Save the Mauldin Open-Air Market!

At left: Joel Ann Chandler, owner of the Mauldin Open-Air Market, presents Mauldin (SC) City Council with 2800 signatures of her customers, as well as others who value local small business. (Monday night, Sept, 19, 2011) Chandler has operated the market for 30 years, and the land has been in her family since the 20s.


We attended the Mauldin City Council meeting last night, to help a popular local businesswoman try and SAVE her business, which also happens to be an indispensable upstate treasure. Democracy in action! Well, we'll see how it goes.

Chandler called into my radio show on Saturday morning, and talked about the planned land-grab at length. I went to shop at the Open-Air Market myself on Sunday (check out those fabulous cherry preserves and yummy cashew brittle!) and spoke with Chandler about the upcoming hearing, and then decided to attend it myself.

Some background, from a Sept 7th news report:

Longtime Produce Vendor Takes On SC-DOT
Market Owner Worries Project Could Hurt Business
by Gabrielle Komorowski, WYFF News 4 Anchor/Reporter

MAULDIN, S.C. -- The South Carolina Department of Transportation plans to widen an Upstate roadway -- but not without a fight from a feisty produce vendor.

Joel Ann Chandler has operated the Mauldin Open-Air Market on Butler Road for 30 years.

The SC-DOT wants to widen the intersection and the nearby area where Butler Road meets Corn Road and Brides Road. The area includes the road in front of Mauldin High School.

Chandler said the changes would make it difficult for her tractor trailer to safely deliver produce. She said the SC-DOT wants to convert a nearby embankment into an access driveway.

"It's going to be hard for us to even get out in the road without red lights; dangerous. Kids are running across the road all the time over here," Chandler said.

Chandler also said much of her customers' parking space would be eliminated. "If people have that much trouble getting in and out, you know eventually they won't come," Chandler said.

Chandler has collected more than 1,000 signatures from others opposed to the project. She plans to send the signatures to Governor Nikki Haley.

Tommy Elrod, program manager with SC-DOT, said the project would make the entire area safer.

"She'll have a 40-foot wide commercial driveway and it will be well defined, so to me, that's much safer. You won't have traffic in and out of her business mixing with pedestrians standing at the corner waiting to cross over," Elrod said.

Elrod said the project is not set in stone.

"I'll continue to work with Ms. Chandler and try to come up with access that eases her concerns," Elrod said.

Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin next summer.

Mauldin mayor Don Godbey listened politely, but sounded rather tepid in his response, assuring Chandler at the Council meeting that he had "advocated on her behalf" at a recent Department of Transportation meeting. And that means what exactly? One of the Godbey's associations is with GPATS, which is one of the culprits responsible for this little land-grab scheme. I don't know whether Chandler knows that or not, since I just discovered it myself, doing a websearch on GPATS. In light of this fact, I find it a bit disingenuous, that when Chandler mentioned the organization in her comments to Mauldin City Council, Godbey stayed silent and didn't see fit to let folks know that he is in cahoots with them.

City Councilman Michael Reynolds took the time to thank Joel Ann (none of the other council members did) and complimented her for doing everything correctly. He sounded sad, though. I think he sees the handwriting on the wall. I am also quite skeptical, since I know how Greenville County is, when they want some ordinary person's land: ruthless. But I am hopeful... Joel Ann is a good person who has done much excellent work in the community and has many friends. Chancey Lindsey-Peake of Banana Manna breads, made a statement of support, explaining that Joel Ann has provided a working livelihood to many local vendors and small businesspeople like herself.

Complaint: Conservatives frequently purport to believe in small business, and yet, do not actively support businesses that reflect the culture of the south; the community itself. They will let Walmart destroy my neighborhood, but they won't go out of their way to stop this insanity. Why? Where were all the conservatives last night? And in truth, it wasn't only them: Why was it up to two Green Party members to represent the Left? Where are the Democrats and other progressives who claim to believe in BUYING LOCAL?

It is these kinds of sneaky, incremental moves and land-grabs that have Walmartized the country. If we want to roll that back, we have to start supporting people like Joel Ann. Please shop at her market and let her know that she has your support.

SAVE THE MARKET!

Another Random Dead Air photo gallery (with necessary spelling correction)

Featuring the Swamp Rabbit Trail, Reedy River Falls, Liberty Bridge, South Carolina Farmers Market, and all the usual suspects.

Announcement: The lovely tree at left is a CRAPE Myrtle, not a CREPE Myrtle, and please accept my profound apologies that it has taken me three whole years to correct that! (eep)

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Odds and Sods - Happy Labor Day!

Left: Official grandchild of DEAD AIR, with properly patriotic Uncle Sam hat.



Enjoying my day off with some frozen blueberries and the LAW AND ORDER marathon. What are you doing to enjoy your holiday?


Cracker Lilo reports that FOCUS ON THE FAMILY had to lay off 75 employees. Too bad Dr Dobson wasn't one of them!

[Cutbacks] include a staffer at "Love Won Out," a conference series about "overcoming" same-sex attractions that Focus on the Family announced last month would be ceded to another religious organization.

"Love Won Out"? Sounds like it should belong to our side.

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I spend a great deal of my time at work attempting to locate appropriate and digestible foods for certain people to eat. There is a book for these folks titled What to Eat when you Can't Eat Anything, and they aren't kidding with that. Meowser writes more on this topic:

My shrink (who’s not autistic) told me that a couple of years ago, she was having Gut Issues herself. So she, following the advice of a nutritionist who believed in the “systemic candidiasis” gut theory, went on a dietary regime for two years that was not only gluten and casein free, but also low carb. (So much for being vegetarian on a diet like that, huh?) The idea was that those nasty yeasties would have nothing to yeasty-feast on and would eventually die off and go away. She was already quite thin and wasn’t interested in weight loss, and she did eat small amounts of potatoes, brown rice, and oatmeal, enough that she wouldn’t go into ketosis. And she ate as much protein, fat, and non-starchy vegetables as she wanted, lots and lots of each of those, so didn’t go hungry. And, she said, “My gut issues cleared right up.” She’s now back to eating much more omnivorously, with no problems.

Now, think about what a diet like that would consist of. Or, more to the point, think of everything you’d have to eliminate. Obvs, no baked goods, no fruit (!), no pasta, no white rice, probably no alcohol, no desserts — and most especially, no chocolate. For two years. Are your coffee beans broken? I can’t do that. Yeah, there’s an end in sight and I wouldn’t have to do it forever, but would it feel that way? Besides, how do you stick to something like that and never fall off? I don’t have a lot of confidence that there wouldn’t be recidivism, especially living with two skinny men (one an extremely active 18-year-old) who heart their carbs and would be very cranky not having them in the house unless it was a matter of life and death for me, or at least a matter of my being able to work versus not being able to.

I say, go for it. But then, I am still fond of my Calorie Restriction and Meowser thinks I shouldn't!

If you try a diet, no matter how wacky, and you FEEL GOOD? Stay with it. You have found a gem, The Secret, the veritable Holy Grail...gluten-free or meat-free or raw or however bizarre it might be, do it. I hate to sound like an old hippie, but here it is: Listen to your body.

I think so many of us have simply forgotten how to do that. Modern life isn't engineered that way; immediate gratification, Starbucks and M & Ms tend to be the quick panacea for our overworked souls and psyches.

I constantly slip up, but I get back up and try again. I am still attempting to achieve the 50-75% Raw Food Thing. When all is said and done, I just feel better when I eat more raw foods.

Yesterday, fabulous Tamara brought me a basket of vegetables that she grew herself. It was beautiful and scrumptious, and her generosity was so greatly appreciated, especially as I once again try to bring back the raw to my diet. THANK YOU, DEAREST TAMARA!!!

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Gilbert Shelton is following me on Twitter! I am thrilled! HI GILBERT!

Never underestimate the power of a good Stealie avatar!

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Best spiritual blog is Kelly's wonderful KIKIPOTAMUS THE HOBO, which you should be reading every day if you seek grace in small things.

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Kittywampus writes about Sarah Palin's almost-son-in-law, Levi Johnston, telling tales in Vanity Fair. As I said on her blog, call me a cynical parent, but I don't believe anything disaffected teenagers say. Period.

Probably, First Dude (Todd Palin) went to sneak ONE beer in the garage, and Levi transforms this fact into Melodramatic Teenage Narrative: Sarah makes him drink all his beers in the garage!

Uh-huh. I think you all know how much I dislike Palin, but: been there and done that. I have to sympathize with her on this one, God help me. I can't imagine that Levi could put the bong down long enough to pay attention to anything too important.

Smells like Teen Spirit!

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And finally, your DEAD FROM CUTENESS for this round... meet Renegade Evolution's new adorable babies: Sharon and Ozzy!

Warning, terminal cuteness awaits.

Lunar Eclipse last night makes us act weirdly today

Left: photo by NASA


There was a scantily-reported lunar eclipse last night, which the moon-watchers already wrote off as no big thing. Ha! Of course it is. Twitter is already down, for example. That'll teach people to underestimate the moon!

Oddly, I noticed the lunar event on my Hindu calendar; it wasn't noted on any of my "Western" calendars...

The penumbral eclipse occurred at 13 degrees of Aquarius at 8:55pm EDT. From A Pakistan News:

This is a unique lunar eclipse in that it’s the third lunar eclipse of the season, and second this summer.

For horoscope and astrology lovers, this rare occurrence will bring out the Aquarian influences in your life.

This full moon lunar eclipse brings the sun’s rays shining in its home sign of Leo ruling matters of creativity, children, playfulness, leisurely activities, and love affairs; while the Moon will occupy Aquarius, the sign known for its futuristic take on life, humanity, science, knowledge, and social groups.

While it’s possible that no major event may occur during this special time, your sensitivities are heightened as some lingering events may come to a close…quite unexpectedly.

The Twitter junkies are already flooding Facebook and will probably bring it down too. I admit, I hate being without my regular tweets from Turner Classic Movies and the New York Times, as well as my extremely cool droogs. Phooey...

But it is obvious to me, Twitter was all messed up by the moon. Yes, you cynical atheists and rationalists can sneer at me, but I KNOW what's up.

~*~

I am currently attempting a low-level detox, using THIS product (there's the commercial, Dr Lindsey!) and some very basic alfalfa, peppermint and dandelion-root tea. (Yes, the bathroom is my friend!) I am hoping to refocus my diet and get back to my former benchmark of 50% raw foods, which always makes me feel physically fantastic. I'd like to go higher (75% raw is my goal), but I never quite manage it. I end up lapsing and eating cheese tortellinis and potato samosas in extremis. Humans are not meant to forage indefinitely, or else we would be orangutans. Right?

When I do manage to transition to predominantly raw foods, I feel like the not-humans at the Dawn of Time in 2001: A Space Odyssey, gibbering and squabbling over the watering-hole: Gimme.

I feel "hungry" -- even when I'm technically not hungry. Perhaps (wo)man was not meant to live by weeds alone?

It's embarrassing to admit it, but the least little cooked thing grabs my attention and suddenly looks scrumptious, even boring combinations of lima beans and kale. Are we MEANT to eat cooked food? (And WHERE are the radical atheist evolutionists when I need to ask them a dietary question?)

I think the problem is--the standard American starchy diet leaves us filling "full" most of the time. This is not a normal state of affairs. When we start eating foods that are quickly digested, it feels strange, like hunger. But the stomach is MEANT to be empty sometimes; it's just that Americans have forgotten how to live that way.

One raw food that readily quells fake-hunger, almost-hunger and real hunger: nuts. (Are we supposed to be living on nuts and berries after all?) Also, chia seeds and pepitas. I love them all, of course (with the exception of meat, I haven't met any foods I truly dislike), but I do feel a bit like an orangutan or one of Stanley Kubrick's early not-humans: Get away from my cashews, now! (I foraged for them, go find your own!)

By contrast, when I go back to eating trash? I am very generous, here, have some Cheetos! Nah, go on, take the whole bag! (((preens at my own generosity)))

I figure this is some sort of evolutionary adaptation, since we have Cheetos in abundance.