Honoring the Past, Building a Future
Take time today while snowed in to read this new blog post published on a snow bound day at 6:30 AM A birthday worth celebrating. There is a silence in the air with the snow decorating the garden and the street with no tire tracks interrupting the beauty of it all. It's Sunday and people … Continue reading A Sunday Snow Day and a 100-Year Story on Main Street
STILL NO NEWS ON THE FORENSIC AUDIT HERE'S ANOTHER THOUGHT WHILE WAITING Many of us know what it feels like to leave a meeting believing something important has happened simply because an issue has been named. But naming a problem is not the same as addressing it. In Rocky Mount’s civic life, the issue is … Continue reading Still Waiting For Results: The Cost of Fractured Leadership
STILL NO NEWS ON THE FORENSIC AUDIT HERE'S MY THOUGHT WHILE WAITING I write because I hope to give people language for their experiences, their memories, their feelings. Three novels later, I write the blog, Mainstreetrockymount.com. to help people see the painting of Rocky Mount, differently, as it hangs on the wall. I have on … Continue reading Rocky Mount’s Problem Is Not Unnamed. It Remains Uncorrected.
They say the snow may be ice instead. A report from my granddaughter told me that the check out lines at the grocery are long. The child in me said, “It isn’t extra batteries or a loaf of bread that matters.” It’s getting out my sled and finding my figure skates buried in my past … Continue reading Stepheny’s Take On The Weather Forecast. January 23, 2026
The last two posts about the outcry over the recent City Council meeting have drawn a larger readership than usual. I pay attention to these patterns because they tell me something about what people are interested in or trying to make sense of. Rocky Mount is carrying more than one burden right now. Questions about … Continue reading Rocky Mount’s ‘Troubles’ Foremost On Our Minds
Deliberate Civic Work Between Elections Another City Council meeting ends with outcry about bad actors. The frustration is understandable, the comments familiar. But replacing a bad actor is not only about opposition. It is about preparation. Communities that succeed do more than reject what they no longer want. They invest time and care in finding … Continue reading Outcry Over The Latest City Council Meeting
Main Street Rocky Mount 