Ode to a Cubmaster, a Yoda and a great Flower Mound neighbor
One of the great things about Cub Scouts is getting to work with, and learn from, some great neighbors. For years, Jim Fields (pictured above with my son, Andrew) has been the leader of Pack 295. He and his wife Patty have had three boys go through the pack; the youngest will bridge to Boy Scouts this year. Also for years, Jim Fields has been the man to beat in the pack's annual Pinewood Derby competition. He and his boys build great cars, and he knows how to get them to roll fast.
For years, at the other end of the leader board on Pinewood Derby day, has been the Mahaneys. We never had much luck getting our wheels perfect. Some years we tried hard; others not so much. In 4 previous Pinewood Derbys, the best we could finish was 6th (out of about 16 entries in our age group). One year, maybe two, we finished last.
This year, we asked Jim if we could visit him in his garage while he worked on his car. He gave us 15 minutes of his time and his advice, and we went back home to continue the work. We spent at least three hours working on the wheels, using the advice Jim gave us. The result? My son's car finished first in our division, barely ahead of Jim's son's car. Perhaps the teacher (our Cub Scout Yoda, I suppose) taught us too well, but that's the mark of a great teacher, a great leader, and a great neighbor. Thank you Jim!
PS: In fairness, I'll tell you the rest of the story. Because of our 1-2 finish, both our car and the Fields car advanced to the all-Pack finals, against winners from the other age groups. Neither of our cars won, but the Fields car ran better than the Mahaney car. It was a great day for us all.
posted by Chip Mahaney @ 9:31 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Forums Neighbors Speak Out
The five members of the Forums HOA Board have misrepresented the views of our neighborhood regarding the Shops of Market Street development. They are not even authorized to speak for us as individual homeowners in the Forums subdivision.
Out of 32 homes who were the only ones who voted from the entire population of 66 homes, 16 were for it and 16 against. Most homeowners were not against Market Street, but were against a development that was not within the guidelines of the Master Plan. The Forums HOA President twice tried to stop me from polling the neighbors to verify homeowner’s opinions on the development. Another Forums HOA officer has tried to discredit those of us with a different opinion.
The Forums HOA Board endorsed the development without even asking the homeowners until three days before the final P&Z meeting for their individual opinions or vote.
This issue was not the fault of the master plan, Forums neighborhood, town staff or elected officials. Rather, it was the fault of the developer. He ignored concerns expressed at all levels in the community, and misrepresented the devastating impact of his project in order to gain support.
We look forward to a new plan for this property that respects our master plan and our community, and preserves rather than eliminates most of this important forest.
Forums Homeowner & Concerned Flower Mound Citizen
Post a Comment
<< Home