SLIP SLIDING AWAY

The old song from the sixties, "Slip Sliding Away", keeps coming to mind when reflecting upon the decline in the quality of life that so many of us have enjoyed over the years in Peachtree City.

Take for instance some twenty years ago one could liesurely walk the golf cart paths with their family on any parcel of our town without the worry of practically anything. Always when being approached by fellow citizens, greetings were exchanged pleasantly or perhaps an opportune moment to be reaquainted with old friends or make new ones.

The pathways were for the most part pristine free of litter and when trash was seen it was removed and put away as a matter of courtesy by all. Neighbors generally liked one another as we kept an eye on their property during an absence, kids never went totally unsupervised as we as neighborhoods were involved in their safety, and common was the spontanious gathering at one home or another.

Peachtree City was then, and to a large extent now a bedroom community where we returned from our professions to enjoy the lifestyle we chose. Then, development was primarily new subdivisions offering for new citizens the idealic lifestyle so envisioned by the city founders.

Currently, the development focus has been predominantly commercial offering for some the opportunity for substantial profit. Entire areas have been rezoned to meet these demands, elections have been won to insure continued commercialism, and the focus has shifted to revenue generation at the expense of what caused our city's unique character.

Growth and change are inevitable in life, either we adapt or become frustrated and accept the slide toward mediocrity as a fact of life.

The adaptation to this change can and should be made with the preservation of our city founders' dream. That is simply to place a renewed emphasis on residential development of single family housing projects and neighborhoods that are the core of Peachtree City.

We have more than our share of commercial property now. In fact, look around at the growing number of empty spaces that were once thriving small businesses. More "new" is not the answer, a revitalization of what we currently have would be more appropriate.

Peachtree City is now a fine and wonderful place to live as compared to other communities, but it certainly is not what it was. Slowly, if we all do not become involved, what once was and what could be will continue to go "Slip Sliding Away."

Mike

Submitted by Spyglass on Mon, 02/25/2008 - 4:37pm.

I can feel some of your pain. I've only been in PTC 4 years now. That being said, I still take LONG walks/bike rides on the paths without any trouble at all. I still appreciate what this town has to offer. When I'm on my cart or walking and see trash, I always make an effort to pick it up. We can all do our part to help.

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Slip Sliding Away indeed!

Submitted by River on Mon, 02/25/2008 - 11:53pm.

Not Again, I agree with you. It' America, not just PTC. I remember at the end of Desert Storm, one of my buddies made the comment that Desert Storm was a high-water mark for the military. That comment was certainly correct, as it turned out. The leadership we had, and the brilliant campaign we conducted were the best ever. However, I'm equally proud of how we did in the war in Afghanistan--it was the correct response to 9/11, and we knocked the Taliban back into the Stone Age. Since then, we seem to have lost our way, both on the international stage, and at home. You mentioned all the foreclosures. Banks got greedy and made loans that they knew were "sub-prime" so they could screw over the homeowners and make more profit. Like you said, rich Americans and businesses use illegal Mexican labor because it is cheap, but meanwhile, middle-class Americans are having trouble finding jobs.

I don't think that it is inevitable for America to continue to slip slide away. Perhaps enough people will wake up and start to turn things around. We'll see!

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