Nauvoo Mapping Committee

In late August I was invited to participate in a committee tasked with mapping a plan for economic development in Nauvoo. I'm not sure if I was invited because they were seeking diversity, and had not yet filled their quota of eccentric people, or if they just needed seats filled.

A team of three people from Western Illinois University, who do this sort of thing for a living, led the group in brainstorming plans for development ideas. Some good concepts have come out of the process, but as the conversation becomes more granular, concrete ideas are more difficult.

Also, the process seems to be bring out buried hostilities. Whether this is by design, or if it is by error, I don't know. The consulting team asks the group, which has now grown to about 50 people, to identify things we like and don't like about Nauvoo life. It seems to follow the pattern that corporate brainstorming might follow, using SWOT analysis to identify strengths and weaknesses. But identifying weaknesses in a corporate environment is less risky, because people feel less emotional attachment. When you ask a person what they dislike about where they live, an emotional outpouring of all life's disappointments springs up. In a group environment, the intensity is multiplied.

I hope the process will not become bogged down in histrionics and anger. I wish it to succeed.

Squirrel Industrial Accident Rates

It is time for the Nauvoo Commuter's update on wildlife preparations.

The raccoons are getting fatter, as they do every autumn. But the most astonishing development seems to be the tragic slaughtering of squirrels by cars.

Automobiles crush squirrels throughout the year, but the numbers have surged recently. Perhaps the squirrels have become hasty. As they haul their winter gatherings throughout the year, they dutifully watch both ways before crossing the streets, as their mothers had taught them to do.

But as the prep time grows short, they panic. Omigosh, the squirrels individually say, I don't have enough for winter. They stop their cautious travel policies. And the roads are covered in squirrel inards, as they have ne'ery an OSHA inspector to guard them.

In April, the Nauvoo Quilt Co. was established. The beginnings are small, but we opened our doors last weekend. The goal is to help us connect with our heritage through their folk arts, mainly quilting. Julie has an extensive collection of antique quilts to show, and is selling some parts of her collection. We're selling patterns based on historic quilts, so people can make their own piece of history.







(See www.NauvooQuiltCo.com)

the vicissitudes of tourism

The tourists are trickling into Nauvoo, some to commemorate prohibition's greatest advocate and some to enjoy the oldest winery in Illinois. Whether it be the celebration of the Word of Wisdom (God's Command to Avoid Alcohol etc.), or the celebration of imbibing alcohol, Nauvoo aims to please.

The Nauvo Commuter reckons that May 1 is the official kickoff of the tourist season. But even now, Nauvoo begins to tingle in elation.

Inflation or Deflation

Economists seem to be divided into two camps in predicting the medium-term U.S. situation.

Some predict Japanese-style deflation (Japan still has not recovered from the adverse effects of their stimulus package of the early 1990s, and asset prices are again tumbling.) The others predict Weimar Republic-style inflation. Just check out the Fed's website to see that the printing presses are running overtime. (The line on the graph showing the number of dollars being printed went almost vertical recently.) I've read about both theories from multiple experts and they are both well reasoned.

(A third camp is typified by the Paul Krugmans of the world, who recommend making as many disastrous mistakes as possible, but the Nauvoo Commuter pays them no heed.)

So which way are we headed? We all want to know.

This Week in Nauvoo

This week the U.S. government frantically planned for an economic recovery using means proven to bring fatality. I lived in Japan when their government implemented a stimulus package, and know that country has not recovered, 19 years later, from the ill effects of the package. They were no more successful that FDR, whose plan dragged down GDP until he dragged us into a European/Asian war. But what else is to be done?

We ignored it all. In Nauvoo, we played a giant game of Trivial Pursuit. The Nauvoo Betterment Society sponsored a team trivia competition to raise money for town improvements. So each person paid $10, little more than the cost of a Starbucks trip, to enter. Nauvoo doesn't have a Starbucks shop anyway. The committee raised a bit, which they will hopefully invest before Bernanke's printing presses create hyper-inflation. Perhaps the Betterment Society should instead mimic Tim Geithner: we can borrow money to buy our debts back. But quantitative easing doesn't buy real park benches or street lamps. In Nauvoo we live in the real world, so we need real money. That is better anyway, as we were also able to play a fun game. If only we had written "Dekalb, Illinois" for "where was barbed wire invented and first produced?" Then our team might have won.

One contestant declared that Chicago should be made an autonomous political entity, like the District of Columbia, so the rest of Illinois would be free of their corruption. But how could the new entity survive, without the property taxes of the honest real people of Illinois?

Lord Shiva in Galesburg

Driving from Nauvoo to Chicago last Spring, I stopped at a 7-11 in Galesburg, Illinois to purchase petrol and to ask directions. I was surprised to find the cash register operated by Lord Shiva. I was surprised, as I suppose he has very few Hindu followers in rural Illinois. Perhaps it was just an Indian man who looked very much like the Hindu deity. In either case he was very friendly and helpful, which I hope will bring him some good karma. I'm sure Elvis Presley will not be any more obliging if I ever see him at a 7-11.
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When we were trying to decide whether to move to Nauvoo, we visited a local sacrament meeting. The bishop approached us, and we explained to him our crossroad. He paused and responded, though he seemed to be speaking to himself, that "well, this is home." This phrase could have come as a prompting from the Holy Ghost, or as a recitation of a Chamber of Commerce slogan. Because he doesn't work in the private sector, and because they are the exact same words I had been thinking, I believe it was the first reason.