About 18 months ago I started going to Eufaula on a fairly regular basis. This morning I was cleaning some files off my phone and came across some footage that I shot to share with some friends. My family had always said that the widening would not and did not, as it has since been completed, change the beauty the street in question. Many of you have seen this street in the movie "Sweet Home Alabama". It is a beautiful street with a canopy of trees shading Antebellum homes. I found a video on youtube of the street. Posted below, it will give you an idea of what the area looks like. The street in question is at the end of the video It's a beautiful town full of southern charm, right? Who would want to ruin this historic beauty? Read on, the answer will probably surprise you Ok, so to not make this a huge tale of all the legal proceedings, etc, I will give you the Reader's Digest version. Here are the pertinent facts"
To learn more of the story you can read it here http://goo.gl/zZBAW7 My first trip to Eufaula was January 2014. The street was AMAZING. When the decision to widen the street was made I have to admit you could see a noticeable change. As "progress" continued the street got uglier and uglier.... Finally the judge (U.S. District Judge to be exact) ruled in December that the work would begin. The Historical Society (often referred to as the Hysterical Society) was beside themselves. Their beautiful street and town were about to be destroyed. The homes in question had survived Sherman's March To The Sea only to be utterly destroyed, DESTROYED I TELL YOU, 151 years later by the widening of the street. --- Ummmm wait a minute.... They were only taking a 12" (for those of you who need a visual that's two dollar bills end to end) off the median... No trees were being removed, the property did not lose land or trees or even have those uber-destructive bright orange paint marks put on the curbs. There was damage to the beauty of the street though, I have to admit, though it wasn't what everyone was complaining about. I visited in April, aside from the fact that traffic moved better, you could not tell the difference. The new white lines in the center of the street did no detract from the beauty and elegance of the street. What struck me this morning when I was looking at the videos is what did ruin the street, at least for me, a tourist to the area. Are you ready? I know you want to know.... For almost a year during the Great Debate this beautiful street was littered with ugly white and red signs. These eyesores were EVERYWHERE They were ugly and littered the street. THIS is what ruined the beauty. Below are a couple of videos that I hot on my drive up in December 2014 The signs were everywhere.
Often the enemy we create in our minds pales in comparison to the monsters we create to battle it.
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AuthorHi All Welcome to my world. Enjoy the ride! Archives
May 2017
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