What’s Right, What’s Wrong, With Henderson Kentucky. Part 1

Henderson Kentucky, founded as a town by the Transylvania Company back in 1797, is located right in a bend on the banks of the great Ohio river. This on going report is just my opinion on what is right and what is wrong with the City of Henderson. Well, not really the “City” of. It’s more a problem with the people that are allowed to make the decisions that affect everyone here and our great City. Henderson is rich in history but our City Leaders for the most part ignore the richness and concentrate on smaller issues of appeasing  some of the well to do influential people. Historical buildings are allowed to deteriorate and fall down or be purchased by rich businessmen and torn down in order to build another Pharmacy. I don’t really expect to change the world or even my “Town” with this article. I am a realist. I just feel like we have allowed the “Big Wigs” and their means  of making money to dictate whether or not something gets to “continue on” for the future generations of Hendersonians. I have plenty to speak about too. The Drive In theater, the train Depot, allowing Walmart to move  three different times already and abandoning shopping centers each time they move … etc.. you get the picture?

So welcome to Part 1.

The Train Depot …

Located out on the outer edge of 3rd street and built in 1901. It has seen four Presidents, one Liberty Bell, and countless number of Soldiers returning home from the battle front during World War II. The train depot had been a popular stop over for many years. My grandpa has told me stories of catching the trains there and how beautiful the place was. Over the years as passenger trains fell by the way side the depot was used less and less. The last passenger train passed thru there in 1971 and the depot officially closed its offices in 1978. As usual, Henderson, like it always does to historial buildings, scheduled to have the depot demolished in 1979. Luckily, after an article was written in the Gleaner about it, some citizens came forward and contacted the Henderson Genealogical & Historical Society and eventually it was declared a Historical landmark and beat out the demolishing reaper at that time. Over the years it has had some restoration work done to it but the projects were never completely finished. Seems it was built on “weak” ground or something so it has some structure issues. Fast forward to “Today”. Henderson has been working on a riverfront beautification project for several years. A water park has been installed for small kids and that is actually a good thing. My Grand kids enjoy it too. A river walk also has been built. It’s nice to walk through the park in the evening. OK, on to my point. There was talk about relocating our famous and Historical Depot to the river front. But as fate would have it, it was decided that it would be expensive to move it. So instead of investing in our Henderson heritage, it was decided by our city leaders to build a “replica” or as I would say, the “fake” one at the river front. So it was built and it’s a nice looking fake one. So now we have two depots. The real one sits over off third street like an old  friend though boarded up and waiting for some one to restore it to its natural beauty.

Think about it for a second. It would be an awesome tourist attraction for Henderson. It’s a part of our rich history. But instead, a fake one has replaced it … Nothing is as good as the original. Henderson even has a website about the fake one … Their front page has this written on it, “Located in the heart of Henderson, the Depot is a replica of the original train depot built in 1901 and stands as an example of the city’s commitment to preserving the past while embracing the Future”. I call B.S. to that statement. The Real Depot is still there. It’s not advertised anywhere so no tourists that stop here know it’s still around. No tours go by there other than the Halloween haunted tour once a year. So, this concludes Part 1. The new depot though brand new and shiny is not a part of our History. It is an imposter. You don’t see Egypt building replicas of the pyramids do you? No, so why should we for our pyramid? We shouldn’t. We should spend the money and restore it and show it off proudly. So in this instance, Henderson made a “wrong” move in my opinion …let’s go build another pharmacy. OK?

chuck gee

Wasted Rock Ranger

Just a little “old school” rock and roll humor for you. Enjoy!

AIG Are Thieves … Mr. President, the Honeymoon is over now do something.

AIG or American International Group, Inc as it is known is one of several companies that have asked the United States Federal Government to bail them out during this financial crisis we are all suffering through. According to Wikipedia The United States has given them over 170 BILLION dollars to help shore up the company. Well, my American friends, that money came from you and me in reality not the Government. You and I paying taxes is exactly where it came from. The question now is was AIG responsible with the money they received? I’ll leave that up to you but so far AIG has handed out 165 million in Executive bonuses to their employees. 165 million … Did you read that right? 73 of their Executive employees received over 1 million dollars each in bonuses. 7 of their employees received over 4 million dollars each and out of those 73 so far 11 have quit after receiving their bonuses. Basically they have jumped off a sinking ship and took the loot with them. One Executive got a 6.4 million dollar bonus. While our friends are getting laid off right and left, including my wife, these assholes are getting their bonuses and then quitting. So in closing … Mr. President, ultimately you signed off on this bailout for AIG  and the others including the automobile industry. It’s your job to correct this major mistake. I would hate to think about all the people that would be let go if AIG failed, but in reality I have no one at my door asking me if they can pay off all of my debts because I can’t manage my money so as American citizens we have a right to be PISSED and demand our Leader to do something about this… so there … comments and opinions are welcome …

Here is my source for the article … http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/17/aig.bonuses/index.html

I have to agree with Clint Eastwood …

He recently gave an interview concerning inoffensive racist jokes and about the difference in our races and how people have forgotten to laugh at them instead of hollering foul. Foul being my words, not Clint’s. Before I print his interview I want to give a few examples of what I have noticed. I watch B.E.T. and I am a white guy with some Native American in my blood line. OK, big deal, my grandmother was full blooded Cherokee. OK, now that we have cleared that, back to what I was talking about. B.E.T. stands for Black Entertainment Television. Very few white performers are ever on there. It doesn’t bother me and I am not offended. It’s a “black” entertainment channel founded by black  people for mainly black people. I understand that and I still watch the channel all the time and there are some funny comedians on there. I have sit and laughed my ass off when they make fun of white people because, well, even though it’s  typical “Stereotyping”, for the most part we, as white people or, a “white” race, act that way. Dave Chapelle is another great black comedian. His impersonations of white people are also funny as hell. So I get the jokes. I get the  “racial” jokes they tell and I laugh and I laugh hard. I never get offended. So what gives? My question is why are the racial jokes they (as in Black entertainers) are allowed tell are only  on a “one way street”. To clarify what I am saying. Black comedians have a free pass to call us Cracker, Whitie, Honkie, ghost and a whole bunch of other racial words and can do this on TV. Once again, hear me out. I think it’s funny. I “get” the jokes. I get the jabs. To me it’s not offensive, it’s called “Blue Humor”. But any other comedian other than  another black Ccmedian cannot make fun of the black race without someone calling foul …  Michael Richards, (Kramer from Seinfeid) was heckled by some black guys in a comedy club one night. Mike then  lost his cool and  used the “N” word back at them. Well, he might as well of fell off the face of the earth. He was branded a racist, had to meet with black leaders, Listen to Al Sharpton’s rhetoric on all the news channels and by tht way, old Al Sharpton is a racist himself a racist against white people but that’s a different story. And to top it all off, the guys in the comedy club that heckled Michael first, turned around sued him for damages. They started it, he lost it, he used the big “n” word and bam, he’s the bad guy and is out of pocket and placed on the “do not hire” sheet. Now  I am not advocating hateful offensive words that are meant  to be mean at all. It’s the silly little jokes and phrasing that I am talking about. If you want to demean someone, well, that’s not cool at all. It’s not right for white people to do it and it shouldn’t be right for black people to do it either. The guys that heckled Mike, should have been asked to leave the club when they started it and the color thing should have never entered the picture. They started it, they should leave. Cut and dry. But it’s not that way. I know I have used the color issue on my part today concerning Clint’s statements but it goes deeper than that. Gays get offended if they are made fun of even in a relative way. Mexicans get offended  too. Miley Cyrus took a photo with some Asian kids and she pulled her eyes up in a slanted position and shit hit the fan. She had to go into damage control. Why? You think she deliberately thought she would do that to piss off a whole nation of uptight people? Hell no, she was being silly. She’s only what 16? She probably doesn’t even see race  but the politically correct police do and they pounced on her. So in closing, I would like to tell all the uptight people no matter what race you are from, get over it and laugh a little. Loosen up your pants a little bit and enjoy the inoffensive jokes. To my Mexican friends that get offended at being stereotyped in jokes. If you didn’t yourself, you know someone in your family that swam across the Rio Grande to get here and you know a family member that drives a dropped chopped classic car. Laugh at it and get over it, I mean no harm. To my Asian friends, well your eyes are slanted, get over it and laugh a little and poke fun at us white folks. I love a good joke. To my black friends, I had nothing to do with slavery, it was a horrible time for your ancestors I totally agree. Don’t forget what happened but don’t hold me or anyone today accountable for it. The perpetrators  all have since passed on. Besides that, me being part Indian, my ancestors lost the land you and every one else now occupies. I have gotten over it. Every one on both sides have long since passed on too. Teach the history of it, don’t let it happen again but don’t blame anyone today for it. So yes my black friend, most of you do like chicken and watermelon, correct? So what, I do too. Well I hate watermelon only because I ate a ton of it when I was a kid so I am burnt out on it.  So when someone brings up a watermelon or chicken joke, laugh a little and toss one back at us. To my Jewish friends, yes, you are the most tight-wadded people on the planet so we are gonna point that out. It’s funny as hell. Get over it and laugh a little and poke fun back at us. And me being white and part Indian. I can drink like a fish but I can’t dance worth a shit…HAHA. I got a double whammy!! I’ll laugh at myself. It’s embarrassing when I try to dance. I wish I could but I can’t. I envy my black friends that have natural rhythm, I sure wish I did but I don’t. To may Gay friends. Well, you do act like Diva’s and it’s funny as hell. So let up a little and laugh about it too and get over yourself!!

So there, I’m finished. We are all different. Let’s embrace our differences and so what if we get made fun of a little. Laughing is good for you. And now for Clint Eastwood’s interview look below. I have included the link and the interview.

chuck gee

http://news.softpedia.com/news/We-Should-Laugh-at-Racist-Jokes-Clint-Eastwood-Says-105519.shtml

The other day, legendary actor and director Clint Eastwood has made a very powerful stand as to what political correctness has come to mean and the way it influences our life. We should all be able to laugh at inoffensive jokes about different races without being labeled racists, Eastwood believes, as he tells Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine.

It’s not that Eastwood is encouraging racism under any form, he says, it’s just that this whole concept of political correctness has been carried so far that it’s now hard to open your mouth to say something without someone finding offense with it. And it shouldn’t necessarily be so, the actor thinks. Of course, we can always change by learning to laugh again, even if the joke that gets us giggling could be interpreted as racist.

“People have lost their sense of humor.” Eastwood tells the magazine. “In former times, we constantly made jokes about different races. You can only tell them today with one hand over your mouth, otherwise you will be insulted as a racist. I find that ridiculous. In those earlier days every friendly clique had a ‘Sam the Jew’ or ‘Jose the Mexican’ – but we didn’t think anything of it or have a racist thought. It was normal that we made jokes based on our nationality or ethnicity. That was never a problem.” the actor adds.

It’s not so much that the times have changed, or the jokes have gotten worse, but that the concept of political correctness has taught us to see bad things no matter where we look. This is precisely why Eastwood will have nothing to do with it, choosing instead to keep his sense of humor and respect for all the other races out there. “I don’t want to be politically correct. We’re all spending too much time and energy trying to be politically correct about everything.” the actor concludes by saying.

For My Fellow Left Handed Friends, Here’s Proof We Are Geniuses :)

And for my right handed friends that aren’t believers … I give you scientific proof.  Ok, Righties, don’t get pissed at me. Just giging at you. Enjoy the article. I did.

chuck gee

http://people.howstuffworks.com/left-handed.htm