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Our little village of the Kingdom of Callaway is one of about 80 in the state of Missouri who still have no planning and no zoning requirements outside city limits. "Ahhhh sweet freedom" you say? Hmmm.... actually such a subject brings folks out of the woodwork from two different uhhh 'mills'.
Today, with no planning and no zoning the property buyers who want to buy unrestricted land are happy clams.
Today, with no planning and no zoning the local, independent farmers, while enjoying the wind in their faces, are getting bugs in their teeth from a smile they just can't wipe off.
Both entities want no zoning. Both entities want no restrictions placed on the land. Both entities are on opposite ends of the tug-a-war rope!
It seems that the very things the incoming 'happy-no-zoning' buyers are wanting to do with this precious land are precisely what our deep-rooted farmers want to avoid!
Our community is in the midst of a growth explosion. (www.fultonmo.com - look it up!) We are situated in a prime geographic, econimic position. Poised.......Sorry.... almost morphed into REALTOR mode.... ok, back on track.... the city of Fulton had a meeting last evening to discuss an opportunity we have to review and possibly revise a statute of value. Age old statutes are still in place that allow plans to be made for us, not with us. Change is inevitable. Growth potential is gi-normous. WE GOTTA set a plan in place to control how we, where we, when we will to grow!
The charm of Fulton is the people of course, but it is also the land. The topography. The trees. The waterways. The pastures. The forests. The conservation areas, the naturally occuring wildlife. You see, the people of our communityARE who we are because of what surroundings we are nestled into.
We don't want to lose that. If we DON'T get involved in the planning and preparing we just might.
This is so funny, I just have to share this........... Via DSF Mortgages: Lizard Birth
If you have raised kids (or been one), and gone through
the pet syndrome, including toilet flush burials for dead
goldfish, the story below will have you laughing out
LOUD!
Overview: I had to take my son's lizard to the vet.
Here's what happened:
Just after dinner one night, my son came up to tell me
there was 'something wrong' with one of the two
lizards he holds prisoner in his room.
'He's just lying there looking sick,' he told me. 'I'm
serious, Dad Can you help?'
I put my best lizard-healer expression on my face and
followed him into his bedroom. One of the little lizards
was indeed lying on his back, looking stressed. I
immediately knew what to do.
'Honey,' I called, 'come look at the lizard!'
'Oh, my gosh!' my wife exclaimed. 'She's having
babies.'
'What?' my son demanded. 'But their names are
Bert and Ernie, Mom!'
I was equally outraged.
'Hey, how can that be? I thought we said we didn't
want them to reproduce,' I said accusingly to my wife.
'Well, what do you want me to do, post a sign in their
cage?' she inquired (I think she actually said this
sarcastically!)
'No, but you were supposed to get two boys!' I
reminded her, (in my most loving, calm, sweet
voice, while gritting my teeth).
'Yeah, Bert and Ernie!' my son agreed.
'Well, it's just a little hard to tell on some guys, you
know,' she informed me (Again with the sarcasm!)..
By now the rest of the family had gathered to see
what was going on. I shrugged, deciding to make
the best of it.
'Kids, this is going to be a wondrous experience,'
I announced. 'We're about to witness the miracle
of birth...'
'Oh, gross!' they shrieked
'Well, isn't THAT just great? What are we going to do
with a litter of tiny little lizard babies?' my wife wanted
to know.
We peered at the patient. After much struggling, what
looked like a tiny foot would appear briefly, vanishing
a scant second later.
'We don't appear to be making much progress,' I
noted.
'It's breech,' my wife whispered, horrified.
'Do something, Dad !' my son urged.
'Okay, okay.' Squeamishly, I reached in and grabbed
the foot when it next appeared, giving it a gentle tug.
It disappeared. I tried several more times with the
same results.
'Should I call 911?' my eldest daughter wanted to know.
'Maybe they could talk us through the trauma.' (You
see a pattern here with the females in my house?)
'Let's get Ernie to the vet,' I said grimly.. We drove to
the vet with my son holding the cage in his lap.
'Breathe, Ernie, breathe,' he urged.
'I don't think lizards do Lamaze,' his mother noted to
him. (Women can be so cruel to their own young. I
mean what she does to me is one thing, but this boy
is of her womb, for G~d's sake.).
The vet took Ernie back to the examining room and
peered at the little animal through a magnifying glass.
'What do you think, Doc, a C-section?' I suggested
scientifically.
'Oh, very interesting,' he murmured. 'Mr. and Mrs.
Cameron, may I speak to you privately for a moment?'
I gulped, nodding for my son to step outside.
'Is Ernie going to be okay?' my wife asked.
'Oh, perfectly,' the vet assured us. 'This lizard is not
in labor.. In fact, that isn't EVER going to happen. . .
Ernie is a boy. You see, Ernie is a young male. And
occasionally, as they come into maturity, like most
male species, they um . . um . . . masturbate. Just
the way he did, lying on his back.' He blushed,
glancing at my wife.
We were silent, absorbing this.
'So, Ernie's just . just . . excited,' my wife offered.
'Exactly,' the vet replied , relieved that we understood.
More silence. Then my vicious, cruel wife started to
giggle. And giggle. And then even laugh loudly.
'What's so funny?' I demanded, knowing, but not
believing that the woman I married would commit
the upcoming affront to my flawless manliness.
Tears were now running down her face. 'It's just .that . .
I'm picturing you pulling on its . . . its. . . teeny little . . '
She gasped for more air to bellow in laughter once
more.
'That's enough,' I warned. We thanked the vet and
hurriedly bundled the lizard and our son back into
the car.. He was glad everything was going to be okay.
'I know Ernie's really thankful for what you did, Dad ,'
he told me. 'Oh, you have NO idea,' my wife agreed, collapsing
with laughter.
Two lizards: $140.
One cage: $50.
Trip to the vet: $30.
Memory of your husband pulling on a lizard's winkie:
Priceless!
Moral of the story: Pay attention in biology class.
Lizards lay eggs!
The countdown is coming to a close. It's Christmas Eve.
The weatherman didn't hear our request for snow again this year. The sun is shining, the pavement still has traces of yesterdays icey rain. The banks are closed and the state employees are off work today - but that could just mean that a Presidential candidate sneezed for the first time in the White House. If not for putting my Christmas tree up yesterday I don't know that it would look like Christmas at all in Fulton, Missouri!
What should Christmas look like, anyway? And who the heck came up with this idea of snowy hillsides as the picture perfect representation of Christmas? CHARLES DICKENS DID, THAT'S WHO!!! Snow and Christmas just belong together according to all accounts in his (beautiful) book 'A Christmas Carol' written in 1843.
But cha know..... It is verrrry probable that Jesus was even a Springtime baby. Wouldn't the Roman census (the reason Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem) have occurred in the Springtime during the Jewish Passover? And would those Shepherds have been keeping their flocks by night under an electric blanket wearing a Carhart? I think NOT!
And what about that tree in the house? Who thought up that bright idea? (get it? "bright idea"?? lights? bulbs? idea?? ;-D) Well, I did a little studying on that one... and I read that perhaps the responsible party is the awesome preacher man Mr. Martin Luther (the 16th Century one, not the MLK one) was the first first person to bring a Christmas Tree into a house. the story goes that 'twas the night before Christmas.... (you are thinking of a different story just because I used the "'Twas word..... work with me here.... ) ANYWAY, Mr. Luther was walking through the forest and he looked up to see the stars shining through the tree branches. It was so beautiful, that he went home and told his children that it reminded him of Jesus, who left the stars of heaven to come to earth at Christmas.
Which brings me to the real heart. The MOST important matter here is that we remember the reason for this season. It's all about Him. The big guy. The tiny baby boy. The One who left Heaven just for the purpose of showing us the way. The one who knew we humanoids wouldn't trust just any ol' preacherman, so He came to earth as a tiny little bundle of innocience and joy. He came to us in human form so we would not be afraid of Him. So we could relate to Him on a level we could comprehend. (He's no dummy, Dummy - He's the Triad, the 3-in One, The Creator, Maker of Heaven and Earth, the Holy One. He's my God!)
So whenever you celebrate Christmas, remember that you're celebrating a real event that happened about 2000 years ago, that God sent his Son into the world as a Christmas present for everyone!
Oh, wait, did I hear a "Ba-Humbug!" ?? Oh man, Christmas is magical, beautiful, sentimental. It was a Day that changed the world! (Even if it was in March or April.... it CHANGED the world Dude!!) It was the day of new life possible for everybody. Old Testament Laws still hold value, (as Laws do today!) but they don't have the power to send you to Hell anymore. Christ's birth, life and death were all for the purpose of changing that.
It's a beautiful thing.
Merry Christmas.
This website is where I obtained many of the answers to my questions: http://www.whychristmas.com/about.shtml
Enjoy.
There is a crispness in the air.
Crisp.
Crispness.
Sounds a might better than "cold and blustery" as the weatherman's vocab permits. We REALLY need to work on his marketing skills!
Fulton, Missouri is crisp tonight. Subdivisions are aglow with Christmas lights, retailers are bustling with shoppers, snow is crunching under boot. The downtown district has cobblestone streets and shiney bright Christmas lights aligning the rooftops. There are Christmas displays in the windows and music filling the air from a place of audio mystery. The majestic historical buildings of downtown Fulton hold a plethora of stories, yes, if only the bricks could talk. (Thank God for small personified miracles!)
There are emotions present. Poised. Piercable.
In our office this very day the emotions swept the gamut. At 8 0'clock it was exhilaration from anticipation of a new, unprecedented low interest rate, at 9 o'clock there was angst leftover from a dysfunctional alarm clock, at 11 o'clock there was melodious song wafting from the closet sized office bathroom, at 2 o'clock there were tears of recollection and remorse from Christmases past, at 4 o'clock there was laughter and choking on chocolate, at 5 o'clock there was trepidation of gifts unobtainable this year.... emotions present and poised, pierced.
Quite likely life does not seem different here from other places. At least from a bird's eye view. But in the nitty gritty of it, in the daily 'grind', in the ins and outs, in the hurly-burly, in the dribs and drabs .... ok... you get the idea.... overall.. it is very different here than there.
Here there is growth. Here there is hope. There are local people continuously injecting time and treasure into our community to help it thrive. We are gaining ground, we are keeping a steady economic heartbeat. Our property values are strong. Our developers and contractors have values and ethics (an occassional cat-call from a jobsite never hurt anybody - yes, I know who you are...), our neighborhoods are safe, our downtown has variety, we have jobs. We have B & B's, we have hotels, restaurants, bowling, cinemas. Ameren UE provides us with bountiful tax dollars which helps us keep the quality in our schools. We have two liberal arts colleges. We have a Wal-Mart! We have homes in subdivisions where we don't have to share ownership of miniblinds between our houses and a sneeze gets a "God Bless You" when it occurs in the same house in which you are present!
This is Fulton, Missouri. This is the Kingdom of Callaway. This is the county seat of Callaway County. This is the namesake for Kings Row. This is the podium of Sir Winston Churchill and the Former British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Edward Heath. For goodness sake Fulton has been graced by the former Premier of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev.
We. Are. Blessed. Fulton is an endearing place to be from. It is an enchanting place to visit. It is an entrancing place to relocate to.
Segway.....
Call me! Mikki Starmer, RE/MAX Fulton 573-220-3093
I wonder just how many first blogs start out by stating the obvious "this is my first blog... not sure just how to get started here......." but we'll add this one to the statistics.
Hmmmm, not sure how to get started here, but this very text you are reading now is my first attempt at blogging! From what I think I have learned about blogging, in actuality it is nothing more than talking to myself, with the only variance being that it goes into print! SO, I guess I've been 'virtually blogging' all my life!
It would make this adventure sooo much easier if I had an idea as to who sits behind the eyeballs glazing over this page. But, since that is not the concept of this thing called "Blog", I will take it day by day, adding entry as it occurs, LIVE.
My plan is to share information about real estate and the happenings in this awesome community of Callaway County, carefully embedded in the heart of Central Missouri, just north of the Ozarks, just east of Kansas City, just west of St. Louis.
So ponder that for now, and I'll be back.......
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Mikki Starmer
Fulton,
MO
More about me…
Miller Real Estate
Address: 208 West Fourth Street, Fulton, MO, 65251
Office Phone: (573) 642-7283
Cell Phone: (573) 220-3093
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