Living the Good Life in Greensboro

I’m really excited about Art’s candidacy. He definitely shares my enthusiasm about Greensboro as a place to “live the good life.”

I was born in Honolulu before Hawaii was a state. That’s sounds exotic, but my folks moved back to “the mainland” before my first birthday and I spent all my growing-up years in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. That was a great experience because the area offered beaches (both remote and resort-like), big cities, the military, marshes and rivers, and plenty of rural space, too. It was big-time blue collar and I loved the homey closeness of neighborhoods where just about every kid’s parents worked at “the shipyard.”

Moving to Greensboro in 1978 was a definite change. Right off the bat, I’d say I missed water more than anything. Not so much the beach, but the many rivers, creeks, streams, and bays where I’d lived before – so many bridges to cross (literally). None of that in Greensboro. Also, no naval base, naval shipyard, naval hospital, naval air station, or coast guard. I think the population was about 150,000 then – far less than what I was accustomed to.
Despite the differences, though, I loved my new Gate City home from day one. The area offered plenty to do; and the downtown even at that time had its own charm. Woolworth’s was still open in 1978, and I thought it was amazing to eat at the already renowned lunch counter. Four Seasons, Carolina Circle, and Friendly Center offered great shopping. Oh gosh – and the airport. Right there. No driving for hours! My first assumption was that Greensboro got its name from being green.

It’s not hard for me to feel appreciative every day for the good life in Greensboro. I’ve lived in three neighborhoods since I’ve been here, and every one of them has been full of friendly and caring people. I feel at home and among friends just riding down the street. And those streets and roads are fantastic. Yeah, I act spoiled sometimes during rush hour on Battleground, but all I have to do is go to Charlotte, or Raleigh, or back to Hampton Roads to realize how fortunate I am to get around so easily. Admittedly, I’m not crazy about the noise from the new urban loop down West Friendly, but I hope our officials find a way to make that better. And I was very concerned about the Fed-Ex and airport expansion, not only because of the noise, but because so much land looks wounded and desolate. It’s a done deal, though, so again I hope our officials do their part to heal the land and see that we can coexist happily with PTI.

All things considered, Greensboro offers an array of educational, cultural, spiritual, ethnic, and entertainment choices hard to find elsewhere. I think Art will do all he can to protect our “good life” in Greensboro, even in the midst of change, so that we have a dynamic future that preserves what we love.