By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
Spring was definitely acting like it wanted to “spring” this past Monday when we met at Mayor Ronnie’s office. This was right on the heels of a pretty sharp cold snap that had been in the single digits, and Mayor Ronnie talked about the daffodils starting to come up. “They are always the first promise of spring,” I said, and he nodded in agreement. I had also just seen my first flight of cranes, and he and his grandson Quinton had watched them as well. We talked about the huge difference between how cranes sort of seem to fly in circles as opposed to the tight formation of geese, yet they both still manage to migrate to their destination. Throw in the beauty of the moon and Venus, and we both agreed that we will make it through this winter with gratitude and anticipation for what’s coming.
“Chocolate Walk,” said the mayor with a smile, and everyone knows that the tickets sell out in the first ten minutes that they go online. That “sweet” time will be on February 8, and High Cotton Arts has moved out of its former “home” in the old Estes building down the street to “Little Red,” or the Scout House, which is also going to be the place where music is going to be made by kids in our community.
We moved on to the topic of the State of the City gathering that will be held on Tuesday, March 4. Mayor Ronnie chuckled as he told about the fact that a particular city employee had reminded him that not everyone is interested in the details of the budget. I laughed and said, “You could probably recite the line items in your sleep.” “That’s why we are going to do things a little bit differently this year. I can’t go through all 100 projects that are going on right now and cover them in a half hour,” he said. The topics will be largely confined to growth, finance, and projects, just no “pie charts in the slide deck.”
So, for this year’s “State,” it looks like the format is going to be a question-and-answer session with some questions about which the mayor will be aware, and some that will be asked spontaneously. I told him I thought that was a good idea. Out of nowhere, former Alabama Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon called to let the mayor know that he was thinking about him, and wanted to know how the mayor was doing. I thought to myself, “I love my town.”
We discussed why it’s important to maintain history and integrity, and wanting our lives to count. “What do you want to be remembered about you?” asked the mayor, somewhat rhetorically. “We can’t forget the little things,” he said, and added, “We have such a great town and so many opportunities.” As always, we finished our time in prayer, and it was a prayer of thanks for all that we have, and the opportunities that are ours in our town and in our nation. And then, once again, it was time for Ronnie to roll.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
January 3, 2025
