Text The Times.

Text The Times.

This is for the lazy people that somehow don’t know how to put shopping carts in their proper places at Walmart why they want to leave them in parking spaces is just down right lazy they probably need the walking to put them where they go so all you lazy folks out there put carts where they go and not in a parking space thank you. [ Editor’s Note: Full disclosure here: I was once one of “ those” people. I would just leave my cart next to my car and pull away with little to no afterthought. But like many life lessons, my children taught me the error of my ways. As youngsters, all three of them took great pleasure in “ getting” to put the cart in the little cart corral. They saw it as what you were supposed to do. And eventually, I saw the merit in taking the few seconds it takes to put the cart up, and now I do it, too… even if the kids aren’t around]

*** I live in the original City of Marion, across the railroad from River Trace.

I read the Text in Evening Times on April 1st, from the person in River Trace — a place where the city of Marion receives most of its Tax Base.

I have lived in Marion since 1973. In 1974 Marion had a lot of flooding from rain. I had to park up the street walk home with my groceries coming from work. No way in! No way out!

The flooding situation has been a problem since 1974. Our homes have been flooded, residents have had problems unable to getting to their home and no way out due to the flooding. No way in! No way out!

I think this situation has nothing to do with where you live or your tax base, in getting this problem fix. It is bad planning and the city not caring about the situation. This will never be fixed because the Mayor and City Council had rather have water meters that are electronic. The Mayor and City Council does not care.

This group does not know how to get the problems fixed. It is all about how they like to experiment with new things as one of the City Councilmen stated about the electronic meters. [ Editor’s Note: Just a quick note: This actually came to me in the form of a handwritten letter with a precursory declaration of “ I do not text!” So, just a reminder to anyone who also doesn’t text, I will take an actual letter, an email, or whatever other means of conveying your message you might have. You can even leave a comment on our Facebook page. Now with all of that out of the way. You’re 100 percent correct in that how much you the individual pay in property or other taxes, the city should ( and does) treat flood mitigation issues equally in all parts of town. I, too, have lived in Marion since 1973, though being one year old at the time, I can’t verify the flooding situation in 1974. I can certainly verify the flooding situation in 1987.

And in more recent memory, 2011 immediately comes to mind. The main issue, it seems, is that we’re really fighting Mother Nature here.

The entire county was originally a cypress swamp and still would be if not for more than two centuries of fighting what the ground itself seems to want. Water has a mind of its own and couldn’t care less how much your house cost or what part of town you live in.

It’s easy to get behind the idea that the city could do more to combat flooding, but I’m not sure, given the local geography, topography and climate, what exactly that would be.

Ten inches of rain in less than 24 hours is ten inches of rain, no matter where you are and that water just isn’t going to go away as fast as one would like]

*** I’m starting to see signs for Esperanza bonanza again. Could we not move it up a week or two. It ALWAYS RAINS that first week in May. And I mean always!!!

[ Editor’s Note: It does always seem to rain during Esperanza Bonanza, although, I think it actually stayed dry last year. But, I don’t think moving it is going to happen and here’s why: There is already so much going on in May that there simply isn’t anywhere to put it that wouldn’t create major scheduling conflicts. You’ve got the Beale Street Music Festival, Memphis in May, high school graduations, and Memorial Day weekend. Move it back to before all of those, and you have a pretty high risk of it being cold ( and rainy). Move it past all of that and you’re into June ( where school’s out, families are on vacation, and it’s almost definitely going to be HOT. So, I guess the best thing to do is pray for sunshine and don’t wear your nice shoes]

Photo courtesy of Marion Animal Shelter

Anybody missing a fine-feathered friend?

It doesn’t appear this brightly-colored parrot just flew into town for the spring. “I actually found this little Conure at Meadowbrook Circle,” said the shelter employee who posted the pretty pic on Facebook. “I know it has to belong to someone because it flew onto my shoulder, so if you know who it belongs to, please contact the Marion Animal Shelter.”

870-225-1456

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