NASCAR's Hall...It's a Shame

Well, Richmond didn't get the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Gee, you could knock me over with a feather. Who saw that coming? I mean besides just about anyone with a lick of sense? Do you think it may have something to do with the fact that the city of Richmond screws up just about everything it touches?
Really, think about it. Can you think of one really exciting project that has not met with political in-fighting, downright arrogance, and, often total rejection? I can't.
Maybe, one day, the city's leaders will wake up to the fact that when you air all your dirty laundry in public, and when you demonstrate a resistance to genuine efforts to make Richmond a more exciting, vibrant place to live, work, and play, that others are watching.
NASCAR is one of the hottest commodities out there. They can go just about anywhere they want with their Hall of Fame. And, truth be told, Richmond offers an awful lot. It's that vacant one where there ought to be a ballpark, down in Shockoe. Just kidding. Richmond really does have much to offer. For starters, there's probably more tobacco juice spit into the streets of Richmond, than any other city on NASCAR's list.
But, that's just for starters. Drive through Richmond on I-95, and look at the signs - Virginia Beach and Williamsburg this way, Charlottesville, that way, and the nation's capital, the other way. We are right in the middle of so much. And right here in the city, great museums (for NASCAR fans, that's those big buildings where they hang pretty pictures), lots of history (and, again, for NASCAR fans that means stars and bars [I'm not talking about Rusty Wallace in Hooters, either] and CSA belt buckles all over town), cultural arts (NASCAR fans, that means...well, nevermind).
We have it all, except, of course, for a nice ballpark and a new Performing Arts Center. But, the city does offer much that would seemingly, especially when combined with our proximity to much of the nation's population, make this area the number one choice for NASCAR.
It's a crying shame what has been done to the city of Richmond by self-aggrandizing politicians and others. It wasn't that many years ago, that a Saturday night downtown was something special, now it's more about a Saturday Night Special.
A couple of years ago, Brad Armstrong (remember him?) told me that members of the Royal family were expected to tour Richmond in 2007. "We want to make sure we have something to show them," he said. Well, Brad, you just might get your wish. In fact, maybe we should start a tour business, to showcase all of those vacant lots and excavation pits around town.
You know, I feel a song coming on...I'd like to dedicate it to our mayor, Governor Wilder. It goes something like this:

We don't have plans and schemes.
We don't have much of anything
Except for a few discarded artist's renderings
Since we have had you (you-who, you-who)

We don't have a new ball park
And, we don't have a center for the performing arts
We still have politicians throwing darts
Since we have had you (you-who, you-who)

I can't think of anything else to write. I get started on something and then I just kind of fizzle out. Gee, I might qualify as a candidate for city council.