Enraged

Processes can sometimes be hard.  Especially when the people that set up the rules that everyone else has to work by don't adhere to the rules themselves.

Here in my beautiful state of Maine we are undergoing huge coastal access issues. I mean it's not just here, North Carolina, Florida and Texas are all under similar duress.  But for some reason it is really coming to a head here in the northeast.  There are several cases pending in court which will determine whether or not coastal land owners continue to own to the low tide mark (one of 2 states- can you guess the other?) or the high tide mark.  More on this in another post...

But here, in my little burg we have been waging another war.  There is a beautiful little beach, not far from downtown Portland where the surf comes up in storms and when it's placid the townsfolk walk their dogs, hang with their families and generally get a moment to feel like they actually ive ina place that tries to incorporate the wonders of the coast into our every day lives.  It is a big, big reason why many people live here.

But recently a small group of landowners near the beach have been seeking to remove all on street parking. And they are making headway. We are trying, fighting the hard battle but it seems we are losing ground. In the belief that blogs should be short and readable I won't go into the terrible details, but if you are interested I can point you in the right direction (see below). But watch this quick little vid I put together to talk about the  issue.

But what I wanted to get to here is that last night we had an opportunity to talk before the town council about the issue.  One ex councilor brought up that the changes needed to be kicked back to an ordinance committee, because that is the procedure. Eventually what happened was that one of the councilors started berating the crowd and bullying the other councilors into not pushing it back and started bringing up all these points that the crowd was not allowed to mention because they were not on the agenda. He sat in his bully pulpit with another councilor and offered challenges to the crowd that due to procedure were not allowed to be answered.

Frustrating is not even close to what most were feeling. The whole issue is crazy.  The system is broken. The town is supporting a handful of their constituents against the rest of the public who clearly don't support the changes. They aren't listening.  It is really disheartening to believe you live in a democratic society where your voice will be heard, where you elect officials thinking they will do the best for the town and it's people, to be confronted by this.

I realize that I am still so enraged by this that this post probably will not make any sense. So for tose of you who are interested in yet another battle where the monied landowners are trying to deprive the taxpayers of their right to access public coastline you can check out what is going on here:

http://www.facebook.com/SaveHiggins  or another good resource is http://www.surfrider.org/nne

As a video tape of the meeting is public record I will be posting this crazy outburst by the councilors. I think that this is ridiculous, and people need to know what goes on behind the closed doors of small town politics.

Busted Back To Square 1

There is a certain freedom in starting all over again. Trying to figure something out, to search out a way to make it work. In crisis situations of course, it's hard to see it, but have you ever asked yourself what you would do if everything changed drastically? Pretty much everyone I know does.

But lots of these little opportunities arise every day, totally unrelated to crisis. We try something new, or we enter into a new situation. It is really invigorating.

The reason this has come to the forefront for me is because recently I have joined the ranks of the Sweepers. For those of you who don't know this surf lingo belittlement, it is how the die hard prone surfers refer to Stand Up Paddleboarders.

Now, living in Maine, I figured by crossing over to the Dark Side, I would increase my water time due to the infrequency of waves. And I have! But it's different enough from real surfing that it's like starting all over again.

But it doesn't matter! That is the beauty. In my mind I know it's something new, and that it's ok to stink, and I don't mind looking like a middle age wannabe, because essentially it doesn't matter- there is no expectation of greatness, no posing to be had, just a desire to figure it all out- and it's really freeing. I had more fun today on a board, falling on my back, my face, whacking myself in the head with the paddle on a terrible windy, choppy day, than I have had in a long time. The freedom from 'oh gosh what are people going to think' and 'I should be doing better' and similar thoughts is a pretty amazing thing.

Of course, the 'why can't I figure this out' and 'c'mon, get it right' starts to creep in after a while, but that is another post altogether...