I didn't plan on seeing the crack of Don!

Took our numba 14 with me to run errands (Running errands with my mom!) this morning and while she was sitting in the car waiting, she happened to look up at a group of homeless people gathering their things at the corner of the conveinence store building. Upon getting back into the car next to her, she was not too happy.
"Well my gawd! That is NOT something I wanted to see first thing in the morning."
I followed her gaze and seen the last of the homeless gathering up his bags getting ready to follow the convoy of them out of the parking lot. (There were about 8 of them total.) He was rail thin, had more baggage than what he weighed and had on a pair of sweatpants. They were obvoiusly too big on him and when the poor guy raised his arms over his head, you did not see what one expected....
I asked my dear child what happened and she said:
"I seen his but crack! I did not expect to see the crack of Don when I woke up today! I more expected to fight with my brothers!"
So, at this I calmly said, well...."Wouldn't that be sad if his name was really DON?!?!" Of course we got a good laugh out of that. However, it got me to thinking. There are ALOT of homeless in the city of Myrtle Beach. While most of them simply wander around from day to day and get arressted every now and then, they don't cause too much trouble. Don't get me wrong, I DO NOT go near them nor do I choose to speak but there are many of them. We see them every time we go somewhere. They have camps in the wooded areas in the city and frequent WalMart and other convenience stores whent hey have money to spare. Sometimes you will even see newbies panhandling money at the entrance to the Walmart parking lot. (No wonder I make it a habit of coming in the side enterance to the parkinglot.
Honestly, it has become so commonplace for them to be seen around, that I don't pay much attention to them. I only notice their presence when I go out of town with my family and note that there are not as many visible homeless people around or that I can successfully go into a store or the mall and not see one on the way there or while looking for a parking spot.
Truth be told, since the city has tried to curb a lot of the bigger events around here, you see them more and more. The city and county have even tried to run them out of the camps in the wooded areas. All these people did was move their things from one place to another. Clearing out the woods they live in does not do a good job either because then there is the mess they leave behind. While I understand they are just trying to survive and I even get that there are those there that CHOOSE that lifestyle, they are truly their own community in this dying city.
Sad. That is for lack of a better description. I remember coming to visit here and seen the homeless but there was not so many of them. They are everywhere! They walk through my neighborhood and they make the news quite often. Normally for a body being found or that some "famous" homeless person in the city has died or some other non extravagant story but what is the city doing about it? Nothing. There is a homeless shelter that was built right next to a neighborhood a couple of years ago. There is also Helping Hand that feeds them in their soup kitchen. However, what else do they have? What services are being provided to enable them to get up out of the woods and live a life that the rest of the world knows and (most likely) takes for granted?
Seems a little backward to me. Decay....This is the very foundation of it in this societly. Outright decay. We have come so far and so snooty in our ways (even those of us who feel they are entitled to welfare "benefits" when they have no business being lazy simply because they can get away with it) that we simply turn away from the part of society that is crumbling the foundation of the very SNOT that we thrive upon every single day. The lost. The forgotten. The ignored.
Next time you come to Myrtle Beach, please do not forget to gawk at our homeless of which our leaders are so proud to shuffle from one area to the next. Also, please don't forget to go by the old fruit stand on Mr. Joe White Avenue and see how it has been repainted all pretty simply for the homeless population to accumulate their wares and hang out under the shade trees. Your city leaders are so proud of what they have done to the lower class. The poorest lost everything and the rest of us are getting poorer by the minute because the jobs are still being handed out to foreigners and not given to those of us who live here and keep this rotten city going.
I may be going on and on about this because I am angry when it comes to my pocket but what do you expect? A maypole dance and glitter? Go visit GrumpyCat for that one.
But I digress........

Here it is, my thoughts on Hard Rock Park

Last year, we had this wonderful idea tha was to be planted in our midst. It was supposed to generate more business for the area and it was the first of its kind. It was promoted around the world and fluffed up to be the greatest thing to hit this country since six flags. It was gonna be great!

Less than a year from its initial opening, a couple of the major investors backed out leaving it crippled and heading in a quickening southern spiral. OUCH! Lets review why, shall we? The first mistake was all the fluff. The park was promoted to be something that it obviously was not. Ok, it is a great place for concerts but that one fact was pushed under the rug. What an idiot thing to do with that avenue! Along the same vein, parking cost $20.00, to get into the park cost $48.00, then you had to pay for absolutely every thing when you got inside. What a rip that was! No wonder people did not want to go! They were broke before they got in there! Then, once you got in, there was nothing to do but shop and if you were lucky to come on a concert day, that was included in your admission price but sheesh! Why do that when you can wait another day and go to the House of Blues and see the same concert for a third of that price!

Add to the that the fact that these investors (who must be smart, they have all that money!) decided to drop a large mostly puffed up theme park in the middle of one of the biggest down turns in the American economy since the Great Depression of the 1930's and then wonder why they are losing on their investment. Now, my background in business is only about ten years but from a small business stand point, one of the factors that you look at when looking to open any type of business is that of the local economy. I do have to cut these investors some slack as they are not of this country but they should have half a brain about them! Sheesh! Another thing is that Hard Rock international should have said something to someone as well. They do their business, it seems, the right way. They are a avery successful group.

Now, the only smart thing that these foreigners did was to back out before it fell on its face. When they did, the park crashed and crashed hard. The park had all intentions to reopen for the 2009 season but was unable to recover from that devastating blow. They tried to sell the park to no avail because the asking price was too high.

Now we have a buyer and things are supposed to be looking up. But guess what? Part of the group that opened this thing is in this new group of buyers. Hello? Do we see another disaster looming? Lets hope that our "new" owners have learned their lessons and will be more cautious with their willy nilly spending and take a closer look at the whole picture. It would be a big break for the local economy if they did it right and kept those jobs going for the locals like they say they are going to. I believe that everyone that lives in our county and local areas will still approach this thing with caution. It has been a thorn in our sides for a while now. I am just grateful that they are attempting to save face with the locals because this whole fiasco has hurt Myrtle Beach in a big way on top of what the City Council has already done to hurt the common man.

All eyes are on Myrtle Beach and Hard Rock Park.....For now, that is all I have to say about that.