While Wharton claims he may now have been "assimilated" into the culture of Action Greensboro, I seriously doubt it.
While I, too, attended last night's follow-up meeting to the Greenville bus trip - I saw no reason for 'assimilation'. What I saw and heard were a bunch of people who are very serious about moving Greensboro forward, just as they have been since Action Greensboro was formed five years ago. I am one of those people, too. (And so is Wharton).
The recent unpleasantness over where minor league baseball should reside got nasty at times, sure, but there was never a time when I thought Jim Melvin et al didn't have Greensboro's welfare formost in their minds. And I suspect that the principals at AG recognized those same qualities in their adversaries. There were just profound differences in focus... and style.... and resources. There was no difference in the passions for this city that were brought to the table.
As I continue to add my two-to-three cents worth of input to where I believe Greensboro should be going - partially under Action Greensboro's umbrella - I sincerely hope us 'naysayers' will have the opportunity to stir up as much dust as we did back in 2003. Because, in the long run, Greensboro will be stronger if passionate but divergent views can be heard and heeded - and I applaud AG for including divergent voices within their ranks, especially voices that were surely cussed at behind closed doors during battles past.
But make no mistake... the next time Action Greensboro is faced with a decision on if it is better to give the short straw to historic preservation and adaptive re-use of what is left of our architural heritage - or tear it down and start over, they will find they have placed a naysayer or two in the woodpile.
9:07:09 AM 
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