Category Archives: Middletown^
Thoughts
The wife and I spent part of the weekend in Ashville, the only other place in Ame. perhaps that we would retire in except for Blue Mountain. Blue Mountain, by the way, and I’ll only say this in a few places in this blog, is actually the Bluefield VA/WV area. To remind, we live here…
… but are looking to move here…
Well, if we move to Ashville, then what about the Frank and Herman Park mythology, I ask myself (and I hear the reader or readers asking me, in turn)? Isn’t this blog suppose to be all about that, and, by extension, Blue Mountain? That’s the big question. I have about 7-10 years to figure it all out; we’re “stuck” in Blue Mountain because of our jobs until then. What’s the attraction to Ashville? Well, it’s a considerably larger town, with more entertainment options. At least 4 Starbucks at last count. Lots and lots of restaurants, and, maybe most importantly, a still growing art scene, thanks in part to the oh so nifty River Arts District. As regular readers of my blog know, I’ve started a Sunklands site where I just display my collages without commercial attachments. Sitting behind them are the carrcasses, which I *know* I’ll never make any money off of but still must produce on a semi-regular basis — or, more correctly, when the time comes to make them. I *have* to make them. So I don’t think that’s going to stop, and also I must figure out the best ways to preserve my carrcasses for the future. Collages — since they’re born digital — not so worried about in that respect. And I think now that collages have the upper hand over carrcasses. Hard to explain, but a subtle shift has occurred lately with the recent creation of so many collages in the Gilatona-Lis and Falmouth series. And that is reflected in the Sunklands site’s creation. Cobbling it together is making me realize that the carrcasses, while still being produced, must remain hidden and perhaps separate from the “ordinary” (2d/flat) collages, more attached to Second Life. And that’s another thing: I believe I’ll always have a regular or semi-regular presence in a virtual world. How long it will continue to be Second life is a question I can’t answer right now. But someday it will shift to another world, and I have a feeling a much cheaper option will develop, a more parallel set-up between web and virtual world. Right now I’m pretty happy with the continued development of Collagesity and the possibility of more collages being added onto the large Falmouth series, extending its depth and breadth even further. And here’s a relatively new idea: I might lump *all* digital collages produced so far into an overarching “Embarras” (pronouced AM-braw) concept, named for the river that flows through Jasper County, Illinois and past almost all the namesake towns of the various series created so far, beginning with 2004’s Greenup.
But I might name it Ambraw, an archaic, phonetic spelling of the river.
—–
King Jethro & Queen Jethrine.
Quadrobeavia
“Mr. & Mrs. Sam Parr”
“Parr, Sam, Mrs. & Mr.”
Filed under Blue Mountain, collages 2d, Middletown^
Future
It came up this weekend that we might not be spending our old age in Blue Mtn., our present home and location of my sacred and beloved Frank and Herman Parks. I can’t imagine how this would be, but it might. Instead we’re thinking of Ashville, Edna’s original home. It gets 1/3rd the snow of Blue Mtn. Great mtn. town, and larger, which means more to do. Drawback — well, no Frank and Herman Parks of course. No exciting local digs like Granddaddy Mtn. and Beach Mtn. and Boulder and Denville. I’ve lived in Blue Mtn. practically all my adult life, after growing up in Mythopolis about an hour south. Mythopolis is most likely not an option to live in again. It’s a bit too warm and flat and just plain boring, although it is about the same size as Blue Mtn. and a nice enough town for what it is. A very vanilla kind of place. Another place that’s probably ruled out is Abington to the north of Blue Mtn. It’s a bit smaller, even, than Blue Mtn. and the most historic place of all the options above. But long term it has as much chance of being our future home as Mythopolis, which is to say, not much of one. Ashville is diff.
Factors: When we get older and grayer, it’s going to get tougher to deal with Blue Mtn.’s winter ice and snow. If we fall, we could really be in trouble since there’s no one else here to take care of us. Driving is often limited in the winter. Would cost more to heat the house if we’re home. An option would be to stay part time in Ashville (winter at least) and part time in Blue Mtn. (spring, summer, fall?).
A drawback to Ashville, however, is the size of the town — it’s both a plus and a minus.
Another factor is exactly how long I can tromp through the woods willy nilly like I’ve been doing since a child, a basis for my Frank and Herman Park mythology. Presently my back is giving me issues, and although I think I will be okay, perhaps in older age I may not. Falling in the woods would present problems.
This move will not take place for 7-10 years, so there’s plenty of time for debate. On with the show!
Filed under Blue Mountain, Middletown^
Sunklands 