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HeyHatch

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Posts posted by HeyHatch

  1. If someone does not live in the Heights, they can't have an opinion about this? If you didn't want 'outsiders' to chime in, perhaps you should have stuck to posting on your neighborhood group.

    Soul-less? Character-less? Now who's being self-righteous?

    Jaded ninny?, that's being judgemental. Unless of course you personally know Ms. Crunch which I doubt.

    She was gracious whereas you were not. Easy to see who has class and who doesn't.

    No, I don't know her.

    Listen, Little Frau, I never said that people couldn't have an opinion, and I certainly never said "outsiders" (your word, not mine.) What I hoped to express, be it not up to your standards, was that I don't appreciate anyone, Heights resident or not, passing judgement on my lifestyle nor assuming that I am a complete, self-serving idiot simply because I oppose a Wal-Mart in my neighborhood and may enjoy the occasional lunch with friends while, gasp, still managing to be my kids' main caretaker. But thanks for pointing out how gracious he/she (you assume this person is a she, you seem to be good at assuming) was to insult an entire population of the Heights. I thought "jaded ninny" (that one you can quote) was an appropriate turn of phrase. Feel free to disagree, but don't imply that you know any betterm because as you say, you don't know her.

    But, getting back to topic of the resistance to WalMart, I will continue to stir the pot and fight the fights I choose based on my own accounting of what the situation is. You, and anyone else who so chooses, are welcome to disagree and even offer contradictory points of view. But don't come in here insulting me and mine and not expect a swipe back at you and yours. I would say that same philosophy is used by many o'HAIFer. Don't mess with our chickens.

    • Like 1
  2. I'd love nothing more than to see the concerned heights neighbors do a real protest of the proposed Yale Wal Mart.

    Think of it as a meaningful vacation from strenuous days of blogging, girls lunches at Stella Sola, play dates, bikini boot camp,and taking your overly-accesorized children to Berryhill while the moms relax with some 'ritas. Raise awareness for the cause by mobilizing for hours a day in the 100 degree heat, marching in the dirt with signs and bullhorns. Or how about going door- to- door with clipboards? Forming a human chain in front of the bulldozers? If you did, you might get a tiny bit of insight into the tiring, hot and less-than-comfortable lives of the people for whom WalMart is a good thing.

    Yea, I know I'm being hyperbolic and rude. I originally expressed these sentiments in a PM, but I feel compelled to go public with them. I've had dear friends in the Heights on and off for more than 20 years, and there's a lot about it I love. But I am really, really glad that I did not buy a house there. Because lately I find the misdirected, contradictory righteousness just downright suffocating. We're talking about empty dirt by the railroad tracks, on the other side of the freeway, generating no jobs and nothing to the tax base. I understand taking a philosophical stance, but not at the expense of our community during a recession.

    I will say this to the Stop Wal-Mart crowd: whatever big box retailer builds on that site, watch the news when they start

    hiring. When 5,000 people show up to apply for 250 jobs, ask yourself: are my priorities perhaps misplaced?

    I, too, feel compelled to go public with this message. Since you don't live in the Heights, why don't you take your crunchy-tastic, holier-than-thou, self-righteous and judgemental attitude, drag Niche along with you, and worry about something in your own soul-less and character-less neighborhoods. I, too, am really, really glad you didn't buy a house here. I worked my butt off to pay my way through college, worked in an incredibly male-dominated, chauvinistic industry, kicking a** I might add, and postponed having kids until I was in my early thirties so that I could provide for my kids in a way that would make their lives easier for them, as well as take these years a bit easier for myself. And, oh by the way, this also includes working at and volunteering for many not-for-profits (that I am betting with a name like "Crunchtastic" you support) in an effort to give others better breaks than life has already brought them. My husband works his butt off to provide for his family and maintian the ability to give to the causes of his choice. Why should we feel guilty about lunch with our friends, play dates, going to the gym, or whatever the hell we want to do or attitude we want to have if it is not hurting anyone else. My priorities are not misplaced. My kids wear what they want to wear, and if that includes multiple tutus with a frigging fireman hat, I am glad they are not worried about what some jaded ninny's opinions are.

    I'm not going to apologize for wanting an H-E-B over a Wal-Mart. The H-E-B will hire the same, or more, people than the Wal-Mart, take better care of them and the neighborhood, and provide a better product that is still within the budget of people who shop at Wal-Mart. Accept that lower-income families deserve access to good quality at good prices, and, just like high-income families, they know the difference.

    For all you know, I may be one of the ones physically campaigning against Wal-Mart. You bet I started this thread to create public awareness and hopefully protests. I feel like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons, rubbing my hands together while saying, "Exxxxcellent."

    • Like 3
  3. No, because you don't do that.

    Actually I do, so let's not argue facts.

    As for the little guys...what little guys in the Heights are going to compete with Wal-Mart? Are you that concerned that revenues at your local CVS might drop 20%? Please note that the Heights cannot be monopolized by Wal-Mart; as much as the "new Heights" wishes it were it's own distinct city separated from Houston and connected only by a streetcar line...it isn't. Get with the times.

    Get with the times? Really? My times are very reality based, juggling work and a family with young kids, trying to keep the neighborhood safe from the undue influence and influx of snarky pastafarians. :D

  4. You say that...but I gather that you've been indoctrinated to a subculture propagated by over-educated white people that features class-based shame and douchey shame-avoidance behavior as a central tenet.

    If you were a low-earning Mexican that had called the Heights home all your life, you'd have likely lamented in 2005 that the Target on Sawyer Street was not a Wal-Mart Supercenter and would be thrilled at these rumors because you were tired of packing several generations of family into a car for a day trip to a distant suburban Wal-Mart.

    Hey Niche, back up a bit. Perhaps you ought to take a look in to the indoctrination mirror, especially from the "douchey" angle. Not everyone who lives in the Heights is a low-earning Mexican. There are quite a few high-earning Mexicans, as well as low-earning families from all the other categories you seem to be preinclined to reference, living in the Heights. Citing a stereotypical image of several generations of a Mexican family being packed in to a car is, dare I say it, douchey? Can I be just as tired of packing several generations of my anglo family in to a car to drive basically the same distance as the closest Wal-Mart to hit an H-E-B?

    IMHO H-E-B has better quality products, wider selection, better customer service, and much better employee morale (due to Charles Butt actually caring about his employees)than Wal-Mart. H-E-B is a better neighbor than Wal-Mart. They care much more about the local community. Check out what they invest annually back in to the communities, not to mention their support of public schools. Don't believe me? Then you try to help out your local public school's annual Fall Festival, Spring Picnic or whatever. Ask your local H-E-B for a donation of food, water, gift cards, whatever, and you will be pleasantly surprised. Ask WalMart and you're lucky if you get a small, and I do mean small as in buy a couple of candy bars, gift card.

    All I am saying is that I would much rather have someone who is vested in the prosperity of the local community, as H-E-B is, than a company like WalMart who is constantly in the press for all the new ways they have come up with to screw the little guys.

    • Like 1
  5. Was Wal-Mart approached by the owner of the property on Yale between I-10 and Washington to buy the land? This is the same property H-E-B was looking at to build a new store along the lines of the one on Bunker Hill. Is the deal done with Wal-Mart? I've heard yes. What does this mean to the likes of our Heights Mom and Pops? What will that do to the traffic patterns on Yale and Washington? Google "Wal Mart parking lot crime" and let us know our thoughts!

  6. As long as Mr. Wiesenthal is still there and Chief Ambassador, I'll still go there to buy the obligatory collar stays and ties for Father's Day and other good dad holidays. He's such a nice man, part of an elegant generation past, I must say!

  7. I do believe that the Woods High graudating class is usually right around 10 students. They are, however, breaking ground on a completely new, green campus right after the new year. I think the goal is to get the graudating class up to 30 or so. I do agree that Awty has a good reputation, but there are a couple of things that concerned me. First off, the homework load is incredibly heavy. My friends have two daughters there, one in third grade, the other in first. It is not uncommon for the first grader to come home with 45 minutes of homework. The other thing is that the air quality on campus is horrible. There's a non-profit group called Mothers for Clean Air that did studies on the pollution levels at areas around the city. The are by the I10/610 interchange is one of the worst in the city; I believe on par with the Pasadena/Ship Channel area.

  8. My daughter goes to School of the Woods, a Montessori school that goes through high school. They are located on Wirt Road north of I-10. I take Hempstead Highway and other surface streets there in the morning and it taked about 15 minutes. They have an after and before school program. My son will be starting there in the fall.

    Dr. Betsy Coe is head of the Upper School and a main driving force behind the entire School of the Woods (not to mention the former head of the American Montessori Society). She has testified at both the U.N. (more than once) and the Hague on the benefits of a Montessori education. We have had such a wonderful experience with SOTW! In my daughter's kindergarten there were children who spoke English (of course) French, German, Hindi, Urdu, Spanish and Japanese - talk about your true international experience! The year I was checking them out, the highschool's entire graudating class got in to their first choice colleges, Ivy Leagues included, and all had scholarships. In fact, as an exercise in "flying solo" for two weeks out of the year, they take the entire High School and turn it in to a college campus that the kids actually live on in order to get the experience of dormitory living, making all their own meals, doing their own laundry, etc. They bring in college professors from around the entire country to work with the kids on their college entrance essays. In middle school, when economics are first introduced to the kids, they put the middleschoolers in charge of the school salad bar. The kid learn about supply and demand, basic book keeping skills, how to run a small business, etc.

    Check out their website at http://schoolofthewoods.org

    By the way, Saint Andrew's Episcopal School (19th and Yale) is an excllent feeder school for pre-SOTW

    Good Luck!

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