Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Approved by City Council

We had to change the filter on the well last Friday.

But we used the wrong filter because after my hour of really sweaty exercise Saturday morning I couldn't get any water for a shower. Of course I didn't discover this until I was standing naked in the shower.

I put on some clothes and headed for the well house because I thought maybe the valve had not been turned on to the house. But that wasn't the problem. I decided maybe I could do without a filter but I couldn't get the thing off. So finally I just drove home - irritated and sweaty.

So Monday first thing was getting water and we did - we thought. I had several intervening circumstances that kept me from my shower until late afternoon. It was 107 here according to my dash thermometer. Somewhere in Oklahoma it was 109 I noticed. That's pretty hot.

We had a Moore City Council meeting where our application for rezoning the property designated for Target would be considered. It is supposed to be a secret about Target but all the documents have a Target logo on them; so, I guess it is an open secret. So I thought I would dress up with slacks and sport coat for the occasion.

I'm really looking forward to a shower by the time I get over to the old house. Turn on the water in the shower and think to myself it isn't very much pressure. Turn the handles as far as they go. But not enough pressure to make a shower. Not enough really to fill the tub because the stream of water became increasingly weak.

I got kind of a bath anyway - enough to finish dressing.

We all met at the City Hall at just before 6:30. We being me and my son and our engineer and a developer representative who both flew in from Big D. We all sat together. The meeting convened promptly at 6:30. This current group makes stuff run on time.

The minister from the First United Methodist Church gave the invocation and invited everyone to come to church. Then we all turned as a group and faced the flag of the United States and repeated the pledge of allegiance. I was taught to say "one nation under God" in one breath but apparently that must not be the style now because most everyone else said "one nation" followed by a tiny pause and then "under God." Guess it doesn't matter much how you say it.

Kind of nice actually to say the pledge of allegiance. When I was a kid in school all of us, the entire school, began the day with an invocation and then the pledge of allegiance. I don't know if that's done now or not. I remember the 1963 case where Mrs. O'Hair's Supreme Court case about prayer changed things. But I was in high school by then and I think we didn't all start the day with prayer and pledge by then. I think the Kennedy assassination eclipsed that case in any event for most of us anyway.

Our items were 5th and 6th on the agenda. The mayor read the first one. The lady in charge of planning and development spoke for a few minutes about the project. Someone offered a motion which was followed by a second. The mayor asked if anyone wanted to speak and no one did and so the vote was taken and it was unanimous for approval. And then the next item was introduced and everything happened the same way except the lady didn't have to speak again.

Our developer guy (his name is Don) had to go somewhere else so we all left and the City Manager stepped out to thank our guys for coming. I wondered if he would have stepped out for just me and my son. Probably best to not wonder about stuff like this.

So all is moving right along now for our Target store development.

Every time I drive past that empty few acres now I look at it and think to myself that this is one of the last times I will see this land that way. It is a bit sad while also being very exciting at the same time.

I'm trying to get the estate valuation finished so we can do the estate tax return. I think I may get it done this month. Another bitter sweet thing.

Talking about bitter-sweet things, I've been reading my blogs from last year.

3 comments:

Annie said...

Ah, showers. Such a luxury anymore. Did you get it fixed?

Congratulations on the approval. It sounds like you're doing the development thing right, Flinty. You seem to care and put much thought and research into what is being done. Thank you.

Lori1955 said...

Guess I should be grateful that I never have been on a well. Nothing like being naked in a shower with no water. :)

I'm really surprised that they had both prayer and the pledge at the meeting. I didn't think anyone did that anymore. Congratulations on getting the approval to move forward.

I don't know if reading posts from last year is a good idea or not. I have done that too and didn't find any peace it that.

¸.•*´)ღ¸.•*´Chris said...

In my old house in the country, we had a well, and it was a pistol to keep running. Always breaking and going haywire. I do miss the stillness of a summer evening out there.

Never gave much thought to the way I said one nation, under God. I guess I pause too. Jeez, you make me rethink how I say and do things sometimes, lol! I have to repeat it a few times to see how I say it. I pause.

You are a braver person than I to re-read your blogging from last year. I can't do it now and don't look to be able to do it any time soon.