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What next?
To the Editor:
I want to respond, here, to all the many people who have called, written, and spoken to me in person on the streets these past couple weeks since my letter titled “The End of Eden” came out. The response has been overwhelming. I’m both humbled and encouraged at the same time. People have expressed to me their displeasure and exasperation regarding the current out-of-control development in Jackson County, and the refrain of these recent conversations has been: “What can we do?”
While my earlier assessment of the situation was pretty bleak, let me fall back, here, on the old adage of “better late than never.” While most of the large parcels of available land have already been bought up by out-of-state developers (such as Texas-based Centex Corp.), and the landscape of Jackson County is being altered and dozed into submission as we speak, we don’t know what the future holds, or what our efforts, now, will mean down the road.
In my previous letter, I was essentially talking about the big picture by giving examples of how things are being impacted locally. The development issue in Jackson County and the Bear Lake Reserve development are really only symptoms of a larger virus that is plaguing our country, and in fact, our world. In truth, we are living in dark times. I think in the future, people will look back on these days and the days to come and will refer to them as “The Dark Ages.” The real essence of my letter was about the need for us to begin discussing taboo topics, such as overpopulation, global warming and free-trade capitalism. These are the true issues that are at the heart of what’s wrong in the world. Everything else is just a symptom of these greater “illnesses.”
I’ve never believed in the idea of “evil.” But these days, given the behavior of certain people in government in Washington, D.C., I’m beginning to rethink my previous position. What I used to see as misguided behavior, more and more, seems to be down-right destructive, and, yes, even evil. In bleak times like these in which we are living, what, then, can we do? To that imposing question, all I can do is to share with you the epiphany I had the other night while eating supper and listening to the evening news. In the midst of a string of depressing stories on Iraq, global warming, the collapse of General Motors, the privatization of public lands, and corporate raiding, a single thought came to me: Flood the collective human consciousness and senses with all the beauty we can muster.
Music, voice, language, literature, architecture, art, advertising, product design – Everything seen and heard. The shadow world of ignorance and greed, while a powerful one, has no defense against beauty. Of this I am convinced. We don’t need to fight fire with fire, or respond in kind to the ways of the wicked and the monetarily possessed. If we just flood the marketplaces, the pages of our papers, the airwaves, the museums, the theaters, the shops, the streets, and our minds with beauty, I believe we’ll have a chance to turn things around. It’s a subtle, if not radical approach. But it just may be worth a try.
While this may seem to some a little far-fetched, it’s the best idea I’ve had lately in terms of coming up with some solutions to the issues I brought up in my previous letter. While my focus, here, is global, this doesn’t mean that there isn’t work to be done locally, in terms of encouraging the right people to run for county and city offices (such as William Shelton over in Whittier), in terms of discussing, rationally, the alternatives provided by adopting certain zoning ordinances, and in continuing to support and work with grassroots organizations (where we need more people like Avram Friedman) such as the Canary Coalition and other groups working to protect the air quality in Western North Carolina, as well as working to improve education and coming to grips with the problems with our roads. But while acting locally, we must continue to think globally, for what is happening in the big picture affects us all; just as what is happening here in Jackson County affects the rest of the world.
Thomas Crowe
Tuckasegee
Student admires Catman
To the Editor:
I am a student at Appalachian State University and I try to volunteer at local animal shelters as much as possible. Everywhere you go, you encounter virtually the same type of set-up and conditions. I realize they use the means they are given to provide their animals the best facilities they possibly can. The people that work at these establishments, for the most part, love what they are doing, but this is nothing in comparison to an experience I had a few weeks ago.
Few times in my life have I met a person who is genuinely passionate about something. When you actually get the chance to meet one of these people, you are completely changed.
Recently, I had the opportunity to meet one of these people when I accompanied my mother to her weekly volunteering at the Catman 2 shelter in Cullowhee. The Catman shelter is a non-profit, no kill, rescue, and adoption center for cats. The shelter keeps an average of 60 cats at any given time. The shelter is funded and cared for by Harold Sims. This man devotes every day of his life to taking care of these cats he saves from the Sylva Animal Shelter and from people who can no longer take care of their cats. Sims has built a large house to accommodate the cats. Here the cats are allowed to roam and play freely. Along with a great building, the cats housed there are phenomenal. I have been around many cats, from the ones I have at home, to all the shelters I have visited, and none of these cats compare to Catman’s. All the cats I have come in contact with at his shelter are the most loving cats you could ever imagine. This shelter and its cats are like nothing I have ever seen.
The fact that a single person is willing to devote so much time and money to cats without homes is positively amazing and awe-inspiring. While all of this sounds so wonderful, there is a small problem. Mr. Sims is only capable of housing up to 60 cats at a time. The vast majority of cats living at the Catman 2 Shelter are saved from the Jackson County Animal Shelter. Unfortunately, the animal shelter is much more well known, which dramatically reduces the number of cats being adopted from Mr. Sims. The animal shelter does all that it can do to help its cats, but the more cats that are adopted from Catman, the more he can save from being euthanized at the animal shelter.
At this point in time, Mr. Sims is no longer able to take in anymore cats. The unfortunate reality of this is that more cats are being killed at the animal shelter. All of the cats housed at the Catman 2 shelter have had a veterinary exam. They have been tested for feline leukemia and have been found to be negative. Rabies and distemper vaccinations have also been given to all of his cats. The majority of cats are spayed or neutered. Along with all of this, if you are unhappy with your cat after having taken it home, the adoption fee can be fully refunded.
I hope that writing this may help many more cats to be adopted from Mr. Sims. This wonderful man needs your help. With one look at what he has done, I hope that other people will be as moved as I have been. All I ask is that the next time you consider adopting a cat, that the Catman 2 shelter will be your first stop in finding the cat of your dreams.
For more information take a look at the Catman 2 Web site at: www.catman2.com or call Mr. Sims at 293-0892.
Brandy Cantrell
Sylva
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