Greetings neighbors.
For those of you who may not know me, my name is Ben Solomon, and my wife Tara and I have lived in the Pine Oaks community for nearly seven years now. We�ve seen things change, people come and go, and the neighborhood grow. I remember when the Pine Oaks Commons shopping center was built, nearly six years ago. Seems almost like an eternity now, but to me it seems like only five years ago.
Like most outdoor malls and shopping pavilions, Pine Oaks Commons plays music over some speakers attached to the overhang. The sound quality isn�t great, and some days I wish they would contact me about it. I spent several years long ago as a studio technician � that�s music studio � and I think I could provide some help there. But I�m not writing to complain about the quality. Nor am I complaining about the fact that there�s music at all. I know most places use it as a way to keep riff raff and stragglers away, but I like it. It gives me a pleasant feeling anytime I need to purchase some duffel or oddly-flavored gum. No it�s the kind of music that�s played. Now on the whole, I guess I don�t mind your classical music or your 1980s instrumental pop, but I just wish they�d play more steel guitar music.
My love affair with this gorgeous instrument stretches back many years, back to the time when I was living near Bluefield, West Virginia � this is different than the time I was a studio technician. Well sir, every morning I�d wake with the sun, go sit out on the front porch and wait for my lady at the time to join me. I had a neighbor, well I guess you wouldn�t call him a neighbor given current standards of the word, but he was the closest soul within five miles at the time, and every morning when I was out there on that porch, I would hear him play that steel guitar. It was as much a part of my daily routine as my thrice-daily well trips or romping in the mud with my lady at the time. And I think if Pine Oaks Commons could capture that feeling � even just the tiniest, tinniest bit of it � well, that wouldn�t be the worst thing in the world.
Your pal, Ben
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If you haven�t been reading our blog at www.myspace.com/communitynewsletter, then you don�t know that we have a new motto. Last month the Community Board voted, so say �hello� to Pine Oaks � Just Minutes From Three Different Malls. Personally, I�m not sure where the three malls came from. I know about the West Stimmich Mall, and the Barrington Community Plaza Malleria, but I can�t for the life of me think of a third mall. Unless they�re referring to Pine Oaks Commons, but that�s really more of an open-air strip mall than a regular mall. And saying �minutes away� seems a bit odd, considering it takes 27 minutes to get to West Stimmich, and that�s with good traffic. (Of course, no traffic is good traffic, right?) I suppose we�ll just have to let it go, since a motto is a motto, as I always say.
Finally, one last piece of neighborhood business. It appears that someone or someones has or have dumped or poured up to 4,000 strips or pieces of bacon into the community pool. Because of this careless behavior, which may or may not be the work of local teens, the pool will be closed for the time being. Now I know many of you will be disappointed by this news, but the pool�s drainage system should be cleaned out sometime between mid-August and mid-September. Until then, the Pine Oaks Movie Night will be moved to the parking lot behind Everything Okra, as long as no one minds every film having a green stucco hue. Residents can also cool off in our neighborhood�s water fountains, as soon as they are built, which is estimated to be 2011.
See you in August
Barbara Del Roca
Neighborhood Watch...p. 2
Message from the President...FRONT
Pine Oaks Book Club...p. 2
Welcome Wagon...FRONT
This Month in Pine Oaks...FRONT
Young Person's Perspective...p. 4