The Times They are A-Changin`

"Come gather 'round people wherever you roam and admit that the waters around you have grown and accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you is worth savin' then you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'".

I followed a link on the Internet to the far-away city of Chang Mai, Thailand. Chang Mai is in northern Thailand; the ancient country of Siam from The King and I movie fame. It has a core population about double the size of Baytown.

Now at one time, I lived about 200 miles south of this beautiful and exotic city and even though I made it a point to travel around the country, I never made it to Chang Mai. I was stationed at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force base for just shy of 2 years and the nearby (City of) Bahn Takhli was a filthy little hamlet with trash and refuse everywhere. It was a rough and chaotic place, with over 30 bars and nightspots which catered to the thousands of servicemen who frequented them.

The main drag was a two-lane macadam road which ran from the first massage parlor to the dark corners of the market where fly-covered hog heads and fish defying description were bought, sold or traded in the stifling heat. The frequent intense and offensive odors you would encounter while riding a baht bus or in a three-wheeled samlaw bike would either brutalize your nose, or cause you to gag depending on your individual stamina and tolerance.

In the 1970's, most of Thailand was a third world country in every respect and to this day, some of its population is probably resistant to change. However, this is apparently not so for Chang Mai. What I saw when I followed the link was a Google Earth-like view of the streets of this city, with a very current 3-D virtual street view. I could see people walking down the street and by using the panning software, go past them and see them from the opposite view. I "walked" all over the city, not just the tourist areas.

I marveled at this technology, but that is not what really knocked me on my duff. What interested me most was the city itself! Now, I pointed out that Chang Mai is a city of about 140,000 at its core, but with surrounding population it is over 700,000, or ten times the population of our city. What I saw on a street by street level was a totally clean and neat city; flowers everywhere, no litter or trash, people walking around enjoying themselves, rows and rows of neatly parked motor scooters…and a place unlike my own town on so many levels. Why can't we have this here? Why are we so behind the times?

Now granted, Chang Mai was never Bahn Takhli, but it surely isn't so advanced past the country I remember from the early 70's is it, so I took a look at my old stomping ground also. To my total amazement, I found Bahn Takhli is clean also. This is very difficult for me to comprehend. Thirty five years ago this place was a literal dump, where the citizens and visitors burned trash in front of their homes, or simply threw it down. Open sewers, garbage, loose dogs, debris and filthy junky conditions lined the streets and today it is clean as a whistle? No way!

I don't believe Takhli or Chang Mai decided on an individual level to clean itself up, but followed the directives of a city council or government plan and I imagine some folks were resistant to it.

Now, let's take a look at Baytown 35 years ago, when I first moved here. It had a vibrant and optimistic city population and it was pleasant to live here and basically clean. It was the place to be for most of us and no one thought that by the year 2008 citizens would be in disagreement about restoring and upgrading the standards in the town.

With a patriotic flag in one hand and wagging a finger on the other, some scream property rights violation because they can't park their boats, trailers, cars, etc., in their front yard or run a garage sale 3 days of every week. They want it like it used to be they say. They are mad as a hatter over "all these ordinances being forced down our throats", but honestly, I think they forget there are only two – garage sales and parking.

On one hand I see their point, but on another I see a need for city council to force a change. The city's core appearance has degraded and I don't think anyone will deny that and the only way back will be a little rocky to put it mildly. It's going to take a paradigm shift by the general population. City council is attempting to make changes for the better and it is an uphill battle. The city is not blameless either; they have work to do in their own backyard.

I'm not going to include the smoking ordinance in this argument, as it was voted on twice like Debbie Griffin said in yesterday's paper. The citizens voted to ban smoking in public places. The people decided. By the way, she made some excellent points and I adjure everyone to read and reread what she said. "Most people look for clean, orderly and attractive areas in which to live".

Personally, I feel like I've beat my head against a dead horse on this issue of cleaning up the town. "It's a no-brainer" (thank you again Debbie).If it ever does come down to a vote over excessive garage sales and lawn parking, I think those who feel their property rights have been violated will find out that the silent majority sides with City Council.

Bob Dylan said it best: These times are a-changin' and if the third-world hamlet of Bahn Takhli can out-shine Baytown, Texas in 2008 by cleaning up their city, while ours has disintegrated into a slum, why in the world would anyone resist an attempt by City council to set a higher standard for the citizens, businesses and property owners here in our home city of Baytown?