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A couple of days ago I was contacted by some reporters for the Missourian. They’re interested in setting up a newsletter for our neighborhood. Here’s the gist of the idea:
The basic idea here is to provide a neighborhood with a publication that provides information on what’s happening within that specific neighborhood. It can include anything of interest to the association, ranging from issues in the community that directly affect the neighborhood to “get to know you” type articles on residents or association officers. We are interested in having as much input from actual residents as possible. This is designed to fit each neighborhood, and we want to include what the residents want. More details can be discussed at the meeting in regards to what your specific association/neighborhood might be interested in.
We’re going to have a preliminary meeting with the two reporters involved tomorrow evening, Thursday 9-25, here at my house (2011 N. Country Club) starting about 8:00. If anyone else in the neighborhood would like to attend, you are certainly welcome to come hear what they have to say! If so, please drop me an email at jim@afineline.org and let me know you’re coming so I can have sufficient refreshments.
Hope to see you there!
Jim Downey
Welcome to the equinox. The weather hasn’t yet gotten chill, but my morning walks around the neighborhood reveal autumn color creeping into the trees, and it is more common to see a mist rising from the Country Club’s lake.
My apologies for the lack of blogging here. Been a few hard weeks, dealing with some (relatively minor, yet demanding attention) health issues. Like my tomato and pepper plants this year, I have not given forth the yield I had hoped for initially. Perhaps it has been all the rain, or just that the soil needs rest.
But with the new season comes new hope. Might seem odd to some that this is the case, since autumn is seen by many as a descent into winter. But I love this time of year, and it is why Martha and I chose to marry in October, some 21 years ago. I love the crispness, the lovely gold that comes and captures the sun, as we go round and round.
Jim Downey
Hello, everyone! Jim has asked the other new officers to step up and introduce themselves. My parner and I moved onto Country Lane two summers ago in July. We were looking for a house that was close to our jobs (Stephens College for me, Socket for him) that was more kid-friendly than our downtown loft. The steep stairs, lack of elevator, and parade of loud Deja Vu drunks under our window from 1:00am-2:00am every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday was not conducive to child-rearing! We knew the moment we visited that this was the house, and the neighborhood, for us. We were joined by our son, Dante, that November–if you’re trying to do the math, he’s 21 months as I write this.
Most of the time I’m at home with Dante and our two cats, Josie and 13, but I sneak over to Stephens a few times a week where I teach one or two classes a semester in women’s studies or liberal arts–women’s folklore, women world leaders, and other humanities courses. I’ve also been taking banjo lessons from Dierik Leonhard of Ironweed for a couple of years now. My nearby neighbors will be glad I’ve traded in my first love, percussion, for that banjo; it’s so much quieter! I do still have a set of drums out in the garage in their cases, though, should anyone want to rock out….
Most of you will have a chance to meet me in person over the next year as I update the neighborhood directory, one of my goals as secretary. See you around the ‘hood!
I just thought I would post a quick update from our officers meeting last week.
The new slate of officers met at our home, with Warren Prost and Jayne Wack attending to help pass on information from their time in office. Unfortunately, Linda Hutton, the past Secretary, was unable to attend.
Since things are currently calm with the CCENA, we’ve decided to tackle a couple of ongoing projects. In the short term we are going to tweak some of the language in the Bylaws (a final version will be submitted to the membership for adoption later), and Sarah Catlin-Dupruy (Secretary) will be working to get a revised Directory completed. We’ll also be looking to put some components of said directory online here, and you can expect Sarah to be in contact with you in the future about this project. Jack Miller (Vice Chair) is going to work on developing an overlay district for our neighborhood and surrounding areas. Greg Wack (Treasurer) is going to look into fostering a closer relationship with the Country Club, since many of our concerns and theirs coincide. And I am going to see about building connections with the other neighborhood associations in the city.
I’m hoping that the other officers will introduce themselves here when they get a chance, and use this blog as a way to communicate what news they have and to solicit feedback from our members. I will try and get something posted here weekly, and would welcome any participation or comments. Also, if you have a news tidbit or something you would like to share, feel free to drop an email to me at jim@afineline.org
Happy September!
Jim Downey
