What if Jacksonville suddenly woke up?

[BridgeTroll]

I am blown away by the story of the slave woman from Kingsley Plantation who became the wife of a plantation owner, then owned her own place. Why hasn't this story been made into a movie with Halle Berry playing the main role?

Stephen... I smell a screenplay...

[Garden guy]

This city could us a few more Anna Kingsley...talk about a hard worker...i'll bet she would take a bribe like the fools that run this city.

[Jaxson]

I am blown away by the story of the slave woman from Kingsley Plantation who became the wife of a plantation owner, then owned her own place. Why hasn't this story been made into a movie with Halle Berry playing the main role?

Stephen... I smell a screenplay...

I could see Jennifer Hudson, another Oscar-winning actress, playing the part!

[billy]

Martin Lawrence

[Dog Walker]

Both Kingley and Ana Jai were powerful, complex characters who made their own way in the world mostly right her in Northeast Florida.

Dan Shafer, the retired UNF history professor who has done the most to write their history lives right here in Riverside.  Their story was mostly unknown until he did the hard work of research and writing.

You couldn't get their lives into a 90 minute movie, but it would make a great HBO mini-series.

[Ocklawaha]

^There is no reason we can't have both natural beauty and a vibrant city life.

San Francisco.  San Francisco is a city which took advantage of it's natural advantages as well as made it's own man-made advantages to create the powerhouse city it is today.  It even had it's own military facilities nearby supporting it!  We had 3 during our heyday.  Both our cities are consolidated too!

I'm not expecting Jax to be as large as SF but the growth rate of both cities should have been pretty similar.  Economically, SF is much more richer then Jax.  

Why did our city decline and became stagnant while theirs are thriving and still growing to this day?  Even their rail system is expanding way faster then ours.  

Each day in San Francisco 850,000 people wake up and commute to work, school or play.

ALL OF THE ABOVE PHOTOS - SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

Each day in Jacksonville 830,000 people wake up and commuter to work, school or play.



JACKSONVILLE

Maybe it's just me, or maybe our leaders could be certified as brain dead, but I see a difference in these photos, do you?

OCKLAWAHA

[finehoe]

ALL OF THE ABOVE PHOTOS - SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

Yeah, but there are libruls and homoseckuals livin' there.

[Jaxson]

ALL OF THE ABOVE PHOTOS - SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

Yeah, but there are libruls and homoseckuals livin' there.

But imagine all of those heathens we can convert once we find a good church to take over their sin-ridden city.

[dougskiles]

I am blown away by the story of the slave woman from Kingsley Plantation who became the wife of a plantation owner, then owned her own place. Why hasn't this story been made into a movie with Halle Berry playing the main role?

Stephen... I smell a screenplay...

I could see Jennifer Hudson, another Oscar-winning actress, playing the part!

Jennifer Chase did the musical at Boomtown in Springfield.

http://www.youtube.com/v/LZSwfvRfP4Y

Jennifer also gave the performance at Hendricks Avenue Elementary School 2 years ago as part of the cultural arts week.  It was outstanding.

[Bativac]

Ock - I don't know if you realize this, but those photos kind of prove the point, but not in the way you were thinking. That last photo, of the road surrounded by green? That's why a lot of people live here. They'd sooner leave than Jacksonville become full of what they perceive to be the trappings of "big city life."

And for anyone who doesn't think Jax is culturally diverse, I would beg to differ. I personally know Jacksonvillians from different continents and nations, and their families all live here. I think we're a very diverse city.

I think the one big thing about Jacksonville is that most of the people here want to do their thing, keep to themselves, and be left alone. Regardless of their culture, that seems to be the prevailing mindset. You have a hard time convincing people whose idea of a good time is to sit in the driveway with Skynyrd blasting and a six twelve 24 pack Bud Lite that Jacksonville could have a bustling downtown. Same with people who'd rather grill in the backyard, or watch TV in the comfort of their dens, etc.

I don't think many of the people here want Jacksonville to be more. It's easy to blame the leaders but I think the people who live here (such as my family, who has been here for generations) should share in some of the blame. They'd like things to stay the way they are, with none of their tax dollars going to any kind of improvements. (Unless it involves JTB or another highway.)

[Dog Walker]

Someone who was either very wise or very cynical once said that we get the kind of government we deserve.   OUCH!

[Ocklawaha]

Ock - I don't know if you realize this, but those photos kind of prove the point, but not in the way you were thinking. That last photo, of the road surrounded by green? That's why a lot of people live here. They'd sooner leave than Jacksonville become full of what they perceive to be the trappings of "big city life."

Maybe so, but to anyone who has been in San Francisco knows, the entire city would fit into our downtown. Certainly beyond that there is suburban development, but there are also miles of redwood forests and seemingly remote shores. With such diverse mass transit those people who prefer the gentle life in the vineyards at Sonoma, or the remote Muir Beach, a home in the mountains of Montara, or a farmette at Walnut Creek, they can all do so, without having to drive more then a few blocks, if they have to drive at all. This protects the exact lifestyle choices that you point out, nobody is going to throw you out on the street for another 12 lanes of concrete. When I drive into town from WGV I'm committed to a 30 mile trip one-way, if one drove that same 30 miles in most any direction from San Francisco, they would be in a different world completely. In many cases in less then 5 miles they are in primeval forest.

If we had commuter rail, my trip to the city would be about 5 miles saving me over 50 miles daily. The magic of a railway is that it doesn't have to be widened.

OCKLAWAHA

[dougskiles]

I brought up the point about diversity.  Perhaps what I should have emphasized is the acceptance of that diversity.

[cityimrov]

What is the "True Jacksonville"?  What is it that the people here want? 

If I wanted to build an amusement park here..... would enough people visit and support it?
If I wanted to build a glass condo with shopping center in downtown.... would enough people here live there?
If I wanted to bring the MLB/NBA here..... would I have full stadiums? 
If I wanted to build a world class private research university here..... would people here attend?  would they pass?

What exactly is this city?   

I've been watching my smartest and most entrepreneurial and most creative friends and acquaintances MOVE away from this city day after day.  One day, I have this feeling I'll be joining them too.  I'm worried about this city. 

I see people here get excited over a brand new maintenance facility!  A maintenance facility!  That seems kind of pathetic for a city that even brought the Mayo Clinic over....back then.   

So what is it that the vast majority people who are staying here, want - exactly? 

[dougskiles]

What is the "True Jacksonville"?  What is it that the people here want? 

That is a great question.  We seem to be wandering aimlessly.

Which leads me to believe that while many may not say they 'want' it, we desperately need stronger leadership.  Leadership that unifies more than divides.  Leadership that is focused on what we want to be instead of what we don't want to be.

Money may be able to buy an election, but it can't buy leadership.