent watching TV is approximately three hours per day, according to a UC Berkeley study. To be completely fair, many of us watch TV while doing other activities so I’ll give us the benefit of the doubt and say total TV-only time is approximately two hours per day.
6 hours left
That same study suggests that we take 60 minutes a day for moderate physical activity. Uh huh. I’ll get right on that.
That leaves us with one hour. One hour per week to dedicate to ourselves, our children, chores and to wind down from a grueling day. We do that 50 weeks out of the year, assuming we get two weeks of vacation.
There’s a lesson in all of this math and that is: Choosing the right career and the right employer is very important. How many of us want to spend 2125 hours a year doing a job we hate and/or working for an employer that makes us miserable?
I didn’t forget weekends and holidays.
When weekends come around, I generally work on projects around my home, do laundry, play poker, entertain Jigger and run errands and tasks that I couldn’t do during the week because - you guessed it - I had no time!
When you break down time by activity, such as I have done here, it really puts life into perspective.
How can I consider going back to school? It will probably force me to cut my TV and poker time. Oh, the horror!
The 48 hours we have each weekend cannot be enough to make up for the neglect to ourselves and our families during the week.
I wonder: Are we using our short time on this earth wisely? How do you find the time to do what means the most to you?
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Woody Bass
