Asheville’s Pack Square Cultural District

Image via WikipediaI have a long history of maintaining a small business in the heart of Asheville’s “Pack Square Cultural District”.  I wasn’t aware that this part of Asheville’s Downtown had a name until recently when I started to notice signage saying this part of town was this way or that part of town was that way.

I started to consider the name they gave to my section of town.  What did it include and why did they give it this name?  The area includes many restaurants and shops, the City Building and County Courthouse, the fire and police stations, a lovely park area that took a couple of years to complete…but what was the cultural aspect they are referring to?  It all seemed pretty ‘white-bread’, tourist centered to me, except for one little corner that is truly culturally rich and diverse.  That little corner is called Eagle Street.

I first became familiar with Eagle Street when I moved my fledgling business there in 1999.  I immediately fell in love with the small block and our new neighbors, who were ever so welcoming.  It wasn’t until after I moved my business there that I became aware of the rather glooming reputation that Eagle Street sported.  I heard whispers of ‘that’s the black part of town’ to ‘that’s where the drug dealers hang out’.  For the life of me, I couldn’t understand such a rap when I had come to know and love many of the shop owners and patrons of this beautiful tree-lined street.  For me, it was a beautiful safe haven for my business in the most ideal location, and the rent was great!

After a couple of years, my business continued to grow, and I soon found myself outgrowing the space I was in.  At the urging of my accountant, I purchased some property on the outskirts of town to house the major part of my business, but kept one of the pieces of my business right there on Eagle Street.  It was the smallest part of my business, but centrally located and secure, it was to remain right where it was.

Many years later, and in a dramatically different economic climate, I decided to bring the major portion of my business back into the downtown area.  I looked at many areas of town, from north Asheville to the River District, and found myself looking at Eagle Street once again.  I saw tenants who had been there longer than I had and loved visiting with them, catching up after such a long period of time.  Many told me how much they missed me and missed my business.  They told me that Eagle Street had become a ghost town after I left, and it was said with great warmth and heavy hearts.

I decided it was destiny that I return to Eagle Street.  I contacted the property manager of the building where I already occupied space, and he at once appeared, showing me some of the wonderful units that had been lying empty for year.  He agreed to customize them just for my use and even installed shiny new windows for me.  Construction continues and is scheduled for completion on November 15^th, the day we plan to begin moving back in to our culturally diverse neighborhood.

I told our neighbors that I was coming back, and they were overjoyed.  One of my favorite Asheville shop owners, a barber who goes by the name of “Smooth”, said “Welcome home.”.  I was welcomed with open arms by all on this darling street in Asheville.  I knew I was coming home the moment I stepped foot back on Eagle Street.  With its bricked sidewalks and full-growth trees and truly diverse cultural background, I couldn’t feel more at home.  Black, white, Hispanic, men and women from far reaches of the world, all with unique products and services, I am proud to be included in this wonderful family of proud Asheville residents and shop owners.

Asheville really does have a Cultural District, and its heart beats on Eagle Street, as do the hearts of the wonderful people who call it home.  It is amusing to me that anyone would ever consider it to be anything but wonderful.  I’m glad to be coming home.

Peggy Huff is the owner of the Center for Massage & Natural Health.  She has maintained a popular Massage Therapy Center on Eagle Street since 1999 and is moving her COMTA Accredited Massage School and upwards of 50 faculty and staff, along with all her students back to Eagle Street on November 15^th, and hosting a Grand Opening Event on November 19^th.  For more information, visit her website at http://www.CenterForMassage.edu or call (828) 658-0814.

Reflective Idols

An argument ensued over the last 24 that stemmed from one person having idols and the other (me) not having any.  It has inspired deep thought about myself (my favorite thing), the people in my life, the people not in my life, and people of different cultures and belief systems, and I found that this topic did not have any borders, socially, politically, economically or otherwise.

What are idols, and why do so many have them, and even have to have them, and why do I not?  Are either of these choices or needs helpful or destructive, right or wrong?  My ponderance of the day as I drink my illegal raw goat's milk cappuccino in the state of North Carolina.

It all started while discussing history with my significant other when he proclaimed that his idol lived in the 1700's and was none other than Casanova.  Giacomo Casanova.  My initial gut reaction was "Blech!" The quintessential womanizer of all time.  I was first shocked, then appalled, and then I was scared.  How could the man I love aspire to be a man of this moral character?  I must admit that I pretty much saw the writing on the wall on this one.  Those red flags that pop up from time to time were waving obnoxiously in my face like an annoying swarm of black flies as I tried desperately to deflect the swarm with my brain rather than my hands.

Immediately after receiving this tidbit of information, I gave myself a mini-education via an encyclopedic synopsis of Casanova's life, and learned that there was much more to the man then just womanizing.  He was a gambler (and a bad one), lived on the money and graciousness of other people, was imprisoned on multiple occasions, one of which he escaped from and fled that country, was allowed back many years later, only to be evicted again, was in and out of various religious venues and kicked out...it just kept going on and on, and my stomach became more and more queazy.  As far as I could tell, the gig for this gigolo was exposed, and it was up.  There was nothing nobel or moral or appealing to me in this personality type.

But the man I know is more intelligent Casanova was, by far.  It was curious to me that this would be his idol.  Upon more careful study, I found there were striking similarities in their interests, including law, language, mathematics, and the desire to mingle with high society in a desire to see himself in or be accepted into a higher class.  Seeing this, and putting my own emotions aside (that would be the continuous emotion of wanting to vomit), it made me take a closer look at what makes one idolize another.  What is it that makes one an idol of another?

First, the whole notion of idolizing someone is a turn-off for me, personally.  To worship another person would make me feel less than them, and I am not less than anyone.  And to be worshiped by another person would make me feel more than them, and I am not more than anyone either.  It is my deep belief that I am the same as everyone.  Human.  I am the good.  I am the bad.  I am the ugly.  So are you.  So was Casanova.  So was Hitler.  So was Mother Teresa and Jesus.  All human, in all its forms.  So why idol one over the other?

I believe it is more an issue of objectivity.  A desire to see one's self in another, to see our humanity in a way that is validating.  Someone in my distant past once told me that it is impossible to see oneself objectively.  I don't know if this is a true statement or not, but it stayed with me since my youth, and if it is impossible, or perhaps very difficult, finding "idols" makes perfect sense.  Seeking out people of history, past or present, with whom we can most closely identify with gives us the ability to see ourselves more clearly.  They are like having a mirror for our soul.

A personal example of this is during the past year, I went through a period of reclusivity that included a bit of mania and no interest in personal hygiene.  For a few weeks, I declared that Howard Hughes was my idol, much to the horror of my Mom.  My declaration spurred me to read more about him, and I found that there was much more to Hughes then the popular notion that he was just a crazy, stinky man with a lot of money.  He was, in fact, brilliant, achieved many tremendous accomplishments and was a man of great character who was plagued with a bit of mental illness.  Of course, now I idolized him even more.

Having showered recently, taken my morning dose of anti-depressent medication and having had a good night's sleep, I can see myself a bit more clearly, and can see that I wasn't idolizing Hughes.  I was identifying with him.  I didn't want to be like him...I was like him, just as my aforementioned significant other saw himself in Casanova.

Relieving the compulsion to puke, I now realize that our idols shift and change as our mutable souls and psyches search for new mirrors to look into.  Reflections of who we are today may come in the form of Madonna (the pop singer), Madonna (Mother Mary) or Madonna (smirking her way through eternity).  You may see yourself through your child or your dog or a stranger on a bus, or maybe, if you look hard enough into your own eyes, you can see yourself when you look in the mirror.

Regardless of how you come to see yourself, the beauty is that if you don't like who you see, you can change who you are and maybe even become your own idol.  It is then that we see ourselves objectively.

I wonder who will reflect me today.  Maybe it will be me.