5 Points at Night

Lately I've started taking my dog, Eddie, for a walk at night before bed. It's nice to get out and just walk around and see the neighborhood. But lately I've been despairing a little at the lack of activity in our neighborhood. There were very few people out and about and even fewer even on their front porches.
My wife and I like to sit on our porch and drink coffee on the weekends, but our view is of I-10, so there isn't usually a whole lot of excitement on our street. You would think that other streets in the 5 Points area would be bustling with more energy, but the reverse is true. It seems that the days of neighborhood bar-b-ques, block parties and National Night Out get-togethers are over. I wonder what could get people out of their homes and enjoy the night air a little bit?
This is a question that we have asked ourselves often in our Neighborhood Watch Group. We still don't have an answer. I think we've all grown up for too long in sprawling sub-urban neighborhoods where everyone lives on a 2 acre parcel of land and your neighbor is so far away that you just don't even care to go over and say hello. We've gotten to the point where, in an age of instant communication all over the world, we've lost the simple skills of "chit chat". I count that as a big loss in our society, and especially in our generation. But then we do have First Friday's and ArtWalk and the Riverside Arts Festival and I'm sure one or two others that I am forgetting. If we can get together for these events on a regular basis why can't we get out on a regular night and just say "hello"?
Last night I walked past three people. One gentleman was doing some kind of work on his minivan and the other two were sitting (are you ready for this) on their porch playing a guitar. I made it a point to wave and salute each party as I walked by with Eddie in tow. Both times I was greeted with a smile and a return wave. This gets me to thinking that perhaps my fellow neighbors would like to be out on their porch drinking coffee/beer/whiskey/whatever with other neighbors. But how to get them out in the first place.
Our Neighborhood watch decided to do kind of a door-to-door recruitment to get people involved. We even had flyers and everything. So maybe that can work. I'm thinking about getting the word out and scheduling a "porch night". One night each month where everyone gets out on their porch or in their front yard just to chill for an hour or so. Say hello to a neighbor, learn their names, see them in their natural habitat, if you will. Perhaps this could be expanded into something more involved, like a couple of block parties or just getting people to walk around a little, see the neighborhood for all its grandeur.
Is this too lofty a goal? I hope not.

Riverside Neighborhood Group Meeting

What: Riverside Neighborhood Group Meeting
When: Thursday Aug 21st at 630 pm
Where: Steamworks in 5 Points

We're working to strengthen and protect our neighborhood through better relationships and better communication. Come join us!

New Artists Pavilion

I'm jumping on the coat tales of this post from Jennifer McCharen over at RADO. There will be a new artists pavilion opening soon under the Fuller Warren Bridge near Fidelity. The pavilion is an addition to the Riverwalk extension that is underway and also provides a link, via pedestrian pathways, to Riverside Park on the other side of Riverside Ave and Park St. Hopefully it will be open in the coming weeks, perhaps just in time for First Friday? I think we should all get the work out about this. Riverside has a real opportunity to embrace and take hold of this pavilion and make it something really special. I don't want to see it turned into a resting place for more of Jacksonville's transients, like the pocket park on Main.
Complete with terraced landscaping, an auditorium and ample space for gathering, this could be a widely used space. Perhaps a Riverside Farmers' Market like the one in Hemming Plaza on Fridays? Perhaps an open air theatre on the weekends showing old movies or the occasional live act play? The possibilities are endless if we but grab hold.

National Night Out Cont'd

Last night was fairly uneventful. Erin and I missed out meeting up with the Neighborhood Group, so instead we went out and got some ice cream. We walked through Riverside for a bit. We saw a few more people out walking/bicycling than usual, but nothing that I would call out of the ordinary. It's unfortunate that events like this don't get the kind of press they once did. Erin and I talked last night about how years ago neighbors knew their neighbors. They had bar-b-ques, they watched after their kids, they mowed their lawns, they shared stories, etc. My hope is that one day Riverside will be a community like that again. It's perfect for it, especially with all of the young people that we have in the neighborhood now. We just need to get off our asses and walk outside. Say hello once in a while instead of averting your gaze.

Here's hoping.

My Walk Score

This website has gotten a lot of press lately, especially here in Jacksonville. Well, after hearing all of the hubub about it I decided to go on and see what kind of score my home gets. I scored a wopping 72 out of 100. Everything I need, clothes, medicine, entertainment, is within a 1 mile radius of my front door. How cool is that?! If you haven't checked this out for your neighborhood yet, I suggest you do so. You never know, it could open your eyes to some possibilities that you hadn't thought of. And we could all use a little push to change our pace a little.
My wife and I have been talking about switching to commuting by bike for quite some time now. I started about 2 months ago and soon she'll be doing the same. We both work less than 3 miles from home, so it makes the decision a lot easier. But go check out some of the websites and blog communities out there. It's really not as hard as you might think to switch to a slower, healthier, cleaner, cheaper lifestyle.

National Night Out

Tonight is National Night Out. The Riverside Neighborhood Group will be meeting at the corner of Green and Acosta at 7pm for anyone who would like to join. We'll be taking a stroll through the neighborhood and otherwise just getting out of the house and chilling. I'll post some photos and a synopsis later on.

Ciao.

Carbon Footprint

I was on another blog site and I found a link to this site where you can enter in some basic information and it will estimate your carbon footprint. That is, the amount of carbon you, as an individual or household, will send into the air on a yearly basis. It can be eye opening. My score is 7.4. That means that on a yearly basis me and my family send about 7.4 tons of carbon into the air. This isn't actually that bad, considering Jacksonville averages 15.5 tons per year and Florida averages 16.3 tons per year.
There is also a Pledges section where it gives suggestions for reducing your carbon footprint and saving you some money also. Things like, replacing traditional light bulbs with energy efficient ones, drying your clothes on a line instead of in a dryer, letting dishes air dry or turning off the heated dry function on your dishwasher, setting your thermostat a few degrees higher or lower in the summer and winter. These are all very simple ways of saving energy and money that don't really take any extra work or thought on your part. By simply changing a few very small things about our lifestyles we can make a very big impact on the world around us. So, go check out the website, do your own calculation and see where you stand.

Ciao.

Theft during lunch hour

Yesterday my bicycle was stolen off of my front porch while my wife was inside on the living room couch feeding our child. The photo is not of my actual bike, but of the exact color and style of bike that was stolen. If anyone sees it, please let me know.
Now, I'm not really upset about the whole theft thing (well, ok I am, but I'll get over it), it's more the fact that it was done in broad daylight while my wife was home. There is such a sense of lawlessness in people now a days and it's only getting worse with each new generation. You think back to the 50s. Sure kids were running around racing cars, smoking cigarettes, chasing girls and drinking beer. Now we have kids raping the elderly, smoking crack, steeling from their families, murdering their families and even complete strangers for no more than a few bucks...the list goes on and on and on. And even with tightening laws and stiffer punishments, they still don't care. It's a cycle that has to stop and it has to start at home. People need to take the time to get to know their neighbors and their kids. Know who is in your neighborhood and what they're doing. It just may save your bike or your life.

SHADCO J-1

Last night was the monthly SHADCO meeting for the Riverside/Avondale/Ortega/OP area, held at the Willow Branch Library. The turn out was fairly decent, I suppose. It was my first meeting. The officers were very patient in answering all of our questions which mostly centered around the best ways to protect ourselves from petty criminals and the like.
I do find it a little odd that one single SHADCO group would cover such a large area though. And looking at the map for each division, that seems to be the norm rather than the exception. It makes me wonder how effective the groups can be when their members are spread out over such an area. This doesn't exactly scream community cooperation, but what do I know.
There was talk last night of splitting up the group to have one dedicated to the Riverside area. I think that's a great idea. Even more than that I think there should be a group for each sub district, J-1 J-2 and J-3. The police tout manpower as the major issue stopping the split of the districts, but I think that's bogus. There were 5 officers at our meeting last night. Why so many? Do we really need that many officers to give a simple report on crime stats and to answer questions on how to best secure and protect your home? I don't think so. I think one or two officers per group would be sufficient to get the job done. I'm sure that's an issue for another meeting.