Monday, May 08, 2006

The Agony of Mud Butt & Felony Flats

My pal CM & I went to a fun wedding & then saw the film CSA. Well I don't know what happened exactly but something we ate was bad because she was barfing all night & having a bad case of mud butt. I only barfed once, but my tummy still feels a bit tender. Weird!

So CSA: The Confederate States of America was a good film. It portrayed Lincoln as an exiled Canadian which to me was kinda funny. Then it showed these real names for products & restaurants that don't exist anymore. One place used to be here in good ol' PDX called Coon Chicken Inn. Here's a picture of an old menu.
CRAZY!

Anyway I'm apparently moving to an area called "Felony Flats" by the locals here. And so in doing some research I came across the comment responding to an article in the Portland Tribune. It says:
Nasty nickname hurts community
In publishing the article and plastering the stereotype “Felony Flats” tabloid-style across your front page, you have done a great disservice to my neighborhood (The taming of Felony Flats, Sept. 27).
The article relied on negative stereotypes that don’t come close to describing the place where I live. Instead of a “violently ill” neighborhood teeming with “poor white trash,” I see diversity, with more than 19 language groups at our local school and numerous thriving Latino, Asian and Eastern European businesses.
Crime rates (both violent and nonviolent) are lower per capita than in more glamorous neighborhoods like Hawthorne and downtown. The recently renovated Mount Scott Community Center draws hundreds of people from across the city daily.
And, most important, residents here are actively directing the development of their neighborhood by, among other things, reinvigorating the long defunct Foster Road Streetscape Plan and reclaiming the dangerous intersection of Southeast 72nd Avenue and Woodstock Boulevard as a public gathering space featuring a design by a renowned public artist.
Ours is not a place of last resort. With home prices having risen up to 50 percent during the past two years, our neighborhood is attracting people who are interested in the possibility of making great things happen. And as for our lack of Frappuccinos, we’ll take our local, independently owned coffee shops any day!
Sarah Stacy Iannarone
Southeast Portland


Anyway I'm oddly looking forward to moving to this place. I have a good feeling about it.

Oh BTW I'm not talking to my mom for the next 6 months.
Peace out y'all!
~F

1 comment:

Sarah said...

Welcome to the neighborhood. I'm glad you took heart in my editorial letter. I hope you're enjoying it here...
Sarah