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CAT Tracks for July 18, 2011
THE WICKLIFFE MOUNDS |
...have had their day (has had its day?)
Whatever...
...the Cairo Mounds will soon hold sway!
Cairo grabbed national headlines not long ago...as the reason Missouri farmers lost the use of their prize land.
Cairo has been the Heartland's Media Darling for the past few years with its gazillion arsons.
And, of course, there is Cairo's storied past...the gangster days, the scorched-earth battle for civil rights days, and now...the gangsta days?
Recently read somewhere of a desire to reclaim Fort Defiance (following its annual submersion.) With the change in city administration, there is hope...that the key to the gate will be found and tourists will be able to drive through to see "The Confluence of America", up close and personal. (Okay, i know, I know...the missing keys were to the Toll House Museum. Picky, picky, picky...)
Meanwhile, back inside the city limits...
...Cairo is quietly, passively working on its rebirth.
Forget the Wickliffe Mounds...
...hell, forget Branson!
In the not too distant future, the "Cairo Mounds" will be discovered.
Just remember... you read it first in CAT Tracks
CAT Tracks Editor's Note:
The sneak preview provided below is the result of a "cooling down" drive through Cairo (after spending a few hours cutting weeds on neighborhood properties in an effort to increase visibility and prevent vehicular mayhem at blind intersections.) The drive succeeded in its intent to soothe a physically stressed body, but, as you will note from my catty commentary, didn't do much to soothe a fevered mind.
It should also be noted that I do NOT claim to be a photographer. It is why you seldom see candid shots in the pages of CAT Tracks (with the notable exception of "No Golfing Allowed on School Property" sign.)
Oh, I bought a digital camera over a year ago...and promptly lost it. (Make that "misplaced it"...finding it months later.) I even took some pictures...before and after shots of the leveling of (part of) Cairo's downtown district. More recently, I took pictures of the contents of my house for insurance purposes...before it was surely to be swept away in the aforementioned Flood of 2011.
My "preview pictures" below, however, are not the result of said digital camera (wherever it is now.) No, they are the result of my still-smarter-than-me phone. So, if you wonder why I didn't zoom in, why I got my finger in some of the pictures, well...it lends an air of spontaneity and mystery (which can be solved when you make your personal visit to the Cairo Mounds.)
All right, enough with the intro...
...just what are, where are the Cairo Mounds?!
Rather than save the best for last, I will begin our tour with my personal fave:
It possesses a simple, understated eloquence. It provides a smooth transition from the fabled Cairo ruins (once touted in a newspaper ad for Fat Boys Bar & Grill) and the future...the Cairo Mounds.
This "Mound" is located on the west side of Commercial Avenue, between 9th and 10th Streets.
What's with the snickering?
Cairo spared no expense! It cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to clear away the rubble. Dirt was hauled in and spread. Grass seed was sown. All this to create the foundation for this future tourist attraction. After allowing a suitable time period for proper settling, additional dirt was hauled in and deposited on the previously flat plane. Mother Nature did the rest...a bounty of rain and sun has produced an attraction that will be the centerpiece of our future tourist Mecca!
The drawback...
...nothing but dirt.
Going to have to drag out the excavation to build mystery and suspense, or maybe simply leave it intact for tourists to "Ooh, Ahh" over...letting their imaginations run wild at what lies beneath the grassy knoll.
For tourists who demand nothing less than get-your-hands-dirty excavations, direct them to 6th and Halliday:
View Cairo Mound 2 (Before Excavation View)
"Doesn't look like much", you say?
Ahhh...
...as they say, looks can be deceiving.
Join me on a leisurely stroll around to the other side of "Mound 2":
View Cairo Mound 2 (Excavation View)
I mean...couches, tables, tires, all sorts of flotsam and jetsam! There is absolutely no telling what lies among the various layers. Hell, some lucky excavating tourist may be able to lay claim to finding the remains of Jimmy Hoffa!
BTW:
As verification of the saying that "every cloud has a silver lining"...
...the rubble from the abandoned business district and/or arsons, cleaned up by "the brick people".
You probably wondered/complained about what they left behind. That's because you were not privy to the master plan, the grand plan for Cairo's future. Those "leftovers" are "Mounds in Progress".
For example...
Return with me now to Fat Boys Bar & Grill...well, due north of said location:
View Cairo Mound 3 (Raw Footage)
So symmetrical...with beams protruding from the top which will draw the curious eye of passing tourists. (I mean...they won't know what it is because, again, it's a "Mound in Progress", still exposed, not yet covered in vegetation.
Let your imagination run wild....
Okay, okay...for the imagination-impaired:
View Cairo Mound 3 (Expanding Vegetation Cover)
Can't you see it now...the beginnings of the weedy cover that will in time envelop the entire structure?! (Fat Boys' new beer garden will lie in the shadow of "Mound 3"...providing suitable atmosphere for ambient evening discussion among tourists imbibing their favorite beverage after a hard but exciting day viewing and excavating the "Cairo Mounds".
Another "BTW"...
Behind Fat Boys Bar and Grill is the potential for so much more on our Magical Mounds Tour!
The always rampaging Cairo vegetation, aided and abetted by the Flood of 2011, has flourished. As you could clearly see from the picture, a building has already been swallowed whole. The bareness of the more recently placed sandbags? Well, hey...it takes time for a fledgling "Mound" to mature. Patience...
Immediately to the south of "Mound 4" is the future site of "Mound 5":
Actually, I would have recommended bulldozing this one as substandard, except for the view that lies beyond...the 8th Street Levee opening, where media captured the little child perched precariously on the ladder looking over the wall at the rising Ohio River! I mean...THAT was a classic photo.
So...
Our "Mound" developers will need to add to it; maybe they can get some more sandbags. Or, hey, Cairo Public Utility is getting ready to demolish the east side of the old business district; maybe they can deposit some of the rubble there. (It would surely be cheaper than hauling in fresh dirt as was done across the street...in the construction of "Mound 1".)
Memo to developers:
You need to be sure and move the "Mound" to the left so as not to obstruct the view of the levee opening...maybe center it between the opening and the caboose. (WOW...what a photo op!)
Okay, that's enough attractions for Downtown Cairo!
Let's move to mid-town...
When I visited Cairo Topix last, I saw that a potential tourist was wondering if Cairo had "neighborhoods"...you know, like a Chinatown, where people could sample the lifestyle and cuisine of different cultures.
Not a problem:
View Cairo Mound 6 (Distant Full-Frontal View)
Yes, you locals will recognize the ruins of the "Hong Kong" restaurant...proudly preserved, smack-dab in the middle of town...right across from the Alexander County Courthouse!
Actually, the picture above fails to show the true mass of the "Mound"...taken, as it was, from across the street. Carried away by the excitement of what was being revealed to me, I turned down the street and took the up close, side-view below:
View Cairo Mound 6 (Side View)
Ethnic flavor, we've got it!
Finally...
With the help of Mother Nature (and the Illinois National Guard), we have attractions at the north of town also.
However...
...I am torn.
Before I explain, let me show you the source of my dilemma:
Yes...
...one of the two massive sand boils from the Flood of 2011.
I mean...the vegetation will eventually cover it/them, forming "Mounds 7 & 8".
However...
Look at the picture above...
again.
Doesn't it remind you of a volcano?
Granted...it was water rather than lava that spewed forth, but the tourists won't know any better. Maybe we could pass one of those suckers off as a dormant volcano...seven "Mounds" and one "Volcano".
Ooh, ooh, ooh...
...back downtown!
The sink hole that tried to eat Cairo Public Utility!! We could add a "natural cave" to the tour (for those adventurous enough to get their feet wet!!!)
Sorry, no pictures are available for this possible addition to our tour, but you remember...
...it was the backdrop for endless "live" news reports!
Mounds, a Volcano, and a Cave...oh, my!
So...
...to all you naysayers, those of you who think Cairo is dead.
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah!
POSTSCRIPT:
There are many over at Cairo Topix who will surely give me hell...for being a prime example of what is wrong with Cairo, why Cairo shall never rise from the ashes. Typical musings of a pessimistic populace rather than a proud member of the "Cairo Optimist Club".
I will be flamed as a glass totally empty kind of guy. So be it...
One group in particular on Topix has been discussing a project to beautify Cairo...constructing brick planters up and down the main drag (Sycamore/Washington Avenue)...filling them with colorful flowers. I truly love you guys...and wish you well, REALLY!
Two things:
In conclusion:
Before we spend time and effort planting "lipstick" on Cairo, let's wash its face and cut its hair!
