Two weeks ago while snooping around the web I was shocked to learn our beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina is pumping up the volume on residents—nearly two million people live within our circle.
Nothing inspires me more than grabbing a few seconds from the chapters of eyes, ears and feet who made this village their home when Tyvola ended at I-77, Lake Wylie was nothing more than the Catawba River and Eastland Mall was the best weekend hangout out of Plumb Crazy or Kidnappers.
Compared to the Independence Blvd vision we get today, old tattered and torn photographs resemble anyplace USA—buildings were no taller than a few stories, we had street cars connected to long wires and a business owner near Southend with a keen sense of smell creatively concocted the world’s first Waffle cone.
In the mid 1980’s I verbally argued with anyone willing to take on a challenge about how nervous the banking industry made me, “What happens when our new found financial agriculture no longer loves the soil its skyscraping roots are planted in?”
Ok, so it took twenty five years for NCNB turned Bank of America to publicly admit we really don’t like Charlotte anymore. Nobody thought the Hornets would find a new family in New Orleans. Pro ball hasn’t been the same! Look what happens in the first quarter of a Panthers game, half the stadium leaves their seats to socialize near the restrooms and food counters below—we’ve been infected by the deadly N1H1 virus where businesses have no loyalty to the people that helped create them. For that matter, we don't care what happens to them either.
How much longer before Bruton Smith races away from Concord? Will the Epicenter one day become condos? If so, I’ll be first in line for the room next to the bowling alley. Will someone please take all that empty space at the old Heritage USA and turn it into a new attraction. Dead buildings are a reminder of how close we are to becoming the next great ghost town—Detroit, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Wait! Wait! Why so negative? We’re talking about Charlotte where being uptown feels like being downtown but for some reason it’s been dubbed Center City. Outside of the new Intimidator Roller Coaster at Carowinds, we’re pleasured by the extremely high prices at South Park mall. If you ain’t there, you’re dropping the ATM card at Concord Mills where half the purchases made are fed by rivers of guilt…getting there took nearly a day, to go home empty handed is like waking up to an empty Christmas tree.
Nearly two million people wake up in the Charlotte area everyday. Barely 100,000 voted on Election Day.
We deserve to lose.
This is one art I can’t bare to continue stealing…
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
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