The Rain That Falls On City Council’s Flowers and Weeds

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Spring has arrived in Rocky Mount, NC, and in our own gardens. Driving down Highway 64 from Nashville to Rocky Mount, there is that familiar image again, passing through a receiving line of trees dressed in their early, frilly leaves, each one a different shade of green, the colors deepening by the day.

The price we pay for this delightful new spring show is the green pollen settling on cars and porch furniture, and everywhere in between.

In the liturgical year, we are in Easter week, having just celebrated with flowers, Easter baskets, bunnies, and the cry, “He is Risen,” and the reply, “He has Risen Indeed.”
A holy time of year, meant to mark us, and renew us.

Because the Main Street blog is always with me, I often wake with a thought that insists I get up and write, or not go back to sleep.

On this Monday of Easter week, looking for a diversion from the City Council and its leadership concerns, I could not escape into spring. I awoke thinking,

“Rain falls on the flowers and the weeds alike.”

The weeds I have yet to pull alongside the flowering bulbs are proof enough of this.

And it is not difficult to apply the same idea to the City Council. Except for the newest councilman, six of the seven sitting members, along with the mayor, have all been painted with the same brush.

I suspect, like trying on a new pair of shoes, some accusations fit better on some feet than others.

The weeding in my garden is not a bad analogy for what many citizens are feeling about the Council. The pressure for resignations seems an unlikely outcome, but until votes are cast again, the rain will continue to fall on both the flowers and the weeds.

And in time, as it always does, the garden picture I’m trying to ‘paint’ will tell me what has flourished and what should be replaced with new ideas.

I hope the City Council sorts itself as well with new leadership that paints a different picture.

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Published by Stepheny Forgue Houghtlin

Stepheny Forgue Houghtlin grew up in Evanston, IL. and is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. She is an author of two novels: The Greening of a Heart and Facing East. She lives, writes and gardens in NC. Visit her: Stephenyhoughtlin.com

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2 thoughts on “The Rain That Falls On City Council’s Flowers and Weeds”

  1. Lost Faith in Rocky Mount Leadership

    Creating a breakdown in trust, transparency and vision for the citizens of Rocky Mount gradually happened. Slowly, year after year. The same players, the same modus operandi and the same outcome. Financial ruin.

    What an embarrassment to have the name Rocky Mount become synonymous with maleficence, greed, financial illiteracy, apathy; all of it splashed across the news and circulated on the internet for all to see both near and far from Rocky Mount.

    The gravity of the financial loss spans a number of years born from graft and corruption. Widely known for years but eyes averted allowed to continue unfettered until such abandonment of fiscal propriety was lost and replaced by what can only be defined as a scheme designed to create a labyrinth of financial decisions that were not and are not in Rocky Mounts’ best financial interest.

    To state otherwise is not only a lie but further embarrassment as we hear and read the City Council and Mayor plead ignorance, deny their responsibility and insist it is/was not their fault. When that approach provided no shelter from the audit they started pointing fingers, derailing those who asked for answers and they continued to lie. Even more embarrassing. It was awkward to watch on the news and it came off as excuses for illegal behavior and theft. Further embarrassment.

    When will enough be enough?

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    1. Thanks for leaving this thoughtful comment on the state of things. What is to be done still is beyond our grasp. What is certain is that people have had it and are demanding action. Nothing is easy with this crew. SFH

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