Monday, November 2, 2009
Barry / Hicks From the Sticks / Media Larry Woody, Sociologist-at-Large
Posted by Bruce Barry on Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 2:54 PM
Is racing noisy? Of course it is. It was noisy when the first race was run at the fairgrounds in 1904, and it's been noisy ever since. But as third-generation racer Sutherlin Marlin reminded the Fair Board during a recent meeting, only residents older than 105 have a right to complain. All others knew racing was there when they moved in. "It's like somebody buying a house by the airport--usually at a pretty good bargain--then complaining about the planes flying over," [racetrack operator Danny] Denson said. "There's not a single person living in this neighborhood who wasn't aware that there was a racetrack here when they moved in."You don't need none of them fancy degrees to know what a loopy argument that is. As neighborhoods grow and change, the people living in them do get to decide what they do and don't want contaminating ears and lungs. It's not at all like an airport, which is a core civic necessity. And let's not pretend this is an issue only for those who live directly in the shadow of the fairgrounds. We hear those engines roaring every weekend from a neighborhood three miles away, and on a good night when the wind and atmospheric conditions are right, we can hear it inside with windows closed. A huge piece of the city has to put up with that racket week after week.
So you tell me, Larry: How is one supposed to study for that advanced degree whilst savoring a glass of cabernet when you can't even hear the Mozart concerto on the wireless? (And is it okay to dip the corn dog in the cabernet?)
Comments (66)
Showing 1-50 of 66
I think it's wrong to assume that everyone who buys a house around there knows about the noise they're getting into. I bought a house in East Nashville that's near some train tracks that service some very loud horn-honking trains. Yet the tracks aren't visible from anywhere around the house...they're hidden a couple blocks away. Boy was I in for a rude awakening. Fortunately I'm totally acclimated now, and the trains don't wake me or bother me.
But if someone who buys a house near the fairgrounds, particularly if they were new to town, might have no idea. You only really hear the noise on weekend nights.
That said, I used to hear the races at my old house in 12 South, and in a strange way I kind of liked it.
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Isn't Woody a government-shouldn't-subsidize-private-business conservative? This race track had the chance to make something of itself in the 70's. NASCAR wanted to turn it into a top-notch track back then, but the owners turned down the offer. Bad choice. Now they're out of business.
Woody also blames Nashville government for the closing of Opryland theme park and for the Grand Ole Opry moving from downtown. The government had nothing to do with either. Gaylord Entertainment did both on their own.
Of course I know what a Coo Coo Marlin is. It's that locally-made candy confection consisting of marshmallow, caramel, peanuts, and chocolate. Apparently they must be sold at the races.
This article is about as well reasoned as when Woody recycles the exact same hackneyed, cheap shot criticisms of Vanderbilt football once every couple years.
Somewhere in the incoherence and faux populism, though, is a point worth exploring. Uhm, I'm just not sure what it is exactly.... bb, maybe you should take a shot, without the snark.
Golly, a 1904 car race would be pretty cool. How fast did those cars go? Not very? Where the cars all French? Did anyone else see the "Top Gear" episode where they drove zany old automobiles without windshields and such?
What about all of us who don't live anywhere near the Fairgrounds but still get the noise from the racetrack? I knew about racing when I bought a house years ago near the corner of Blair Blvd. and Natchez Trace, which has to be close to three miles from the track. I didn't know I'd still be able to hear the loud roar of the engines.
Cheetos:
It wasn't Gaylord, it was National Life, who moved the Opry to Pennington Bend. At that time, National Life was very much an institution of Nashville's "movers and shakers," the people Woody argues have tried to shed the city's Hee Haw image.
I agree with Tom. Larry's editorial on the fairgrounds makes some interesting points that deserve a more thoughtful response.
But I also agree with Bruce. It's time for the racetrack to go.
I grew up off Belmont, a block from Christ the King. I could hear the racing every weekend, and it never got less annoying.
But this is the stupidest argument:
"But as third-generation racer Sutherlin Marlin reminded the Fair Board during a recent meeting, only residents older than 105 have a right to complain."
Since there are houses within earshot of the speedway that have been passed down in the same family since 1904, there are people who didn't choose to buy a house near the racetrack.
By Sutherlin's idiot logic, the track should remain solely because there's no one who didn't choose to live there DESPITE the presence of the track. But since there are people who live near the raceway who did NOT choose to live there, but instead kept their family's house, those people trump the right of the track to exist. Ergo, the track should be shut down.
QE effing D, Sutherlin and Woody.
They held an auto race there in 1904 as a crowd drawing stunt but the rest of the racing was done on horseback (and the track was made of dirt). Horseracing was outlawed a few years later but the asphalt track (as Woody points out) was not built until 1958. I presume that's when the regularly held auto racing (and the noise) started.
Some comment writers here apparently see trenchancy in Larry Woody's analogy between the fairgrounds and other presumably less proletarian public uses such as parks and golf courses. I don't see the analogy as valid. Yes, municipalities make choices about what kinds of activities to subsidize, and they should be careful not to cater only to particular social, cultural, or economic segments of society. Golf courses may not be temples of socioeconomic diversity, but parks certainly are, and you rarely if ever see anyone conmplain about living near a park. The fairgrounds, on the other hand, is a collection of aging, uninteresting, underused buildings sitting in the middle of a sea of asphalt in the heart of the city. We may not want to lose flea markets and other functions that go on there that draw lots of city residents, but that particular piece of land is not the right venue for it, so it's up to city officials and the private sector to figure out where that can happen. And as for auto racing -- well, it simply doesn't belong in city neighborhoods or anywhere near it. That's what outlying counties are for.
"You don't need none of them fancy degrees to know what a loopy argument that is. As neighborhoods grow and change, the people living in them do get to decide what they do and don't want contaminating ears and lungs. It's not at all like an airport, which is a core civic necessity."
Nope - Woody is exactly right.
Whether you think airports are a "core civic necessity" and racetracks aren't is irrelevant.
The track has been there for a long time and those living there either know or should have known what they were getting in to.
The city can do whatever it wants to with the property but neither you nor anyone living close by has any more legitmate say in the dispostion of of it than any other Davidson county citizen living in any other part of town and the local government officials are under no obligation to consider carping about noise from the nearby residents as any more important a factor (or any factor at all)relative to what other factors that other citizens want who live eleswhere. Proximity to a piece of public property doesn't give you any more legitimate say in the use of it than it does anyone living at the furtherest point in the county away from it.
Hey Gilbert, I hear they're going to try to put in a landfill right in your neighborhood. I live across the county, so I have no problem with it. Good to know my opinion will carry as much weight as yours (assuming you will not be thrilled at the landfill's location).
Where in the hell does Larry Woody live? Williamson County? Wilson County? I'd be willing to guess it's nowhere near the fairgrounds. If he's such a civic do-gooder, maybe he'd be willing to let the whole racing operation move to his neighborhood. For that matter, where does Sutherlin Marlin live?
This bogus argument that area residents "knew what they were signing up for" and therefore should be doomed to noise pollution in perpetuity ... well that's total horse shit. Neighborhood improvement is in the eye of the beholder, but under Marlin and Woody's rationale people have no right to promote changes in their neighbohoods or improvements in their property values.
You want Metro cops to clean up that drug-addle park two block from your house? Too bad. Sutherlin says you knew all about that park when you moved in. Want the Public Works to repair that giant pothole on your street? Eat shit, says Woody; you knew all about that crater when you bought your house. The nerve of these two idiots to play the class card is ridiculous.
Sutherlin Marlin lives on a farm in Columbia. What a surprise.
http://www.middletnracingscene.com/2009/07/racer-spotlight-q-with-sutherlin-marlin.html
And by the way: She's 19 years old. Woody has sunk to new lows. Pinning an entire neighborhood's fortunes on the whims of a teenager with a priviledged name.
"Hey Gilbert, I hear they're going to try to put in a landfill right in your neighborhood. I live across the county, so I have no problem with it."
LOL
Seeing as how I don't live in Davidson county at all, you heard wroing.
I nominate the Marlin family farm in Columbia as the new home for the speedway. And I nominate Larry Woody's neighborhood for the flea market.
"Seeing as how I don't live in Davidson county at all, you heard wroing. [sic]"
Then shut it about the racetrack. You have NO SAY WHATSOEVER.
Well Marv, you said you "lived across the county" - (from me).
What county WERE you referring to exactly?
And by the way, since you apparantly subscribe to the theory that the opinions of those in closest proximity to some public property carries extra weight in decisions regarding it, I'll expect you to defer to the opinions of all the hotel, restaurant and bar owners in closest proximity to the proposed convention center as to whether it's should be built or not.
I live in Belle Meade, thank God, and do not mind the lonesome whistle of the freight train every night at 11 as it runs parallel along Harding.
HOLY SHIT. Ashley watches Top Gear? My childish infatuation with her has hit new heights of awesomeness.
Gilbert - I guess this will come as a surprise to you, but I haven't actually heard anything about a landfill being put in anywhere. Was merely making a point. Quite obviously the folks living near a proposed landfill would have more legitimate say than those living nowhere near it.
Regarding the proposed convention center, I would not simply "defer" to the opinions of the downtown hotel, restaurant, and bar owners, but yes, their opinions should obviously be considered and carry greater weight than the owners of similar establishments nowhere near downtown.
When Ms. Conte proposed constructing the addition to the Governor's mansion, some of the neighbors complained loudly about the noise and traffic that would result. Those complaints were legitimate (if genuine, and not actually an opposition to the project based on the money that would be spent, or merely a political opposition to Bredesen) and should have been duly considered, though not automatically deferred to. Though some might say that if you choose to buy a house near government property, you might reasonably expect that someday there might be construction on that property.
More creepiness from the gnome.
"The track has been there for a long time and those living there either know or should have known what they were getting in to."
What about houses that have changed ownership only through inheritance, Gilbert? Those peopel didn't choose to move near the speedway.
Fact of the matter is that this is a done deal, and race fans can just choose to go to tracks that aren't in the middle of dense urban neighborhoods. I don't give a rats ass about elitism: I just hated hearing that racket.
Tobin, just go to a bar and talk to a girl you think is cute. A few drinks to overcome shyness help a lot. Don't get caught staring: that three second rule is totally correct. And for God's sake, stop being all lovelorn on the internet, it depresses me.
"Quite obviously the folks living near a proposed landfill would have more legitimate say than those living nowhere near it."
That is not "quite obvious" at all - it is merely your personal opinion.
"Regarding the proposed convention center, I would not simply "defer" to the opinions of the downtown hotel, restaurant, and bar owners, but yes, their opinions should obviously be considered and carry greater weight than the owners of similar establishments nowhere near downtown."
Wrong - the deal potentially puts ALL metro taxpayers on the hook for backstopping the debt service on the project.
The opinions of those who stand to benefit the most financially from the deal should NOT be given any more weight than that of all the taxpayers who won't be deriving any demostrable benefit in exchange for potentially be required to help pay for the construction financing.
"What about houses that have changed ownership only through inheritance, Gilbert? Those peopel didn't choose to move near the speedway."
What about them?
They chose to stay there rather than sell the houses and move somehere eles if they didn't like the noise.
The people in that area have no more "right" to not to hear racecars than the people near the airport have to not hear airplanes or the people near train tracks have to not hear freight trains or the people near Old Hickory or Percy Priest lakes have to not hear the motors of bass boats and jet skis running up and down the lake.
John raises an interesting point. Live in a big city, and noise pollution is a fact of life. You adjust, or you move. I don't live in Belle Meade, but I'm only a couple of blocks from the same train track that runs through John's neighborhood. After a couple of weeks, you get used to it. I'm much less acclimated to the low-flying helicopters heading to and from St. Thomas that are so loud they'd make Woody think he was back in Vietnam, and the MBA PA system that "allows" me to hear every announcement at their football games, lacrosse matches and track meets. I got used to the noise at the racetrack.
I got the impression from bb's post that Woody's argument was based mostly on the issue of noise. Then I clicked the link and read his column. He actually makes some decent arguments on the issues of utilization and operating losses -- including the point that the Fairgrounds does not receive taxpayer-funded support. It's misleading to focus this all on noise.
You probably get acclimated to trains and planes and automobiles because you hear them all the time--it becomes a kind of white noise to your ears. Think of the racetrack more like a bee that only comes buzzing around your ear once or twice a week and just stays there, except it's like for 8 hours at a time.
Because with the racetrack, it's not all the time: it's during certain hours during weekends during a certain season. So you never really acclimate. It's annoying on the weekends, and then you go through a relatively peaceful week, and then it kind of jars you all over again. I've lived in Berry Hill by the racetrack for about five years total and I still can't really tell you when the season is. I just know it's mostly whenever I want to open the windows a lot during the daytime on weekends. And it blows.
Also -- because of that unique intermittent consistency, you could, say, visit the area occasionally for years and never realize the nuisance until you actually move in. There also aren't soundproofed windows like some residents near the airport have gotten as a remedy.
So it's absolutely not misleading to focus on the noise--if you live there. It's the primary reason people who live there don't want it there anymore. Everyone else can feel free to debate other points of interest in the matter.
And as for whether I have the "right" to feel that way? Because I'm not like 100 years old? Last I checked I'm on the property deed.
Gilbert - Of course it's my personal opinion. That's quite obvious. And that's my personal opinion, too. Obviously. But perhaps I should label every comment as personal opinion. Perhaps you should do the same, as I notice your comments are often quite definitive, as if they are irrefutable facts.
By the way, I was lying. They are indeed going to put in a landfill near you. Practically in your backyard, I believe. The vast majority of people are for it, seeing as how it won't be near them. So I guess that's that. Hope you enjoy it. (my hope that you enjoy it is quite obviously merely my personal opinion).
Or perhaps, Marv you could refrain from stating that something is "obvious" that actually isn't "obvious" at all.
Because the obvious result of those living near proposed landfills having a "more legitimate" say in the matter than anyone else would mean that there would be no landfills anywhere. And there has to be landfills somewhere.
The same thing goes for electric power plants, electical substations, high voltage power lines, gasoline refineries and a whole bunch of stuff that would hever get built if those near them had veto power over
them.
Second-rate auto racing isn't entertainment, Gilbert, unlike all the things you list. How about we open Tootsie's Bumfuck right next to your bedroom window, and piss on your head when you complain about the noise?
Alright you people who are complaining about the noise you people are IDIOTS!!!! It is a racetrack. It is supposed to be loud. Egghead if Coo Coo heard the comment you made about him he would beat the fire out of you. But all you people who want to tear down the track all yall are going to do is tear down a ton of memories that have been made there. Instead of tearing down the track, lets get rid of those amazing Titans we have. There the ones that are costing the city money.
BBBiggs, right you are...
I rather like the train's whistling, I can even hear, faintly, the rumble of the train passing. It makes me recall the Dixie Flyer and the Pan American carrying me south as a very young lad.
Now, if some of this crowd was in, say Rome, they would be charmed by all the noise, loving the constant roar of the millions of Vespas as they sipped their wine near the Spanish Steps or better, along the Via Veneto.
It is the commoners at a Titans game, or worse, the riffraff at the fair grounds who really get on their last nerve. They would stroll through the Forum and gaze at the Coliseum never fretting over who paid for it.
"stating that something is "obvious" that actually isn't "obvious" at all."
Gilbert, that is merely your personal opinion.
I live very close to both the racetrack and the trainyard, and I've come to love the sound of 'em both. Over the past 15 years it's become part of the neighborhood ambience, like the PA at the nearby church carnival or the norteno music that blares every Cinco de Mayo on Nolensville Road. Pure Americana. I even drove by the racetrack the other evening hoping I'd catch the end of the last race, and I regretted being too late. I'll miss it.
Woody's point about the city still trying to shake off its Hee Haw image is worth exploring. I hadn't made the connection between the Fairgrounds fight and the city's lingering inferiority complex about its hillbilly roots, but Woody may have hit something. Guess I was just hoping that had eased up a little.
Puh-leeze. Pink: You must be one weird SOB if you think the roar of race cars is "ambience." My granny lived in Woodbine, and whenever I stayed over on weekends it sounded like those cars were driving right through the living room. Above, Tracy makes a good point: You can't fully realize how annoying it is until you actually have to live with it.
With regard to any lingering inferiority complex ... Well, that's just horse shit. I Tivo "Hee Haw" re-runs and miss Opryland, but I'm not going to shed a tear when the racetrack gets razed. This ain't about purging the last vestiges of Old Nashville. This is about getting rid of an ear-sore that has stymied development in an area of town that should be economically vibrant and thriving given it's proximity to downtown but instead is rotting.
If anything, this also is a failure by the car racing establishment (that means you, Larry Woody and the Marlins) to persuade Nashvillians that the race track matters. By and large, these Nascar wanna-be's don't live in the area but still demand their own little playground -- no matter that it shakes the foundations of houses from Flat Rock to Green Hills. People have to have a reason to keep perenially forgiving that kind of annoyance, and the racing establishment has failed miserably in that regard.
Good riddance.
Gil, you lost early in the thread when you were confronted with the landfill analogy. We all know what your response to that would be if it were real. Whatever your rantings were afterward were just a weak effort to save face.
You went to see your granny on weekends in Woodbine, and now you're an expert on noise pollution in the neighborhood? Tourist.
Pink: You're the one carrying on about "pure Americana" and "hillbilly roots." You sound like one of them thar Yankee cake eaters who spend all their free time wringing their hands about the "New South" and what it all means. If you actually would have made it down to the track, I bet the Marlin boys would have whipped the tar out of your pink ass.
"Gil, you lost early in the thread...."
Nope.
Never have lost in here and never will.
Yankee cake eater!?!?!? What the hell is a Yankee cake eater?! Please, someone tell me.
Ah, so it's literally a Northerner who likes dessert? And I thought it might be more euphemistic than that.
I wasn't aware that the Marlin boys were in the habit of beating up racing fans, but maybe that explains the lack of public outcry. And if you're ashamed of Americana and hillbilly music, I'm sure there's a nice mall someplace nearby you can visit. Maybe it'll even have a Dansk outlet.
Mmm...cake.
As far as Scene editors deliberately adopting contrarian positions to strut their independence from West Nashville liberaldom, Pink's tepid choice of supporting the continuation of 135 decibel machines filling the ears of everyone within 3 miles of the speedway with the sounds of mechanical farts every weekend beats the hell out of Liz's charter school militancy.
But it's still lame. The speedway doesn't belong in the middle of the city. Literally everyone I have ever known in Sunnyside and Waverly Belmont, from the crowd who used to steal mowers and loiter in front of the old Melrose Park Apartments to Yankee gentrifiers paying a half million for a 3 bd/2 ba Queen Anne couldn't abide by the noise pollution from the track. It's cranks like Crafton and Woody, out of towners who go to the speedway once a year, pseudo-populists who pretend they're salt of the earth by trying to create a class rift, and dedicated hobbyists of the art of tweaking the noses of people they consider "liberals" who support this. I don't have to prove my Nashville bona fides. The speedway should have been shut down after NASCAR left.
Is that what I'm doing? And here I thought I was just mentioning something I'd come to appreciate over the past 15 years about my neighborhood. Nobody I know in Woodbine gets upset about the racetrack noise: it's a fact of life, like the noise from the trainyard or I-440.
Everybody knows West Nashville liberals' interest in Woodbine pretty much stops at La Hacienda. But I promise to check in soon with Fearless Leader.
Also, would you ask your friends in Sunnyside and Waverly Belmont if they still have my lawn mower? The choke's busted, but it has sentimental value.
