Strike The Rail While's Hot An open letter to the McCormick Messenger, SC state senators and the Index Journal Last year an investor approached McCormick County with a proposal to build 50 condos across from the McCormick Counrty Club just outside Savannah Lakes Village. The reply was that McCormick has no infrastructure to support another 50 homes - especially not all at once. Even though landlords have discovered that each time they open a new home or empty one the turn around is remarkable - usually within 30 days. I had asked government and my fellow citizens about employing the federal Right of Eminent Domain in order to swipe away property at the junction of 378 and 28 to allow Wallgreen or CVS or MacDonalds or Publix to build here. The responses I got made me embarrassed for my town. Things like: "We're going to the riff-raff, let's accept it and stay comfy" to "Ain't no city slicker gonna come in here and turn my town into a Greenville!" and even: " Hey, my store will close and I've been fleecing McCormick for years. Don't stop me now!" To define eminent domain; A Mr. Kelo and six other homeowners fought for years, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court over the right of the larger community to force the purchase of property in order to "improve" the entire community. In 2005, justices voted 5-4 against them, giving cities across the country the right to use eminent domain to take property for private development.  Let me make this point clear. Mc Cormick can take your property and hand it over to a corporation or another individual who will do something with it that will improve the entire town. That is the law of the land. Naturally none of us want to shake so many apple carts or drastically change our rural way of life or go up against the forest administration just for a sweeter can of soda, but I'd like to give you some food for thought. I grew up outside of New York City. Later on my family moved out on Long Island and my brothers and I hankered a bit for the commotion city life every so often. We would then catch a ride on the Long Island Railroad for a 35 minutes ride back into the city. Some times I would catch a ride merely for the ride alone. A smooth, swift magic carpet through small towns along the Atlantic Ocean on into crowded and busy Jamacia, Queens and beyond to the big apple. I can still hear the conductors shout out - as they are doing right this minutes back on the rail - Babylon, Next stop Lindenhurst, Copiaque, Amityville, Massapequa, next stop Massapequa Park, Merrick, Freeport &ldots;.Last stop Penn Station." The round trip ride was a great way to kill 90 minutes on a hot summer day. A trip from Babylon, a country seaport right into the Mecca of civilization - NYC - and back again. All in a comfortable air-conditioned bench seat. Back here and now, did you watch Obama's State of the Union Speech the other night? The government is throwing money around. They are working hard on making it so that there's money falling out of trees. Think about this without the silly thoughts of future consequences: inflation, off the wall Fox News brainwash or how it will all end up in the hands of Microsoft and Citi Bank eventually. Think what we can do with a bundle of that cash right here, right now! I say we do what they plan on doing down Florida way. Let's build a high speed rail - or just a plain old fashioned railroad from Augusta, right up 28 and into Greenwood - maybe continue as far as Obama money will take us into Greenville. The rail is already there and they have to allow us full access or we can pull that Right of Domain on them. Lord knows we could use the jobs. And I've had it up to here driving back and forth to Augusta and then over to Greenwood just to reach a Wal-Mart. We already have the tourists And I'll betcha all those weekend campers, hunters and fisherman would adore a railroad ride every so often. It would do wonders for the property values. Such a rail road stop might even allow families visiting their retired folks who migrated here from Augusta and up north. Especially if, instead of that CVS I mentioned earlier there could be a nice resort hotel across from Hardees. We'd have options then: CVS is 20 new jobs&ldots;hum&ldots; hotel 50 new jobs. Maybe that guy with the 50 condo does have a shot after all? So, where's our town leaders? Do something - for a change - get on the phone, roll up your sleeves and grab the hammer given to us by the Supreme Court and a dollar tossing president and strike the rail fast and hard and now - right now.   HOME | Literature  | Art Work | Comics