Faith

I was watching a movie the other night that was about having Faith. Faith in God, but also faith in people. Faith that people will come together and form a community that will make a place greater than what it was.

Our city is not perfect. There are bad guys and bad things. There are dirty streets and schools with issues. There is poverty and there is dispair.

There is also faith.

Sometimes, even I– the lover of Florence– feel dispair. A few years ago I looked at downtown and the people trying to fix it and thought… what a waste of time.

I did. I didn’t have faith. The people on the Downtown Development Commission did. Thankfully, they have faith. They had faith that projects would come, that people would believe, that our community would come together to make something better than what it was.

There are those that have more than faith– those that are investing their hard earned money into downtown. They are BUILDING A HOTEL. They are building restaurants. They are having faith that their small businesses will survive. That isn’t just faith! That is commitment and LOVE.

I drive by the Art Trail Gallery, the buildings being gutted. I have Coffee at the Clay Pot Coffee Shop, dinner at da Massimo, lunch at the Thai house. I love the downtown Farmer’s Market. Top Hat delivers to my office when I can’t get out for lunch. Bean Groovy is opening in the old Carolina Sandwich Shop (Whoo hoo!).

I can assure you that there is more to do now in Florence than there was when this website began. People are working hard to make Florence better, stronger, happier, safer.

George Michael was right. You gotta have faith!