Friday, June 21, 2013

Wake up West Marin! They are coming for your Land.

see article: The Dark Side of Sustainable Development and the Regional One Bay Area Plan


West Marin is the new "Cap and Trade" Goldmine.

Editor's Note: This provocative article was sent to us by a friend. While we are not certain what to make of all of this research, we cannot ignore it either. Although, we subscribe to the "power and money" theory of the One Bay Area Plan, we recognize their is some tantalizing evidence to link the influence of larger political and economic forces. In the meantime we present this article to you for you to digest. We are interested in your comments. It all seems so creepy to me. What do you think?


By Heather Gass

Over the past few years, I and many others in the San Francisco Bay Area have been fighting against a plan that seeks to socially re-engineer our lives: the One Bay Area Plan. Over the next 25 to 30 years it will transform the lives of over 9 million people in 9 counties by creating high density stack-and-pack housing next to mass transit, all in the name of saving the planet by reducing GHGs (Green House Gases). Never mind that global warming has already been debunked by thousands of scientists not on the UN’s payroll.

The sky is not falling, but our rights are being systematically eroded. Private property outside of city and county urban limit lines will be highly restricted and/or declared completely off limits as part of the first ever statewide re-wilding and “corridor” system in California is created. The crazy thing is that most people know nothing about all this. Bay Area residents and taxpayers have been intentionally kept out of the process. Most have never heard of the regional unelected bodies pushing these plans or the legislation we are now being asked to follow, yet we all will be affected by it in some way in the near future.

Although I will be focusing on the regional plan in the Bay Area, this is happening all over the state and country under different names, so don’t feel left out if you don’t live in the Bay Area. I have done thousands of hours of research over the past few years and have discovered the genesis of these plans and who is behind them. I am hoping that by providing the historical timeline and links to back up my findings, that it will become clear that these plans, although now being pushed by local municipalities and state level mandates, they originated elsewhere. These plans were hatched long before the state legislation was enacted by a small group of NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations), stakeholders, foundations and regional unelected bodies funded with tax payer money.

There are three main pieces of legislation that are being used in California to complete the transformation and socially re-engineer our lives; AB321 (2006 Global Warming Act), SB3752 (2008 Sustainable Communities Strategy), and AB27853 (2010 California Essential Habitat Connectivity Map). All of these bills were signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger. The global warming bill calls for a reduction in GHGs to 1990 levels by 2020. The SB375 bill links land use to transportation and specifies the majority of future construction be compact, high-density, low-income housing next to mass transit, in order to force Californians out of their cars and single family homes to ostensibly reduce GHGs. AB2785 identifies (maps) an animal and vegetation corridor system throughout California, connecting large blocks of government-regulated land through private property that must be taken in some way to complete the California Wildlands corridors.

This map is most egregious in that it casually illustrates (with a sliding scale of less to more cost) how much it would cost our government (in terms of dollars, conservation easements, eminent domain, zoning to open space, etc) to take the land from private individuals in order to complete this map. California planning organizations are expected to use it in their planning for land use and transportation process. What people don’t realize is that this map is NOT about preserving land (Open Space) for animals, plants, and people’s recreation. These land masses that are being set aside are being incorporated into giant land trusts for the purpose of selling carbon credits in the trillion dollar Cap n’ Trade scheme4 that recently started in this state. A few large land trusts and foundations will be the beneficiaries of this giant piggy bank. Here’s a list of land banks (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/habcon/conplan/mitbank/catalogue/). The CARB board will be giving many of the credits away to preferred corporations and to entice cooperation in the program.

 This is a fraudulent pay-to-play scheme and giant land grab, 
not an environmental initiative.

The few regular citizens who have found out about the One Bay Area plan have been horrified at what they discovered as they attended workshops and hearings in an attempt to stop this plan from being adopted. Where did this plan come from? And why are unelected regional agencies dictating how and where the people of the Bay Area will live in the future?

Over the years the two main bodies pushing this plan MTC (Metropolitan Transportation Commission) and ABAG (Association of Bay Area Governments) have pointed the blame at either local jurisdictions or at state legislators as the responsible parties. At times they claimed it was an organic, bottom-up plan that the local municipalities want and were asking them to implement. Then on other occasions, they claimed they were only following state-level mandates and that if we had a problem with this plan we should be taking it up with the legislators who voted for the bills. However, the truth is that ABAG and MTC were behind this plan way before the legislation was enacted and have been quietly involved in the forming of this plan for almost 20 years; if you include international connections it is even longer (See U.C. Berkeley PhD. Judith Innes White Paper)5. ABAG led the effort, and along with other agencies they engaged in backroom secret meetings, formed international alliances, as well as regional compacts with stakeholders and NGOs in an effort to reach their goal of transforming our cities and towns into the United Nations vision of Sustainable Communities. This ultimately led to the passage of AB32 (2006), SB375 (2008) and AB2785 (2010): legislation that codified this agenda in California. The following timeline will illustrate how this so-called regional plan came about and who is behind it. You will learn, as I did, that this plan is not a grassroots effort and was not originated at the state level. It is an international plan from the United Nations and is referred to globally as Agenda21 Sustainable Development. Again, it is not about the environment; that is a ruse. It is about controlling our society and our lives, curtailing our freedoms, and altering our fundamental Constitutional right to own property.

These regional agencies are unconstitutional and the elected officials appointed to them have in my opinion violated Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution by joining an international alliance with ICLEI (the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) and should be at the very least investigated and/or abolished.

I have included links throughout so you can check the facts for yourself.

This plan is being duplicated all over the country and all over the world, but the Bay Area is one of the four initial pilot programs within the U.S. The pilot areas were Denver, Atlanta, Chicago and the Bay Area. In my research I found a white paper about the Bay Area Alliance written by Judith Innes a PhD from UC Berkeley (white paper “Getting Serious about the Three E’s”)5. She followed the alliance process from 2004 to 2007 and validates my findings. Although she was seemingly onboard with the planners, she points out how flawed the process was with virtually no experts being used to prepare data and reports and how the stakeholder workshops were misleading and outcomes were controlled and predetermined.

1987 – The term “Sustainable Development” was adopted at the Brundtland Commission meeting in 1987 as part of the “Our Common Future”6 outcome document. The official definition of Sustainable Development is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The term Sustainable Development encompasses three main principles: Equity, Environment and Economy. Economy is the key word used to describe replacing free market principles with PPPs (Public Private Partnerships), as in Communism and Fascism. The Environment is used as a catalyst for change and Equity describes the “social and environmental justice” that is really about the redistribution of wealth. Of course, America is founded on equal rights under the law, and equal opportunity, not equal outcomes. Social equity is the driving factor being used to alter the function of law to impose social requirements, replacing the individual rights on which our Constitution and free Republic are based.

1990 – The United Nations’ accredited NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) ICLEI (International Council for Local and Environmental Initiatives) was founded in order to establish Agenda 21 campaigns throughout the globe. The ICLEI Charter/Constitution7 defines a “world congress” of mayors and elected officials working together with ICLEI serving as the international agent representing the members of the world congress throughout the globe. ICLEI serves as liaison between local governments and international governments. ICLEI members pay dues and must explicitly adopt the ICLEI Constitution which follows the 16 principles of the Earth Charter8 and a model of global governance9. This international membership by cities and counties violates Article 1, Section 10 of the United States Constitution10 “No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation… with a foreign power”. The ICLEI headquarters in North America is in Oakland, Ca. Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner founded ICLEI USA11. ICLEI is responsible for injecting international climate, land use and other policies into local governments. Many cities, counties and regional bodies across the country are contracting with ICLEI. Very likely your own city is a dues-paying member.

1992 – UN Agenda21 Earth Summit12 hosted by Maurice Strong13 was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At this summit the term “sustainable development” was adopted as part of the global Agenda21 campaign. 178 nations pledged their support for Agenda21. President George Bush, Sr. signed on to this for the U.S. Although this is technically a non-binding soft law, since Congress did not ratify it, Agenda21 and Sustainable Development have been incorporated into every aspect of our government through Executive Orders, the EPA, ICLEI and other regulatory agencies, bodies, boards and commissions. The following is a quote by Pelosi addressing Congress in 1992:“The Earth Summit Environmental Leadership Act, as this is known, presents us with an opportunity to follow up on the important work of the Earth Summit to develop its blueprint, Agenda 21, for global environmental action. House Concurrent Resolution 353 outlines a comprehensive national strategy for Sustainable Development in accordance with the principles of Agenda 21 to be coordinated under the leadership of a specific office at the direction of a high-level government official.”(See also video: Nancy Pelosi sponsored H.Con.Res. 353 on Sustainable Development.)14

1993 – President Clinton signs Executive Order 1285215 creating the President’s Council for Sustainable Development, effectively bypassing Congressional approval of Agenda21. This council was tasked with injecting Sustainable Development and Agenda21 into all levels of our government nationwide.

1994 – APA (American Planning Association) April News letter article by Robert Odland clearly links the U.S. V.P. Al Gore, Clinton’s President’s Council on Sustainable Development, Agenda21, the APA, the UN, the RIO Earth Summit and connects them directly to the Bay Area Sustainability Plan written by David Early of Urban Ecology (aka DCE Planning Center). (See article:http://norcalapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/4_1994-NN-Apr.pdf) 16

1996 – Richard Clarke, retired Chairman and CEO of PG&E and Michele Perrault, International V.P. of the Sierra club (both members of the President’s Council for Sustainable Development)17 present the idea of a regional sustainable development initiative to the ABAG general assembly and to other NGO’s and stakeholder groups.

– David Early, Urban Ecology publishes the Draft Blueprint for a Sustainable Bay Area— The Final Plan (1999) is the basis for the One Bay Area Plan.

1997 – ABAG and several dozen NGOs around the Bay Area sign a Compact forming the BAASC (Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable Communities) (See Compact for Sustainable Bay Area)18. This document specifically states that MTC and ABAG as well as other groups joined forces to implement a regional plan for a Sustainable Bay Area. The document states “It is founded on the principle of the Three Es of Sustainable Development – prosperous Economy, quality Environment, and social Equity.” It also states “The Bay Area Alliance adopted the definition of sustainable development endorsed by the United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development.” And goes on to clearly point out “The Bay Area Alliance also operates within an international context. The Earth Charter Initiative (www.earth-charter.org) is an outgrowth of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and has many principles similar to the visions and commitments contained in this Compact.” Sunne McPeak19 represented the Business (Economy) side of the Alliance. Sunne McPeak also served on the ABAG board, Bay Area Council and she oversaw the Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Department of Housing and Community Development, the California Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Real Estate and many others. She was a key player in pushing the SB375 legislation behind the One Bay Area plan.

1999 – Five regional agencies MTC, ABAG, BAAQMD (Bay Area Air Quality Management District), BCDC (Bay Conservation and Development Commission) and RWQCD (Regional Water Quality Control Board) were working on Smart Growth Strategies

– The BAASC (Bay Area Alliance for Sustainability Communities)20 plans “Regional Livability Footprint”21 Project, apreferred land use pattern that dictated where development could occur in the Bay Area

– These two groups merged, creating the Smart Growth Strategy/Regional Livability Footprint Project

– The Bay Area region and the BAASC were selected as one of four regional pilots in the nation by the Partnership for Regional Livability22, a consortium of major foundations and federal agencies dedicated to advancing “sustainable development” and “smart growth.”

– “Final Blueprint for a Sustainable Bay Area” is prepared by David Early of Urban Ecology (one of the original stakeholders in the Alliance). David Early also founded DCE Planning, which currently consults with local cities and counties to ensure the implementation of the plan locally.

2000 – Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg launched SCOR23 (Speaker’s Commission on Regionalism) to promote regionalism and collaboration across California. Sunne McPeak representing the Bay Area Council, and many of the BAASC, NGOs and stakeholders, were part of this new group. Its main purpose was to push for legislation institutionalizing regionalism throughout California. Sunne McPeak was also the ABAG President.

2001 – First Round of stakeholder workshops (approximately 1000 participants) from all 9 Bay Area counties. These meetings were mostly attended by ABAG and MTC officials, planners, developers and social / environmental justice advocates who were stakeholders in the BAASC.

2002 – Second Round of stakeholder workshops (approx. 1000 participants). Three Regional Scenarios are proposed (Central Cities, Network of Neighborhoods and Smarter Suburbs). The preferred scenario was Network of Neighborhoods. ABAG develops policy-based projections using the Smart Growth Scenario as a starting point.

– Publication of “Shaping Our Future” was the result of this coalition.

2003 – ABAG Executive Board adopts policy-based projections abandoning the trends-based projection model used in the past. This approach forces development to occur based on the preferred land use and transportation scenario. MTC’s RTP (Regional Transportation Plan) is based on ABAG’s projections.

2005 – Governor Schwarzenegger passes Executive Order S-3-0524 to reduce GHGs in California to 80% below 1990 levels by the year 2050.

2006 – AB32 legislation passed - calls for a reduction in GHGs to 1990 levels by 2020. CARB (California Air Resources Board) is appointed to oversee and monitor state level GHGs.

2007 – California Center for Regional Leadership hosts a meeting at which then-Assembly Member 11th District DeSaulnier (co-author of SB375 with Darrell Steinberg) and Van Jones both speak about pushing regional legislation. (http://calregions.urbaninsight.com/regcivic/bln/20071126/index.html)

– SB375 legislation introduced (Assemblyman Mark DeSaulnier was one of the co-authors of SB375 with Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg). Mark DeSaulnier served on the following boards ABAG, MTC, CARB and BAAQMD (Bay Area Air Quality Management District) all proponents of this legislation.

2008 – SB375 legislation passed – Links land use to transportation. Directs regional agencies to create blueprints focusing development in PDAs (Priority Development Areas) next to mass transit for the purpose of reducing GHGs based on AB32 legislation.

2010 – AB2785 legislation passed – California Wildlands Act. The California Essential Habitat Connectivity report sponsored by DOT (Dept of Transportation), CalTrans and DFG (Dept of Fish and Game) shows many maps of the intended wildlife corridor system throughout California. This document is quietly being used by all planning, transportation agencies and commissions throughout California without the public’s knowledge.

2010–2012 – MTC/ABAG and a host of paid stakeholders and NGOs launch a series of public workshops. This time the public really engaged in opposition to the plan. Here’s a video of citizens opposing the plan at a workshop held in the County of Alameda in January of 2012.25

As you can see, the One Bay Area Plan did not originate as an organic bottom-up plan, nor did it start with state-level legislation. The President’s Council on Sustainable Development brought the idea to the regional agencies. The regional agencies then joined forces with local NGOs, stakeholders and foundations. The plan to socially re-engineer the Bay Area was going on long before the legislation (SB375, AB32 and AB2785) came to pass. This first-ever regional plan in the Bay Area is scheduled to be adopted by the JPC (Joint Policy Committee) of MTC and ABAG in June of 2013 and if and when it does, local jurisdictions will become virtually irrelevant. When money and power are concentrated at higher and higher levels by unelected regional boards, bodies, and commissions, the end result is uncontrolled power and corruption. Someday the citizens of the Bay Area and throughout California will wonder what happened to their beautiful unique towns and suburbs and go looking for answers. I’m hoping my research will give them the answers they seek and help them hold those behind this plan accountable.

No one knows how this will end…. But regionalism is taking over and the result is loss of local control for the people. This is not about right and left anymore. This is about right and wrong.

Footnotes:

1. AB32 bill. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bill/asm/ab_0001-0050/ab_32_bill_20060927_chaptered.pdf

2. SB375 bill. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/sen/sb_0351-0400/sb_375_bill_20080930_chaptered.pdf

3. AB2785 – Calif. Wildlands Map http://www.dfg.ca.gov/habcon/connectivity/

4. Kern County Tax Payers analysis of Cap n’ Trade Carbon Credit scheme http://www.kerntaxpayers.org/ab-32/post/1962142

5. Judith Innes White Paper: “Taking the Three E’s Seriously”http://www.econstor.eu/dspace/bitstream/10419/39269/1/513251170.pdf

6. Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future - http://www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm

7. ICLEI Charter/Constitution: http://www.iclei-europe.org/fileadmin/templates/iclei-europe/files/content/Membership/ICLEI_Charter/ICLEI_Charter_2011-Final.pdf

8. The United Nations Earth Charter: http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/pages/Read-the-Charter.html

9. Global Governance:http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/categories/United%20Nations%20and%20Global%20Governance

10. U.S. Constitution website: http://www.constitution.org/constit_.htm

11. KeyWiki info for Nancy Skinner: http://keywiki.org/index.php/Nancy_Skinner

12. 1992 UN Earth Summit: http://www.un.org/geninfo/bp/enviro.html

13. KeyWiki info for Maurice Strong: http://keywiki.org/index.php/Maurice_Strong

14. 1992 CSPAN video HConRes 353: Agenda21 bill authored by Nancy Pelosi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUBwIJWH7ew&feature=player_embedded#!

15. 1993 President Clinton’s Ex. Order 12852: http://clinton2.nara.gov/PCSD/Charter/

16. APA document: http://norcalapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/4_1994-NN-Apr.pdf

17. List of PCSD members: http://clinton2.nara.gov/PCSD/Members/index.html

18. 1997 Compact; Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable Communities http://www.bayareaalliance.org/compact.pdf

19. Sunne McPeak bio: http://www.cafwd.org/pages/sunne-wright-mcpeak

20. BAASC Steering Committee: (Van Jones and PCSD members) http://www.bayareaalliance.org/members.html

21. Regional Livability Footprint : http://www.bayareaalliance.org/smartgrowth.html

22. Clinton/Gore Report: http://www.smartgrowth.org/pdf/report2knew.pdf

23. Speaker’s Commission on Regionalism: http://calregions.urbaninsight.com/projects/enews-vIi5.html

24. Arnold Schwarzenegger 2005 Executive Order S-3-05: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/energy/ExecOrderS-3-05.htm

25. Video of citizens opposing the plan at a workshop held in the County of Alameda in January of 2012:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY7DGvuI7Xw

See a related post on Agenda 21 here:











Thursday, June 20, 2013

Plan Bay Area Won't solve Problems



Great opinion piece today by Michele Barni from San Quentin Village.

See Plan Bay Area won't Solve Problems

also check out this article published in the Contra Costa Times

Orinda residents, council clash on housing

NEWSFLASH:Developer Files Application for Marinwood Plaza


If approved, shopping center would be redeveloped
as a mixed-use complex

San Rafael, CA -- A nonprofit developer has filed plans for a mixed-use complex at the Marinwood Plaza shopping center in northern unincorporated San Rafael, and the application is being reviewed by the Planning Division of the Marin County Community Development Agency.
BRIDGE Housing Corporation of San Francisco applied for the development at the corner of Miller Creek Road and Marinwood Avenue, just west of Highway 101. It would include a mix of commercial and residential buildings spread over about five acres.  
Once BRIDGE has provided complete details and planners have reviewed the full application, the project will undergo environmental review, said Planning Manager Jeremy Tejirian. After environmental review, the project would advance before the Marin County Planning Commission and Marin County Board of Supervisors for public hearings. The planning process could take a year or more before a decision on the project is made by the Board of Supervisors. A complete set of project plans is available on the County website at www.marincounty.org/marinwood.
“The community has been speculating about the specifics of the BRIDGE proposal for quite a while,” said District 1 County Supervisor Susan Adams, a neighbor of the plaza. “Now finally, we can all evaluate the issues of concern and the merits of this project.” 
BRIDGE’s plans include a request for a master plan, a precise development plan, a lot line adjustment, a lot merger and a right-of-way abandonment. Plans call for the relocation of an existing liquor store, but the Marinwood Market would remain in place.
The existing shopping center consists of four parcels that would be reduced to three under BRIDGE’s proposal. The middle portion of the property includes the Marinwood Market, which occupies approximately 15,000 square feet of space, and an additional 18,000 square feet of commercial structure that would be demolished. Marinwood Market would remain at the plaza under the new plans.
The northern portion of the property would include three new buildings, two of which would be one-story commercial buildings and one of which would be a three-story mixed-use building. Ten market-rate apartments would be in the upper stories of the mixed-use building. The commercial space may be used for a retail shop, a restaurant or another business. Some additional improvements would be made to the middle portion of the property near Marinwood Market. The southern portion of the property would include 72 units of affordable housing within three three-story residential buildings.
BRIDGE Housing Corporation is listed as the project sponsor and nonprofit developer, and Marinwood Plaza LLC is listed as the land owner. BRIDGE was formed in 1983 when a major anonymous grant was given to the San Francisco Foundation to spearhead new solutions to the worsening shortage of affordable housing. BRIDGE would be purchasing the north and south portions of the property, and Marinwood Plaza LLC would retain ownership of the middle portion and the Marinwood Market. 
Comments on the project may be submitted directly to the Planning Division throughout the process. Interested parties may subscribe to be notified of project updates via email on the County website at www.marincounty.org/marinwood.
For additional information, contact:
Jeremy Tejirian
Planning Manager, Marin County Community Development Agency
415 473-3798 T
CRS Dial 711

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Wednesday Adams Dance- Once upon a time in Marinwood-Lucas Valley

It seems like yesterday, when we were blissfully unaware of the plans to urbanize Marinwood-Lucas Valley.

What Happened?
On August 7, 2007 Marin County Supervisor, Susan Adams put forth a motion for the Marinwood Priority Development Area for urbanization.  It will change our neighborhood of single family homes to apartment house densities of 30-50 units per acre.   As late as June 4th, 2013  Supervisor Adams denied its existence and even expressed surprise about the size of the PDA.



Here is the Map of the Priority Development area.  If you live west of Las Gallinas, the densities may "only" be 20 units per acre.


Monday, June 17, 2013

BART Retiree paid over $330,000 in retirement while ABAG plans for more "Green" Transit for Marin


Huffington Post- San Francisco



OAKLAND, Calif. -- A top official for the agency that manages the San Francisco Bay Area's BART system earned more than $330,000 last year – even though she didn't work a single day for the public transit agency, a newspaper reported Sunday.
Bay Area Rapid Transit general manager Dorothy Dugger resigned under pressure in May 2011, but stayed on the payroll for another 19 months and was BART's highest-paid employee in 2012, the Bay Area News Group (http://bit.ly/102JORG) reported.

Dugger, 57, cashed in nearly 80 weeks of unused vacation time, drawing paychecks and full benefits. During that period, she earned nearly two extra months of vacation, received management bonuses and medical insurance, and boosted her pension benefits by more than $1,000 a month for life. When she left BART's payroll in December, she began to draw an annual pension of $181,000, according to the newspaper.

Dugger said she was entitled to the money because she earned more than 3,100 hours of unused vacation time during two decades with the light-rail agency.

"It was time I earned my whole career at BART," she said. "It's a cost of having the option" to save the vacation until the end of a career, she said.

The value of her unused vacation days soared after she took the top job in 2007 and received a raise of nearly $100,000 a year because the unused time-off was paid at her final, highest pay rate – not her rate when the time was accrued, records show.
"She was still on the payroll? I did not know this. It's startling," said James Fang, a BART board member who tried to oust Dugger in 2011. "We have to look at this."

Some BART riders are also upset.

"I hope it becomes a big stink," said BART patron Mitch Roland, of Alameda. "This is an agency funded by taxpayers. ... They should have stricter controls."

The months of extra pay were on top of the $920,000 that BART paid Dugger to leave in May 2011 after the agency's board botched an effort to fire her by violating public meetings laws. She left amid mounting complaints about BART's service and cleanliness as well as her leadership.

Dugger told the newspaper she was proud of her time with BART. Asked if her lucrative use of vacation time exposed a fiscal flaw in the agency, she said, "I think BART's track record on fiscal management is quite solid."

see Huffington Post article Dorothy Dugger, Ex-BART General Manager, Made $330,000 While NoLonger Working For Agency


Sunday, June 16, 2013

FABLE: Brer Fox Catches Old Man Tarrypin

 

A Georgia Folktale


Well now, Brer Rabbit had made friends with Old Man Tarrypin, a big turtle that lived in the pond near his house. Brer Rabbit and Old Man Tarrypin liked to pull tricks on Brer Fox, and that rascally fellow got pretty mad about it.

Since he couldn't catch Brer Rabbit nohow, Brer Fox decided that he'd get even with Old Man Tarrypin instead. He started walking beside the pond every day, hoping to find the turtle out of the water.

One morning, as he was taking his daily stroll, Brer Fox saw Old Man Tarrypin sitting right in the center of the road. The old turtle looked hot and bothered about something. He kept shaking his head back and forth and he was panting like he was out of breath.

"Howdy, Brer Tarrypin," said Brer Fox, stopping beside the old turtle. "What's the matter wid you?"
"I was a-strolling in the field beside my pond when the farmer came along and set it on fire," Old Man Tarrypin gasped. "I had to run and run, but that ol' fire was faster than me, so I curled up in my shell while it passed right over me! My shell is hotter than the noon-day sun, and I think I done singed my tail!"

"Let me have a look," said Brer Fox. So Old Man Tarrypin uncurled his tail and poked it out of his shell. Immediately, Brer Fox grabbed him by the tail and swung him right off the ground.
"I gotcha now, Brer Tarrypin," cried Brer Fox. "You ain't gonna bother me no more!"
Well, Old Man Tarrypin begged and begged Brer Fox not to drown him. He'd rather go back into the fire in the field on account of he'd kind of gotten used to being burned.

Brer Fox swung the poor old turtle back and forth by his tail, trying to decide what to do. Putting Old Man Tarrypin into the fire was a tempting idea, but then he remembered how the old turtle had curled up into his shell so the fire couldn't touch him. Brer Fox frowned. Fire was no good, then.

Brer Fox decided to drown Old Man Tarrypin instead. He tucked the turtle under his arm and carried him down to the springhouse by the pond.

"Please, oh please don't drown me," Old Man Tarrypin begged.

"I ain't making no promises," Brer Fox retorted. "You've played too many tricks on me, Brer Tarrypin."

Brer Fox thrust him into the water and began bouncing him up and down.

"Oh, I is drowning," shouted Old Man Tarrypin when his head bounced out of the water. "Don't let go of my tail, Brer Fox or I'll be drowned for sure!"

"That's the idea, Brer Tarrypin," Brer Fox yelled back and let go of his tail.

Immediately Old Man Tarrypin splashed down and down into the water and thumped onto the mud on the bottom, kerplicky-splat.

That's when Brer Fox remembered that Old Man Tarrypin lived in the pond, and there was never any fear of him drowning, nohow! He could hear him laughing from the bottom of the pond: "I-dare-ya-ta- come-down-'ere".

Brer Fox jumped up and down in fury. Old Man Tarrypin had escaped him!

From the other side of the pond, Brer Bull Frog called out: "Knee-deep! Knee-deep!"

Brer Fox glared at the pond, and then looked back at Brer Bull Frog. "It's only knee-deep?" he asked suspiciously.

"Knee-deep, knee-deep!" Brer Bull Frog said again.

All the little frogs joined in the chorus then. "Better-believe-it! Better-believe-it!"

Well, thought Brer Fox, if it was only knee deep, then he'd have no trouble catching Old Man Tarrypin.

"Wade-in, wade-in!" croaked Brer Bull Frog.

"Knee-deep, knee-deep!" agreed all the little frogs.

Brer Fox didn't much like water, but he really wanted to catch Old Man Tarrypin. He approached the edge of the pond cautiously. From underneath the water, Old Man Tarrypin laughed at him, and his words bubbled up to Brer Fox: "I-dare-ya-ta- come-down-'ere! I-dare-ya-ta- come-down-'ere."
Well. That did it. Brer Fox ran right up to the edge of the pond. Leaning over, he looked into the water and saw another fox staring at him.

"Dat's-your-brother! Dat's-your-brother," Brer Bull Frog told Brer Fox.

Brer Fox was thrilled. He didn't know he had a brother. Now that there were two foxes, catching Old Man Tarrypin would be a cinch! Brer Fox leaned down to shake hands with his new-found brother, and toppled right down into the deep water of the pond.

All of the frogs laughed and laughed at the trick they had played on Brer Fox, and Old Man Tarrypin started swimming up from the bottom of the pond, his red eyes fixed on Brer Fox's tail. Brer Fox knew that the old turtle wanted to pull him down under that water and drown him, so he learned to swim mighty quick! With much splashing and squirming and kicking, Brer Fox made it to the edge of the pond, where he jumped out and ran away as fast as he could, while Brer Bull Frog laughed and the little frogs shouted with glee.

The last thing he heard as he rounded the corner was the voice of Old Man Tarrypin calling: "I-dare-ya-ta- come-down-'ere".

Brer Fox never messed with Old Man Tarrypin again.