8 OCT 08: WORKING THE SOIL
"Is that cotton?" a woman in my complex asked the other day as she pointed toward the courtyard. Now don't get the wrong idea - no one had left an old T-shirt there to dry out.
"It looks like it to me," I told her. Two sprigs were about ankle-high, with white fluff attached to them. But why would someone want to grow their own Q-Tip swabs?
I correctly guessed which person in the complex planted those sprigs, so I asked him about them Tuesday. Sure enough, he's growing cotton in the courtyard -- after developing a small garden near the apartment wall, which seemed to have collard greens. Well, we ARE close to the Uptown Farmer's Market....
This led to the obvious question - why? The neighbor told me the cotton plants were a matter of nostalgia. "I used to pick those things all the time, where I used to live." I can relate to this a bit. It took years of adulthood, before I appreciated raking leaves in the fall.
The neighbor used to pick cotton in a very appropriate place - the Russell County town of Cottonton. I assume the people who wanted to work with peach orchards went down the road to Pittsview....
My neighbor admits he doesn't have big plans for the harvest from his two cotton plants. I doubt they'll provide enough fabric for a simple pair of socks. But some area mills are so desperate to stay in business that they might actually accept walk-in customers.
This bit of urban agriculture may seem unusual - but consider what Columbus Council considered Tuesday night. Mayor Jim Wetherington offered a resolution to support a Cesar Chavez national holiday. Chavez organized the United Farm Workers, with their protests of table grapes. Leaving them on top of the refrigerator probably wasn't allowed, either.
Nine states currently recognize the 31 March birthday of Cesar Chavez as a holiday. The mayor's resolution called on the Georgia Legislature and U.S. Congress to do the same thing - but for some reason, it did NOT establish a Columbus city holiday for Chavez. Talk can be a lot cheaper than a paid day off, you know.
This resolution from the mayor certainly was a surprise to me - and I wondered if it was introduced quietly on purpose. For one thing, some people believe there are too many federal holidays now. Some of them even want to revoke one - the one Mayor Wetherington is making sure the city marks next Monday. Would Columbus still have Columbus Day, if no one else keeps it?
For another thing, some people might protest the idea of honoring a man who organized migrant farm workers -- including possibly illegal immigrants. But Cesar Chavez was born in Arizona, not Mexico. And he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II - so Columbus veterans won't feel compelled to go out and buy Mexican flags to wave.
(Oh yes, I almost forgot -- does this resolution for a man devoted to "union rights" prove to the critics Mayor Jim Wetherington really still is a Democrat?)
The proposed Cesar Chavez Day has struck me as an effort to give Hispanic-American people a "holiday of their own," similar to Martin Luther King Day. But of course, the idea is to open Chavez's vision to a wider audience -- as the mayor's resolution calls for a "day of service, learning and action." For instance, El Vaquero could require all its customers to speak in Spanish....
WRBL reported Columbus Council voted for the Cesar Chavez Day resolution. So will there be citywide celebrations next 31 March? And will local "gringos" be tempted to call it the start of Cinco de Mayo season?
Now for other items from the Tuesday news:
+ Evening rain fell on Columbus, for the first time in about three weeks. We'd like to thank all the meteorologists for resisting the temptation to call it "the wet stuff." After all, some detergents can be wet stuff - not to mention beer and wine.
+ Fraternal Order of Police President Randy Robertson scolded Columbus Council, for last week's public apology over the detention of Wallace Davis. Robertson said not all the facts are known about the case. But Chief Ricky Boren joined in the apology - so Robertson may have to save the details for an upcoming tell-all book.
+ WRBL reported two Fort Benning drill sergeants were reprimanded, for what a Jewish soldier called discrimination. If someone requests a kosher Meal Ready to Eat, I don't see the problem with it....
+ A laid-off worker in Las Vegas filed a class-action lawsuit against Bill Heard Enterprises. The suit claims under federal law, employees should have been given 60 days' notice before the dealerships were shut down. That's funny - Bill Heard barely gave customers seven days to return clunker used cars.
+ Phenix City voters removed two incumbent Councilors in a runoff election. Jimmy Wetzel won by a two-to-one margin over Ray Bush - which means Bush will have more time to handle lawsuits by disgruntled city employees.
(The runoff race for mayor of Hurtsboro was won by Rayford Tapley. If he's smart, he'll organize a victory parade with several brand-new garbage trucks.)
+ The Chattahoochee River Watch announced it's moving away from a building on Broadway, to save money. The new location will be on 12th Street - which is curious, because I figured a house in Bibb City would also cost less money, and let members actually watch the river.
+ Richard Hyatt's web site disclosed the Macon Telegraph is now handling inserting operations for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Maybe now the Sunday store ads will be in alphabetical order, so we can find the ones we really want.
+ The Alabama Public Service Commission granted Alabama Power an eight-percent rate hike, BUT on the condition that no increases would be allowed next year. Yet the utility already has filed a request to start assessing late fees on bills
+ Instant Message to the Troy University football announcers: I didn't watch Tuesday night's game on ESPN -- so what is this "NASCAR set" the Trojans are using on offense? Does it start three-wide, then have the receivers collide with each other?
(BLOGGER'S NOTE: We will take Thursday off to mark "Yom Kippur," the Biblical Day of Atonement. Our next scheduled post should occur Friday.)
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