ITS THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT ...

 

IF you can find some of the OLDER episodes ... or even better, some of the old radio broadcasts of this show ... Garage Logic ... based in Minnesota's Twin Cities area ... You will find that the song - which gained exposure with the inclusion of it in the "Chicken Little" soundtrack ... has for DECADES been associated with this particular show.

Now they can no longer play the song ... but this is a pretty good example of the "world ending" and people seeming to "feel fine" about it.

The St. Paul City Council held a PUBLIC MEETING regarding the CITY BUDGET and how taxes, endowments, grants, etc. was going to be SPENT over the next FEW YEARS - open to change as the Council sees fit (or the Mayor, but lets not get into that one again)

They chose the Pavilion on Como Lake in Como Park ... Oh My Goodness - its GORGEOUS there too, when I was a little girl (10-12 yrs old) the dog training club my parent belonged to would use the pavilion as their training headquarters. It overlooks Como Lake and the green grounds surrounding the area.

The houses which are nearby are lovely as well - some are of the Victorian Era which have been bastardized by the modern world, others are monstrosities of the 1960s, or the pre-fab houses of the 50s.

But no matter the type of home - the neighborhood is thriving (for the most part) and there are still many families living in the area for over 50 years - while the "Como Park" area includes much of the property on the other side of Raymond (a street which runs street-wise on one end and avenue-wise on the other, so we just call it Raymond) ... let's just say Como over the years has become one of the largest "neighborhoods" in St. Paul.

I wish I could have been there - I no longer live in St. Paul, but as St. Paul does, so will the surrounding communities ... and SOME ONE has to stand up for common sense.

Any ways - as you hear GL mention in the clip, there were more people WALKING AROUND TH LAKE than there were AT THE MEETING .... and this was a very warm night (the day's high temp was in the 90s) I can understand people wanting to get out and about before the snow flies.

HOWEVER ...

WHEN i  WAS GROWING UP (yup, one of those old folk stories) my parents made sure that they went to city meetings ... the meetings were so full that it was STANDING ROOM ONLY!

(I grew up in Minneapolis) and the meetings weren't just held in one neighborhood on a single night ... they were held in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood, the Edison neighborhood (west side of Central Ave), NorthEast Minnapolis (East side of Central Ave), a couple different spots in South Minneapols, Prospect Park, North Minneapolis, etc. etc. EACH neighborhood had a meeting and their voices were HEARD, or at least respectfully listened too.

NOWADAYS - they have ONE meeting, in ONE place, give MINIMAL notice of it, and give out as little information on the night of the meeting as possible.

It actually does not surprise me that less than 100 people showed u[ ... most times, the council members have already made up their minds before the meeting even begins ... sometimes even before its been announced that there is to be a meeting.

I blame it on the DUMMYING DOWN of our education system ... I blame it on the DYING of the "NEIGHBOR"hood ... think about it ... do YOU know who is on YOUR City Council?  Do YOU even know who you are voting for in November?

The MAJORITY of people DON'T ... they vote for the D or R or I or whatever letters represent their party without any regard for the person ... that's how its been for a LONG TIME - decades, maybe even centuries ...

My daughter is dating a guy (I just can't bring myself to call him a "man" since I met him when he was in high school) who's parents NEVER voted ... not because they couldn't, but because they never saw the point.  They moan and groan about the way things run, the taxes they have to pay, what they wish were laws, what they'd like to get rid of ... 

THAT.  Is. Why. You. NEED. To. Vote!!!

That.  Is. Why.  You.  NEED. To. Attend. Meetings!!!

311, 527 St. Paul residents can NOT expect that 75 people will be able to speak for all of them.

But you can understand why the city council thinks the citizens just don't care.