Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

By Faye Gaston

Joyce L. Perrin, Vice Chairman of the Union Springs Planning Commission, provided in-depth public comments regarding the petitions for "conditional use" of mobile homes in the City of Union Springs.

Her complete written explanation was included in the minutes of the August 3, 2020, public hearing. She explained how mobile homes affect property values and tax bases. Perrin has been a resident of Union Springs for eighteen years. She has served on the Union Springs Planning Commission for several years and attended classes concerning the duties of members of the Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission decided the 1996 Comprehensive Plan needed updating. So a new in-depth Comprehensive Plan was developed.

In 2012 Auburn University assisted in the planning. Public meetings were held. The first ones were conducted by Auburn University (Downtown Revitalization) and later ones by SCACA (Comprehensive Plan).

All were well attended by the public. Most concerns expressed were about run-down stick-built homes and mobile homes. Mixing these structures caused concern for lowering property appraisals when sales and taxes occurred.

There was the cost of removing metal/mobile home structures once their life expectancy was complete. The Comprehensive Plan was completed between 2012-2014 with SCADC assistance.

The Planning Commission spent weeks holding public meetings during the zoning map changes. The new zoning map was evaluated with SCADA (state agency).

Three active mobile home parks were located in the city and these were designated as the proper place for mobile homes to create "like property" appraisals. The other alternative was to prohibit mobile homes in the city. It was understood that all mobile homes would be located in these three mobile home parks or outside the city limits.

It was never intended to consider a "conditional use" of mobile homes in the city, nor mixing stick-built homes and mobile homes in zoning areas of R3, R2, or R1 housing.

These presently petitioning for "conditional use" of mobile homes have not attempted to secure placement in a local mobile home park or secure a lot outside the city limits.

Perrin feels she must follow the directives of city residents during the planning meetings for the Comprehensive Plan. If these petitions for "conditional use" continue, she feels compelled to make a motion to amend city ordinances to not allow mobile homes in the city limits, "as this is done in many incorporated cities due to loss of tax base and lower property values."

Perrin said before she moved to Union Springs, she had lived in mobile homes for over twenty years, both old and new, in cities and un-zoned counties.

It was understood that by local city zoning commissions you would locate your mobile home in a mobile home subdivision or mobile park so that stick home values would not diminish.

She gave a personal history of being an Appraiser, Broker, Auctioneer, and Developer in the business of Real Estate. She gave examples of her work in these areas in the City of Guntersville, Alabama. Joyce Perrin is the owner of Promiseland Realty & Development located at 126 Prairie Street in downtown Union Springs.

More here:
Perrin explained the effects of mobile homes in Union Springs - Union Springs Herald

Firefighters watch as flames tower over their truck Wednesday at the Bear Fire in Oroville, Calif. The 2020 fire season is off to a staggering start, far outpacing last year. Josh Edelson /AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Firefighters watch as flames tower over their truck Wednesday at the Bear Fire in Oroville, Calif. The 2020 fire season is off to a staggering start, far outpacing last year.

Updated at 10:27 p.m. ET

Intense wildfires are ravaging large swaths of the West Coast, prompting thousands of people to flee parts of Oregon and forcing power outages in California, where fires have already burned a record of more than 2.3 million acres this year. Fires are burning from Washington state to Southern California.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said on Wednesday afternoon that 35 fires are burning more than 300,000 acres across the state, and even places that are not currently burning face the worst fire conditions in three decades.

"Our number-one priority right now is saving lives," Brown said. "This could be the greatest loss of human lives and property due to wildfires in our state's history."

The Marion County Sheriff's Office has confirmed two deaths linked to the wildfires.

The Salem Statesman Journal reports that the victims were a 13-year-old boy and his 71-year-old grandmother. The boy's mother survived but was hospitalized in critical condition.

Brown said that several towns Detroit, Blue River, Vida, Phoenix and Talent are "substantially destroyed." Hundreds of homes were lost, she added.

And in Washington state on Wednesday, the commissioner of public lands said that a small child had died in the Cold Springs Fire. According to KXLY-TV, the 1-year-old was killed as his family tried to flee from the fire.

The Cold Springs Fire has burned more than 163,000 acres since Sunday evening, prompting mass evacuations and road closures.

In southern Oregon, people in parts of Medford, Talent and nearby communities were ordered to evacuate the area immediately Tuesday, with officials citing the imminent threat of fast-moving fires. The entire town of Phoenix which has several thousand people was told to leave.

"I heard popping and houses blowing up and on fire," Bear Creek Mobile Home Park resident Edward Hancock said as he described the scene just outside Ashland to reporter April Ehrlich of Jefferson Public Radio. Hancock and several neighbors eventually made it to a temporary evacuation center at the county fairgrounds.

Ehrlich, who lives in Talent, said she fled her house and went to a friend's place in Medford only to have that area also fall under evacuation orders. Early Wednesday, she said via Twitter that "there's a good chance my house is gone."

Deputies in Clackamas County, southeast of Portland, spent the night going door to door to make sure residents knew they had to get out, the county sheriff's office said. One fire in the area was sparked "when an RV pulling a Jeep south was emitting sparks and caught fire. The RV pulled over and it started the brush fire," the sheriff's office said.

Across the region, 15 new large wildfires were reported on Monday alone, the National Interagency Fire Center said. That makes at least 87 large fires, which have burned more than 2.7 million acres. Even in places where flames haven't reached, massive amounts of smoke have filled the sky, making it difficult to breathe.

"Foresters and meteorologists say they're seeing unprecedented fire behavior, with blazes traveling dozens of miles in just hours," Raquel Maria Dillon of NPR member station KQED reported.

"Near Big Sur, flames jumped a containment line and overtook more than a dozen firefighters Tuesday," Dillon said. "One is in critical condition. On the other side of the state in the Sierra Nevada, military helicopters rescued hundreds of backpackers and campers."

A community of forest homes lies in ruins Tuesday in the Meadow Lakes area after the Creek Fire swept through near Shaver Lake, Calif. David McNew/Getty Images hide caption

A community of forest homes lies in ruins Tuesday in the Meadow Lakes area after the Creek Fire swept through near Shaver Lake, Calif.

The 2020 fire season is off to a staggering start, far outpacing last year. By the end of the first week of September 2019, California had seen fewer than 5,000 fires, which burned nearly 118,000 acres. By the same point this year, the state recorded more than 7,600 fires and roughly 2.3 million acres burned, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

The fires have been stoked by a recent heat wave and propelled by strong winds. In many places, even a small blaze can find plentiful fuel dry timber, grass and brush officials said, pleading with people to avoid any activities that could create a spark or flame.

A blast of cold air may reduce the risks in some inland areas, but along the coast, it's adding to the problems.

"Strong winds on the western side of the winter storm have brought dangerous and life-threatening fire weather conditions to large portions of [the] western U.S.," the National Weather Service said, "from the desert Southwest, through the Great Basin, much of California into the Pacific Northwest."

The dangerous winds could start to diminish across the coastal area by Thursday, the weather service said.

A critical or elevated fire weather threat persists in many of those places, with red flag warnings along most of the Western coastline and nearby areas on Wednesday.

Smoke from the fires caused eerie orange and hazy skies in San Francisco, the Bay Area and nearby regions Wednesday morning, repeating scenes that have been recorded as far north as Bellingham, Wash., earlier this week.

Many of the largest fires are burning along the Cascade mountain range or, further south, along the Sierra Nevada mountains. But smoke from those fires is now shrouding communities along the coast in haze, as wind patterns funnel the smoke to the west and south.

"There's an elongated low pressure system along the West Coast driving this," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says.

For weeks, parts of the Inland Northwest have been seeing consistently smoky skies. But thanks to the shift in the winds, many of those regions are now seeing blue skies.

"An amazing sight after at least a month of near steady dense smoke and haze," NPR's Kirk Siegler said, posting an image of the sky in Boise, Idaho, Tuesday.

Pacific Gas & Electric has shut off power in parts of Northern and central California in hopes of reducing the chance that its power lines could trigger a wildfire.

"PG&E's shutoffs have affected 170,000 homes and businesses from California wine country to the Sierra Nevada mountains," KQED's Lily Jamali reported.

Such extreme measures are a last resort, the utility said.

"PG&E set up 50 community resource centers for customers, especially those needing power for medical equipment," Jamali said. "But the utility has shut down three of them so far because of the fires ravaging the state."

The U.S. Forest Service has closed campgrounds in all national forests in California, citing the deadly risks of "extreme fire behavior" and firefighting resources that are already stretched thin.

Excerpt from:
'I Heard Popping And Houses Blowing Up': Deadly Wildfires Rage On West Coast - NPR

A 28-year-old man who targeted elderly victims in carrying out a string of residential and commercial break-ins throughout the Coachella Valley was sentenced to more than 17 years in state prison, prosecutors said today.

Joseph Foster Ramey of Palm Desert pleaded guilty earlier this year to 22 burglary counts, along with identity theft, vehicle theft, and receiving stolen property charges.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Burke Strunsky handed down the 17-year, four-month sentence Tuesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Ramey was arrested July 17, 2018, and was initially accused in a series of residential break-ins in Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Thousand Palms, as well as eight storage unit burglaries at Storquest Self Storage in Palm Springs.

He was later charged with several other home burglaries, mostly in Palm Springs, during which he took jewelry, credit cards, checkbooks and other items, including a handgun recovered by police during the arrest of a family member who tossed the weapon onto a roof during an unrelated assault case, according to court papers.

Many of the burglaries targeted elderly victims, often when they were inside their homes and asleep, records show.

One of the burglary counts stemmed from a July 13, 2018 break-in at the Palm Springs Mobile Home Park, where he broke into a residence around 3:30 a.m., barricaded the 86-year-old resident inside her bedroom by blocking the door with furniture and made off with several items. Ramey's fingerprints were discovered inside the mobile home, according to court papers.

Read more from the original source:
Coachella Valley serial burglar sentenced to more than 17 years - KESQ

Jan Tuckwood| Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Alice Moore put both hands on Tim Hullihans face and stared into his eyes.

I am going to serve you breakfast on my porch, the lifelong educator told the architect.

This was in October 2009, when Hullihan had just saved a two-story rooming house, built in 1921 by Moores adoptive father, Haley Mickens, from demolition.

Moores porch was across the street from the rooming house, behind the white picket fence. It wraps around the stately two-story home Mickens built for himself and his wife, Alice Frederick Mickens, in 1917.

That porch has seen a lot of important people and things.

Moore had been crying when she grasped Hullihans face, so desperate was the then-92-year-old to save her familys history and heritage an important heritage that would have been forgotten now if not for Hullihan and a small band of fellow historians.

The look in her eyes and the strength and sincerity of her voice said that she trusted me and that she was counting on me to do what she was no longer able to, Hullihan said in his eulogy for Moore, who died Jan. 13, 2014, at 96. The invitation for a meal in her home was more than a traditional Southern gesture of friendship. It recalled the numerous important moments her front porch had witnessed and evoked her neighborhoods affluent past.

Thats right. Moores neighborhood, the Historic Northwest neighborhood in West Palm Beach, had been affluent once upon a time.

The Mickens family home had been impressive, one of many impressive homes built by upper-middle-class Blacks around 1920.

Moore told Hullihan how the Mickens family and their home at 801 4th St. played host to Count Basie and Louis Armstrong, and how members of their bands stayed across the street, at the Mickens rooming house.

She regaled him with tales from the porch, where Nobel Peace Prize recipient Ralph Bunche had once shared tea, and where Asa Philip Randolph, who had organized the first predominantly Black labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, had chatted with Haley and Alice Mickens in the 1920s.

And where Mary McLeod Bethune, who founded Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach in 1929, worked with Mrs. Mickens to raise money and persuade the state Legislature to build a home for young Black women who would have otherwise been put in prison.

They both worked to get women the vote, though that was particularly tough for Black women.

Florida was still the South in 1920. Although Congress had passed the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote and 36 states had ratified it by 1920 making it the law of the land not every state voted to ratify it at the time, and racial tensions often kept Black women from voting.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited racial discrimination in voting. Florida women had been voting since 1920 but it took the Legislature until 1969 to finally ratify the 19th Amendment.

It takes time to change minds and hearts. Women like Bethune, Mickens and Moore knew that and kept the wheels of womens equality moving.

In her obituary in The Palm Beach Post, Alice Mickens, who died in 1988 at 99, was called an ambassador of interracial good will.

She served as a trustee at Bethune-Cookman for more than three decades and received an honorary doctorate from the university. A science hall there is named for her, and another hall is named for Alice Moore.

Their legacy of education continues, beyond their deaths, because of their friends, who remember.

Dr. Moores front porch was a classroom for those willing to listen, Hullihan said in his eulogy for Moore.Sitting with her, I learned that during the 1920s, 30s and 40s, when at least one of the teams in the Negro Baseball League used Lincoln Park (now Coleman Park) as their spring training site, it was a Mickens family standard to host Sunday afternoon garden parties for the professional baseball players of both the home and visiting teams.As I listened to the prideful and confident voice of a retired educator, I imagined Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson making their way up the front porch steps and being welcomed into her home.

Dr. Moores front porch is part of a home and a neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places largely because of her persistent efforts to keep their rich histories alive.

And of Hullihans persistent efforts.

As she reminisced, I let my eyes look upon the historic neighborhood her adopted father helped establish and she had called home for 80-plus years, Hullihan said. As my eyes wandered, I hoped her 92-year-old eyes could not see it as it was.I hoped in her minds eye it was still a thriving and prosperous neighborhood.It was then that I realized that this front porch deserves to face a better future a future more like its affluent past.It was then that I realized that I was friends with an extraordinary lady who deserved my very best efforts in preserving her familys legacy.

Hullihan drew up plans for Mickens Village, a plan for the 1917 Mickens house, the 1921 boarding house and a 1903 house also built by Haley Mickens.

That plan was a dream it went nowhere for years, and it may never succeed.

But today, the wheels keep moving, slowly.

West Palm Beachs Community Redevelopment Agency has plans to move another historic structure The Edgewater, a two-story hotel built by white pioneer George Potter 100 years ago from 316 Gardenia St., to a spot on the Mickens property where their garage once stood.

The hotel was supposed to be moved in June, and then in August. Perhaps it will be moved this fall, but the coronavirus pandemicis one of many complicating factors.

Whether these projects work or not depends on several factors the most important is filling a need, Hullihan, a West Palm Beach native, said. Too often grand projects are out of step with the community that will surround it. In the case of Mickens Village, it is intended to be in step with the community and be part of it.

The idea is to make the Edgewater a bed-and-breakfast, and the proprietor of the B&B would live in the historic Mickens house.

Creating a bed-and-breakfast creates an opportunity for a local business person to earn and keep local dollars in the community, says Hullihan, who has been involved in preserving many downtown buildings, including the 1917 courthouse, now home to the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum. That's very different from grand projects that often overlook the key element of success: local proprietors keeping local dollars in the community.

Across Division Avenue from the Mickens house, a three-building local history museum is planned, using the two-story Mickens boarding house, a home Haley Mickens built in 1903, and a 1920 house recreation. The three buildings would be linked by a storytelling plaza, a public gathering space.

Telling the story of the Northwest neighborhood and preserving it for future generations was Dr. Moore's dream, Hullihan says. With a B&B across the street, the potential to tie the museum in with heritage tourism makes a lot of sense to me. Keeping the neighborhood's history alive in present and future generations is essential.

Women making history: 100 years of the womens vote

To celebrate a century of suffrage, The Palm Beach Post is featuring a series on influential women.

Next Tuesday: How sororities in historically black colleges and universities have supported local women, personally and professionally

On Sept. 22: Local women who have spent most of their lives volunteering with the League of Women Voters

On Sept. 29: 2020 Election Guide, produced by the League of Women Voters, appears in The Post

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100 YEARS OF THE WOMENS VOTE: On the front porch of history - Palm Beach Post

CLEVELAND, Ohio A gunman fired shots into a group sitting on the front porch of home, killing a 42-year-old man, according to police.

Raymond Lawson of Cleveland died in the drive-by shooting, according to police. Five others sitting on the porch at the time of the shooting were not hit by bullets. No arrests have been made in the case.

The shooting happened about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at a home on East 112th Street and Kinsman Avenue.

All six people were sitting on the front porch when someone in a large SUV drove by the home and fired several shots, according to police.

A bullet hit Lawson in the neck, killing him.

The SUV sped off. Investigators searched city-owned surveillance videos in the area to see if they recorded the shooting or getaway.

Its the 15th homicide in 16 days in Cleveland. There have been 111 homicides in Cleveland so far this year. There were 80 homicides in Cleveland through Sept. 2, 2019, when there were 132 homicides for that year.

Read more from cleveland.com:

Man shot to death in Garfield Heights, police say

Cuyahoga County Jail officer convicted in attack on inmate suspended 15 days

Man charged shooting that killed one, wounded another at Cleveland gas station

Link:
Man killed after gunman shoots into group sitting on porch of Cleveland home, police say - cleveland.com

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- Cancer never takes a break, and neither does Memorial Hermanns In the Pink of Health. The annual event, presented by SGL Foundation, is a longstanding tradition in The Woodlands. For 20 years, ladies and gentlemen have donned their pink and teal and enjoyed a full host of activities: a champagne reception, auctions, and a boutique, culminating with the luncheon that featured a celebrity speaker and a testimonial from a local cancer survivor. People gathered to raise money to help reduce the incidence of breast and ovarian cancers and to support cancer survivors and their families.

Like many other events, guests will not be gathering at the Marriott this year, but will be celebrating from the safety of their home and enjoying the program on screen. The medium may have changed, but the mission remains the same.

'During this time of increased unemployment, high stress and uncertainty, the need for In the Pink of Health to continue providing services for our friends and neighbors is greater than ever. We appreciate those who can us help us fulfill our mission by safely celebrating A Porch Affair with guests, whether its on a porch, a back yard, or in the comfort of your home,' remarked Dee Gelsomini, In the Pink of Health co-chair.

In the Pink of Health welcomes back the support of many sponsors, including top sponsors SGL, Tricia and Jack Futcher, Adcetera, Makeup Junkie, and Mary Ann and Marty Young.

'We are so thankful to our community partners for their support of Memorial Hermanns In the Pink of Health. This year we are celebrating our 20th anniversary and we are proud to say that we have reinvested over $6.6 million back to our community here in Montgomery County, said Debra Cooper, In the Pink of Health co-chair.

This year, sponsors will receive a Celebration Kit full of surprises to help them celebrate the day of the event. A friendly In the Pink of Health committee member will deliver it to each sponsors home or business the week before the event.

Its a way to show our appreciation and include them in the celebration at noon on Oct. 23, said Ann Wolford, event consultant.

To underscore the Porch Affair theme, In the Pink of Health has partnered with Woodlands Style House who will completely decorate a sponsors porch, patio, lawn or dining room for the event. This auction item will be available at the end of September and awarded the second week of October. As a result of the 2019 luncheon, the In the Pink of Health allocations committee disbursed $500,000 to help cancer survivors in and around the greater Montgomery County area:

$225,000 to Canopy, a cancer survivorship center on the campus of Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center; $100,000 to Interfaith Community Clinic to provide 3D mammograms for underserved women and support breast cancer education and outreach; $50,000 for continued investment in state-of-the-art technology at the Memorial Hermann Breast Care Center at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center; $50,000 to The Rose for breast screening, diagnostics, and treatment for women of all ages; $25,000 to Ovarcome to assist in its mission to increase awareness of ovarian cancer and its symptoms and provide financial support to patients in Montgomery County; $32,000 for wigs and wig care kits through the oncology nurse navigator at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center; and $18,000 was held in reserve for special projects.

To join A Porch Affair on Oct. 23, please visit http://www.inthepinkofhealth.org or contact Ann Wolford at awolford@thewolfordgroup.com. Sponsorships are still available.

Photos: All photos by Nicole Oman, Relics of Rainbows Photo

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Memorial Hermann's In the Pink of Health Celebrates 20 Years with A Porch Affair Virtual Event Oct. 23 - Woodlands Online

BAYVIEW Standing on the front porch of Ruby and Larkin Littles home at Bayview, the breeze from the wide Pamlico River whispering through the screens and the lap of waves against the bulkhead may be the only sounds heard. Theres plenty to see: piers jutting out into the water, a big blue sky and an opposite tree-lined shore nearly two miles away.

The peace of their surroundings, the sunrises and sunsets, were what drew the couple to the land nearly three decades ago. They were living in Greenville and found Bayview to be just their kind of getaway, without going too far away.

For a number of years, we had a trailer here with a big old porch on it, Larkin Little said.

By 1993, they were ready to build, so they built the house right next door to their current one its stucco exterior and wall of windows facing the river modeled on a home theyd seen while in Ft. Myers, Florida. It suited them, until the Littles got a random visit one day.

In 2004, some people walked up to our door and said they wanted to buy it, Larkin Little said.

I looked at Larkin and said, You want to sell this house? Ruby Little laughed.

It turns out, they did.

THREE SEASONS: A three-seasons porch takes advantage of the river breeze in a space that has the comfort of indoors, outdoors.

We were gone six months a year, off and on. I felt I needed something a little more closed in, because we werent here to check on it all the time, Ruby Little said.

The next house was built to last.

Because its so well-engineered, theres a lot of things you dont see that add a lot of value to the property, said Century 21 REALTOR Scott Campbell. Its got an irrigation system, a deep well, three zones for heat and air, 50-year-warranty metal roof, French drains around the property.

We built this house as a forever house. When they said use 2-by-4s, we used 2-by-6s, Ruby Little said.

A PLACE TO RELAX: A daybed on the three-seasons porch makes for an ideal spot to take a nap, with the river breeze and the sound of the waves against the bulkhead.

Ruby Little served as general contractor on the house, and nary a space went unused. Where drywall would have covered a nook, she instead had the space converted into a recessed bookcase; where a closet would have been built a certain size, she requested it be expanded to fit beneath the slope of the roofline. The kitchen is a cooks dream, with all the extras: double ovens, a walk-in pantry, all Thermidor appliances including refrigerator plus two additional refrigerated drawers in an island.

COOKS KITCHEN: With all Thermidor appliances and bonuses such as a bread drawer and additional refrigerated drawer space in the center island, this kitchen is made for someone who loves to cook.

Its maxed out, Ruby Little laughed. Larkin gave me free reign and we used it.

That extends to a three-seasons porch that runs along the front of the house and a master bathroom with a shower in one room and soaking tub with views of the river in another, separated by an enormous walk-through closet.

The Littles designed the house not only for themselves, but for their children and grandchildren upstairs bedrooms with their own sitting room, along with a playroom, provide plenty of space to spread out.

When we built this and moved down here, we had 11 grandchildren. They were down here all the time, running around, Larkin Little said.

Now everybodys grown up and gone to college or moved to other states, Ruby Little said.

Their childrens and grandchildrens moves have precipitated the Littles move to Washington. There, they still have views of the water in their Moss Landing home on Water Street, and the pool that came with the property is Ruby Littles new river.

Ive never lived in town in my life, but we can walk places, and weve enjoyed that when weve been able to do it, Larkin Little said.

The couple said theyve enjoyed their Bayview home for many years.

LOTS OF LIGHT: With hardwood floors and windows and doors opening onto the porch, the living room is bright and airy.

Weve enjoyed the space and being able to spread out and all the entertaining, Larkin Little said.

Sitting on the porch, youre right there on the river, and the breeze feels so good, Ruby Little said. Its a happy place.

For more information about 113 Boada St., Bayview, contact Scott Campbell (252-362-1569) or Alexis Davis (252-702-9697) at Century 21 The Realty Group in Washington.

The rest is here:
Bayview home built for the generations - Washington Daily News - thewashingtondailynews.com

If youre not insane by now, you must be insane.

Everythings open. Most things are closed. Nothing is open. Some things are closed. Some things are open. Nothing is closed. Whats open?

And so on.

Im high risk. One droplet and Im a dead man. And I dont want to die alone in a poorly lit room and limited cable access. I want to go out in a glorious flash of light, surrounded by throngs of dancing people, the night busting open, these two lanes will take us anywhere!

Where was I? Oh, right: For me, everything might as well be closed, because I aint going anywhere either way. I sit on my partners porch out in the country day after day, night after night, trying to remember what I used to do.

Ive become an old man before my very own eyes.

My partner, shes lucky. Shes essential. Im a discard. Everything about what I used to do involved very close human contact, face to face, intimate encounters.

Does that make it sound like I was an escort? I dunno. It just sounds funny.

Then again, maybe in times like these, escorts are considered essential personnel. That is, if people even have sex anymore. Ive been trying to figure out whether there will be a population boom this coming winter or no new babies at all. That all OB/GYNs will be retrained as ventilator operators.

But, back to my partner, Janelle. She had a three-day weekend. Remember those? I would kill for the opportunity to hate Mondays again. Now I dont even know when Monday is. I dont even recall its particular role in the space/time continuum anymore.

Do I sound like Im cracking up? Dont worry: That happened months ago.

Where was I? Oh, Janelle.

She spent the long weekend in a mad purge, making the best of her rare free time. Cleaning out her rooms, closets, cabinets, cupboards, pantries, all in a fixed determination to fix everything thats wrong with the world.

Or, at least, with her house.

And to make room for me. Ive moved in.

In the process, she uncovered and rediscovered the entirety of her past. Photos, letters, relics, folders, binders, mementos, all the crap that sits in shoe boxes in the back of your closets that you find only when you decide to purge.

For the three day weekend, I was nearly assaulted by her past. The family and school photos. The Michael Jackson LPs. The Star Wars stuff, or whatever it was that I missed in the 90s. She called it a walk down memory lane.

Whose memory, whose lane, all a blur to me. So many photos. So many memories, not mine.

But the place, it looks great now. Really nice. But I got a little despondent, watching her accomplish so much when I, technically, dont even have my own home anymore.

She sensed something wrong. She said: Whats wrong?

I said to her: Suppose youre me. You write a weekly blog post. But you dont do anything. You dont meet anybody interesting, you have no new experiences, there are no new revelations, no new insights into the human condition. You just wake up every morning to the horror of a brand new day.

Whats to write about?

(OK, its not that bad. I cut grass. I plant things. I rake. I lift weights. I cut grass. I plant things. I rake. I lift Oh, damn, maybe it is that bad.)

Janelle, she says: Why dont you write about me!

Janelle, she speaks in exclamation points.

Sure, why not, I said. That sounds fun. So I asked her to fetch one of the multitude of photos that she found this weekend. So readers can get a better sense of you than just my words, I told her.

And so youre looking at the one she chose. Welcome to my new life in the country. Welcome to the Breakfast Club.

Meet Janelle, 1990.

Aint she a prize?

But dont you forget about me.

See original here:
Welcome to My New Life in the Country...But Don't You Forget About Me - My New Orleans

The Bureau of Land Managements National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center will be hosting a variety of open-air programs in September to connect youth to Americas natural and cultural heritage through public lands.

The Interpretive Center has a variety of programs to take visitors back in time:

Oregon Fever! offers visitors a deeper insight into the pioneer experience Thursdays through Sundays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Sit a spell and talk with a Ranger during Porch Chats Thursdays and Fridays at noon, and Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m.

Learn about the flora and fauna of Flagstaff Hill during a ranger-guided nature walk on Saturdays at 9:15 a.m. and stick around to hear a pioneer describe their experiences on the Oregon Trail during Voices of the Past at noon.

Discover the unique mining history of eastern Oregon at the Going for Gold program Sundays at noon.

There are also special events and exhibits to explore:

Meet formerly wild horse Norm Fridays, Sept. 18 and 25 at 11 a.m. While Norm poses for pictures and smooches visitors, owner Deb Henshaw will be happy to answer questions about working with wild horses and the BLM adoption program.

Dont miss exploring how cutting-edge technological advances of the 1800s made the grueling overland journey easier for later emigrants. A self-guided exhibit entitled Tech on the Trek is open during regular center hours through Oct. 12.

Public health measures encouraged

While visiting, we strongly encourage all visitors to follow Centers for Disease Control and the State of Oregon guidance to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. These measures include:

Practice social distancing by maintaining two wagon wheels (6 feet) between you and others visiting the center.

Wear cloth face coverings, like bandanas, where social distancing is difficult (except for those who are under age 2 or have trouble breathing). Wash your hands often. While youre outdoors, use hand sanitizers. Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Most importantly, stop the wagon train and stay at home if you dont feel well.

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Pioneers, porch chats, and gold among September programs at the Interpretive Center - Ontario Argus Observer

Guest blog post by Tim Scarbrough

Simplicity. For many months now, this seems to be a place I must inhabit a place of peaceful simplicity. A definition of the word "simplicity" isa thing that is plain, natural, or easy to understand. It might be pluralized as "simplicities of pastoral living".

Yet, to further the concept, I think the perception of simplicity is as personal as the feelings a sunrise might create in your heart, or perhaps the giggle of a baby or the mew of a kitten. Is it a place of raw basic emotion? Perhaps one of nostalgia or sweet memory?

I believe all these examples are true and much more than many of us might consider. Let me elaborate from a recent discovery as I was recovering from some of the worst effects of radiation and hormone treatments I experienced while fighting prostate cancer.

I recently rediscovered my front porch, a place of simplicity.

I have a small farm in rural southern Illinois and have always had a great view from my porch. Id commonly see bees and trees, dogs and cats, gradual and sometimes rapid growth of plant life, especially mid-summer crabgrass and field corn. Before my divorce some years ago, throughout 22 years married, our porch was seldom used and not at all for meetings, quiet time with God, calm reflections, or meditation.

Last year, a former girlfriend of mine gave me a nice cigar. We sat together and laughed, smoked it, and drank a little just spending quality time together, on the porch.

I newly saw, even in the beginning of 2020, my porch was a place that gave me comfort. In this place, I found a peace that Id not known since my marriage was sound, and all of my children were smaller, living inside.

How utterly simple and profoundly peaceful!

In my deep pain from treatments, work stresses, and old terrible memories that bubble up from time to time I was able to sit comfortably on my porch, just me and the Lord. Sometimes with a glass of tea or coffee, maybe a pipe of aromatic tobacco and a brandy: There I found a deeper place of simplicity and peace. Afresh I saw trees and grass. With new insight I saw my small herds of goats and sheep grazing. Hummingbirds, honeybees and wasps buzzed by, And goldfinches flew across the yard.

I could see the faint expression of a breeze through a leaf on a low branch or through only the top of the boughs of very tall trees. A thunder storm might cause the rain to fall and the trees to bend but there I sat, enjoying the sight and feel of it all. A dog or cat at my feet and I was not suffering but just basically at rest. I might have been utterly exhausted or feeling terrible but I could find peace sitting there and letting the wind blow and simply just be.

View from the porch.

For some months since this rediscovery, my porch remains a place of simple peace. An escape for me from a world of pestilence and uncertainty, in all seasons a location to quietly commune with God and the world he created a basic place of simple joy.

I encourage you to search your home for this special secret place. I guarantee it exists. You just need to search it out. When you find it, make it your own and use it often if not daily. Each of us needs this to live life in order to decompress or be quiet amidst worldly noise. Your body, mind and especially your soul will be thankful of the decision and the time spent in this peaceful place of simplicity.

Seek it out.right now!

Tim Scarbrough is a retired Army veteran, singledad of four awesome kids and owner of a small farm. He serves others through his local church, mentorship and public speaking in Toastmasters, and building missions with Habitat for Humanity.

Aur Beck has lived completely off-grid for over 35 years. He has traveled with his family through 24 states and 14,000 recorded miles by horse-drawn wagon. Aur is a presenter at The Climate Reality Project, a fellow addict at Oil Addicts Anonymous International and a talk show co-host at WDBX Community Radio for Southern Illinois 91.1 FM. Find him on the Living Off Grid, Really!?!? Facebook page, and read all of Aur's MOTHER EARTH NEWS posts here.

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Off-Grid Simplicity: Discovering Peace on the Porch | MOTHER EARTH NEWS - Mother Earth News