Mikki Starmer

Our little village of the Kingdom of Callaway is one of about 80 in the state of Missouri who still have no planning and no zoning requirements outside city limits. "Ahhhh sweet freedom" you say? Hmmm.... actually such a subject brings folks out of the woodwork from two different uhhh 'mills'.

Today, with no planning and no zoning the property buyers who want to buy unrestricted land are happy clams.

Today, with no planning and no zoning the local, independent farmers, while enjoying the wind in their faces, are getting bugs in their teeth from a smile they just can't wipe off.

Both entities want no zoning. Both entities want no restrictions placed on the land. Both entities are on opposite ends of the tug-a-war rope!

It seems that the very things the incoming 'happy-no-zoning' buyers are wanting to do with this precious land are precisely what our deep-rooted farmers want to avoid!

Our community is in the midst of a growth explosion. (www.fultonmo.com - look it up!) We are situated in a prime geographic, econimic position. Poised.......Sorry.... almost morphed into REALTOR mode.... ok, back on track.... the city of Fulton had a meeting last evening to discuss an opportunity we have to review and possibly revise a statute of value. Age old statutes are still in place that allow plans to be made for us, not with us. Change is inevitable. Growth potential is gi-normous. WE GOTTA set a plan in place to control how we, where we, when we will to grow!

The charm of Fulton is the people of course, but it is also the land. The topography. The trees. The waterways. The pastures. The forests. The conservation areas, the naturally occuring wildlife. You see, the people of our communityARE who we are because of what surroundings we are nestled into.

We don't want to lose that. If we DON'T get involved in the planning and preparing we just might.

The countdown is coming to a close. It's Christmas Eve.

The weatherman didn't hear our request for snow again this year. The sun is shining, the pavement still has traces of yesterdays icey rain. The banks are closed and the state employees are off work today - but that could just mean that a Presidential candidate sneezed for the first time in the White House. If not for putting my Christmas tree up yesterday I don't know that it would look like Christmas at all in Fulton, Missouri!

What should Christmas look like, anyway? And who the heck came up with this idea of snowy hillsides as the picture perfect representation of Christmas? CHARLES DICKENS DID, THAT'S WHO!!! Snow and Christmas just belong together according to all accounts in his (beautiful) book 'A Christmas Carol' written in 1843.

But cha know..... It is verrrry probable that Jesus was even a Springtime baby. Wouldn't the Roman census (the reason Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem) have occurred in the Springtime during the Jewish Passover? And would those Shepherds have been keeping their flocks by night under an electric blanket wearing a Carhart? I think NOT!

And what about that tree in the house? Who thought up that bright idea? (get it? "bright idea"?? lights? bulbs? idea?? ;-D) Well, I did a little studying on that one... and I read that perhaps the responsible party is the awesome preacher man Mr. Martin Luther (the 16th Century one, not the MLK one) was the first first person to bring a Christmas Tree into a house. the story goes that 'twas the night before Christmas.... (you are thinking of a different story just because I used the "'Twas word..... work with me here.... ) ANYWAY, Mr. Luther was walking through the forest and he looked up to see the stars shining through the tree branches. It was so beautiful, that he went home and told his children that it reminded him of Jesus, who left the stars of heaven to come to earth at Christmas.

Which brings me to the real heart. The MOST important matter here is that we remember the reason for this season. It's all about Him. The big guy. The tiny baby boy. The One who left Heaven just for the purpose of showing us the way. The one who knew we humanoids wouldn't trust just any ol' preacherman, so He came to earth as a tiny little bundle of innocience and joy. He came to us in human form so we would not be afraid of Him. So we could relate to Him on a level we could comprehend. (He's no dummy, Dummy - He's the Triad, the 3-in One, The Creator, Maker of Heaven and Earth, the Holy One. He's my God!)

So whenever you celebrate Christmas, remember that you're celebrating a real event that happened about 2000 years ago, that God sent his Son into the world as a Christmas present for everyone!

Oh, wait, did I hear a "Ba-Humbug!" ?? Oh man, Christmas is magical, beautiful, sentimental. It was a Day that changed the world! (Even if it was in March or April.... it CHANGED the world Dude!!) It was the day of new life possible for everybody. Old Testament Laws still hold value, (as Laws do today!) but they don't have the power to send you to Hell anymore. Christ's birth, life and death were all for the purpose of changing that.

It's a beautiful thing.

Merry Christmas.

This website is where I obtained many of the answers to my questions: http://www.whychristmas.com/about.shtml

Enjoy.

There is a crispness in the air.

Crisp.

Crispness.

Sounds a might better than "cold and blustery" as the weatherman's vocab permits. We REALLY need to work on his marketing skills!

Fulton, Missouri is crisp tonight. Subdivisions are aglow with Christmas lights, retailers are bustling with shoppers, snow is crunching under boot. The downtown district has cobblestone streets and shiney bright Christmas lights aligning the rooftops. There are Christmas displays in the windows and music filling the air from a place of audio mystery. The majestic historical buildings of downtown Fulton hold a plethora of stories, yes, if only the bricks could talk. (Thank God for small personified miracles!)

There are emotions present. Poised. Piercable.

In our office this very day the emotions swept the gamut. At 8 0'clock it was exhilaration from anticipation of a new, unprecedented low interest rate, at 9 o'clock there was angst leftover from a dysfunctional alarm clock, at 11 o'clock there was melodious song wafting from the closet sized office bathroom, at 2 o'clock there were tears of recollection and remorse from Christmases past, at 4 o'clock there was laughter and choking on chocolate, at 5 o'clock there was trepidation of gifts unobtainable this year.... emotions present and poised, pierced.

Quite likely life does not seem different here from other places. At least from a bird's eye view. But in the nitty gritty of it, in the daily 'grind', in the ins and outs, in the hurly-burly, in the dribs and drabs .... ok... you get the idea.... overall.. it is very different here than there.

Here there is growth. Here there is hope. There are local people continuously injecting time and treasure into our community to help it thrive. We are gaining ground, we are keeping a steady economic heartbeat. Our property values are strong. Our developers and contractors have values and ethics (an occassional cat-call from a jobsite never hurt anybody - yes, I know who you are...), our neighborhoods are safe, our downtown has variety, we have jobs. We have B & B's, we have hotels, restaurants, bowling, cinemas. Ameren UE provides us with bountiful tax dollars which helps us keep the quality in our schools. We have two liberal arts colleges. We have a Wal-Mart! We have homes in subdivisions where we don't have to share ownership of miniblinds between our houses and a sneeze gets a "God Bless You" when it occurs in the same house in which you are present!

This is Fulton, Missouri. This is the Kingdom of Callaway. This is the county seat of Callaway County. This is the namesake for Kings Row. This is the podium of Sir Winston Churchill and the Former British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Edward Heath. For goodness sake Fulton has been graced by the former Premier of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev.

We. Are. Blessed. Fulton is an endearing place to be from. It is an enchanting place to visit. It is an entrancing place to relocate to.

Segway.....

Call me! Mikki Starmer, RE/MAX Fulton 573-220-3093