Mansfield: It’s Working
I want to sincerely thank all of my friends — both old and new — for helping me plant my three-quarter acre vineyard. It certainly was more work than I anticipated, and my wife and I would not have been able to do it alone. While there’s still a lot more work to do, it can be done at a more leisurely pace since now the vines are in the ground.
The goals I had in mind for repurposing the three lots that have sat vacant for over a decade were myriad, and so far they are being accomplished. Cleveland has over 3000 acres of vacant land, and that figure is growing as more houses are being torn down. The flat new home market, especially in inner-city neighborhoods, means these lots will sit empty unless we start growing something on them.
Not only will my vineyard produce something of value (grapes with which to make wine), it will serve as a teaching venue, and hopefully will create a job or two; the more lots put under the plow in Cleveland, the more potential jobs. Being part of the greening of America is going to pay off. Read about Will Allen and what he’s doing in Milwaukee.
But perhaps the biggest payoff for me so far is in meeting neighbors and members of my community I didn’t know. People driving past ask what’s going on, and one woman, who was walking her dog, took it home, put on her jeans and came back to dig in the dirt. She’s the fifth volunteer who just popped up out of nowhere. Friday I’ll be going to ward club meeting and soliciting even those who have been hating on the project, and invite them to come out and help too.
Yes, an inner-city vineyard is going to face some challenges (from two as well as four-legged critters) that vineyards out in the middle of nowhere won’t have … that’s to be expected. But I figure this way — even a failed vineyard will be better to look at than the weed-choked lot that sat across from my house for over ten years. But, if I can mobilize just one percent of my neighbors, failure really won’t be an option, and in three or four years we’ll be sipping some mighty fine wine. Thanks again to everyone who believed enough in The Vineyards of Chateau Hough to get their hands dirty.
Also, many thanks to my media friends Harry Boomer and Tom Beres, who both did great stories (both “went national” by the way) that will help spread the word about the renewing of Cleveland’s urban core. Follow the links here and here.
There ought to be a law
As I pulled up to my friendly neighborhood supermarket I was hoping against hope she wouldn’t be there … but fatalistically knowing she would — after all, it was the first of the month and the store would be packed with shoppers: Too good of a sales opportunity to miss. Besides, she’s been there for the previous three months when inner-city grocery stores do the lion’s share of their business.
She sits on a little folding chair right by the door, with a little table holding her wares right beside her; this month she’s selling Snickers. She well-coached for a four-year-old … she yells out “You want to buy some candy?” while potential customers are still 15 to 20 feet away. Last month, as the temperature took a mid-spring nose dive she was shivering as she bravely stood sentry when I entered the store; by the time I came out she was wrapped in a ratty-looking blanket … but still shivering, and still calling out.
Obviously the big, construction-working looking dude that stands sphinx-like right next to her took pity and got her a blanket out of his car … or maybe some kind passersby had a modicum of mercy and gave it to her.
Cute as a button, she doesn’t ask anyone to buy candy from her for a good cause: Brownie troop or church (or any of the other good causes kids — albeit a bit older — occasionally hawk products for) no, she’s obviously selling candy for this big dude standing next to her … when, in fact she should be playing on a swing set, learning to read, or do any of the dozens of other things a child her age should be doing.
It’s probably not against the law; no one is going to call the child abuse hotline and make a complaint, and it probably wouldn’t do any good if they did. Unfortunately there is no penalty for stealing a childhood, but there certainly should be. My concern is, with this kind of start in life … what will she be peddling by the time she is 16-years-old?
Of course the case could be made that at least she has an adult male in her life … but that’s total bullshit. Where is the mother? Personally, I’d like to take a tire iron and beat the cowboy shit out the do-rag wearing dude who is pimping — yes, pimping — this innocent child … but that, unfortunately, would be against the law. Sadly, some kids get a rough trip through childhood, and, damn us, we’ve yet to figure out how to make it better.
The Casino Vote
Is anyone really surprised the “good ‘ol white boys” down in Columbus would not enact legislation to assure that minorities are treated fairly in the nascent casino industry? After all, Ohio really is a southern state that just happens to be located in the north.
The shame really is that in 2010 it’s still necessary in America to try codify fair treatment into law; by this time it should be a given. But it’s not, and no amount of legal window dressing will make contractors and trade unions play fair. We tried that, remember? When the Browns Stadium, Progressive Field and any other large construction project was undertaken we enacted legislation that set penalties for failure to employ minorities and women. What did the contractors do? They colluded to overbid the project by the amount they would be fined for ignoring such laws, and when they were found in violation they paid the fines with the money they had overbid by. To them fines for continuing their racism was simply a cost of doing business. Will that change under a new county governmental construct? What do you think?
Now-disgraced former Sheriff Gerald McFaul had 36 property appraisers on the payroll — jobs so lucrative a number of lawyers quit their practices to suck on the government tit. How many of the 36 were women … and how many were minorities? Care to guess? No one in power asked, because no one in power cared about fairness — not here in Cuyahoga County. Will the beat go on as usual under the new county construct?
Politics 101
Someone should write a book entitled “Politics for Dummies.” I was at a Memorial Day parade, and there was one political novice, riding in an open convertible, waving to the crowd like she was the Homecoming Queen. Meanwhile, one of her opponents for a seat on the County Council was walking the same route, shaking hands with folks and actually talking to potential voters. Who do you think is going to win this race? Duhhh.
Ditto the candidates that are too busy (or too disorganized) to have someone answer their phones or return calls. I placed calls to the campaign offices of a number of candidates for County Executive, left a message, and, weeks later, have yet to receive a call back. Try it yourself and see. If they won’t return calls when they are seeking your vote, just imagine how fast your calls will be returned they if they are elected. Another “duhhh.”
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.frombehindthewall.com.