I was wrong.

I had a bunch of firsts over the last few months.  I went to my first BOMA meeting. I spoke publicly for the first time.  I shook hands with an alderman for the first time. I spoke to my mayor for the first time.  I made a FOIA request for the first time. And I made a mistake for the first time (jooooooke).  

Today, the reality of this blog hit home for me.  I can’t lie, in the back of my mind, I’ve always had this worry that it actually is just 8 – 10 people clicking on my blog links over and over, boosting my page view stats.  After the body bag that I got put into today, I realized just how many people not only read this, but care about the words I write.  

You know, I always looked at a blog as a journal, or a diary of sorts.  I write down a few opinions, sprinkle in a joke here and there, hit publish, and obsessively track the view counter.   While I strive to use facts when forming my opinions, I haven’t exactly held myself to a journalistic standard. This is a blog to fill my free time while the kids nap.  I am not a journalist. I am not a writer. I’m not a private investigator. Heck, I don’t even have a college degree (thank goodness my good looks got me this far). I’m a 32 year old married guy who thinks that his local government is dropping the ball.  I do a ton of research. I talk to many people. And I watch every second of Nolensville government meetings.  

Today, while my parents are visiting from out of town and all 3 kids are celebrating their birthdays, I decided to take the easy way out.  And I dropped the ball in spectacular fashion. I have heard that Ms. Green sold some land. I heard this from multiple sources and took this at face value.  The only research I did on the matter was search the sales records and saw this land was indeed sold in 2015. This was a huge mistake on my part. I never said that Ms. Green sold the land directly to Grandview Eight LLC, but it was implied.  In my mind, she did. For that, I am extremely disappointed in myself and I am extremely sorry to Ms. Green. I was an asshole. I assumed the worst because of my raw emotions from the Southwalk workshop. I should have taken the time to do my research properly, and I didn’t.  You can bet your last dollar that I will not rely on any piece of info that is merely word of mouth from this point forward. I grew up poor as shit in the ghetto of Chicago. When you screwed up, you got your ass beat. So I fully understand all the backlash, and I’ll take all the hits.  The mistake was on me, so go ahead and get your hits in because it’s not going to happen again.

What started off as a hobby to me has quickly turned into way more than that.  Blogging is something that I enjoy doing. It is something that helps me process my emotions.  It’s something that helps keep me focused, determined, and gives me hope for a better Nolensville.  But, it’s also something that I share with you, the reader. I am sorry for jumping to conclusions today without doing the proper research.  I didn’t have the time nor desire to drive downtown to look up deeds. But, I’m going to tomorrow! The backlash I received today has made me aware of a few things.  One, this is no longer just a silly little blog. Two, I better never take the easy way out. Three, just because the puzzle pieces seem to fall into place doesn’t mean the picture created is correct.  

Don’t get me wrong, my apologies to Ms. Green notwithstanding, there is preferential treatment in my opinion.  The resistance to both Market Square and Southwalk is unmatched by other developers in town. Market Square and Southwalk both used engineering firms that no one else in town uses. They both had fresh, outside the box, concepts that included higher density.  Neither developer has a longstanding relationship with a public official in town. That’s why I kept looking into this. The more I look, the more preferential treatment I see everywhere. City ordinances are living documents. They should evolve with us, not keep us from evolving. 

I got it wrong today.  But I don’t think I’m far off.  FOIA law violation, devices getting destroyed, resignations left and right, lawsuits pending, money stashed sky high in the town’s bank account, election drama, and emails being ignored tells me I’m on the right track.  I will keep digging. I may or may not find what I’m looking for. But if you think today’s drama will shut me up, you’re mistaken. 

 

– The Insider