4.09.2005

summerland letter

I wrote this letter to the Summerland municipal council today and thought it was relevant to the topic of this blog as well (community participation in town planning). I know letters of this nature are supposed to be shorter but I couldn't stop once I got going. I should also have included a specific call for action or at least a response - how do I forget these basic things? Fear of failure or looking dumb almost kept me from sending it altogether so in that respect I'm glad it's done. The written word (including this blog) is one of the few obvious areas in my life where I feel I battle with perfectionism.

4.07.2005

late rambles

Hmm, to go to bed or make up a post out of thin air? The kids went to bed late so I feel I should stay up late to preserve some idea that I'm an adult. Or does this prove that I'm not? Nothing exciting to report except that Jeremy and I keep reading about civic development and urban planning and should really start our own town someday. It would have grand civic buildings and the perfect density of housing - no sprawl. We'd all have roof gardens and meet in the square for sing-songs and pot lucks every night.

I am getting carried away by the could have/should haves in the way our society is running. The real challenge is to define what it is I feel is missing and find a way to do something about it. My first step is to take care of the ground we have a stake in, by which I mean our common strata yard. It's all lawn and weeds. No bushes, trees or garden plots. It's not even useful for the kids to play on as all the lawn slopes toward a busy street. Guess where the soccer ball ends up? The next question is whether to run it through the proper channels or just start guerilla planting and see how long it takes for anyone to notice or care. A third option is to sanction and pay myself to do it since I'm strata treasurer. Probably some bylaw against it. Or criminal law for that matter....