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Sunday,April 28,2002 Ok I'm avoiding cleaning the fucking sty, so the Beta Band...In all it was a pretty rocking show. Jason smuggled his DAT player in and recorded it. I don't know if the BB is opposed to taping or not, but the CD will be a nice momento for a great show. Initially they played a bunch of new stuff initially, but then went into their older stuff. They also played an encore set that was a lot more juiced up than the rest. Apparently they all went out to a house party on University Street later. I had to teach the next morning, so that was out. I'm running into that old chestnut problem of the friend who is seeing a very troubled woman who is obviously using him and he is taking it all in. In these situations I've just learned t keep my trap shut and let things go as the will. Sad, isn't that? What else can one do? Friday,April 26,2002 OK I should write more about the CWC opening. It was pretty cool to see so many from the CC get behind something that is directed at the community. I was thinking this morning that it would be nice to be there, but then I thought, "no, I don't want to work with drunks." That was a bit harsh. There have been some great things happening there; some lives turned around; some stories shared that would have been unheard. I'm proud of my contribution to the Center's inception; now is when the real work begins. I've also rethought my relationship with many of the muckity mucks. The have good intent. Good intent. I need to keep that in mind when all the shit starts coming our way. I need to keep that native idealism. Good intent. It would do me well to really start applying that Buddhist ethic, instead of just mouthing it. Big opening of the CWC. Pictures to follow here. Tiffany gave me a great honor. What a great person. Thursday,April 25,2002 Haven't even written about the Beta Band the other night. What a lazy ass. Monday,April 22,2002 I've never been much of a gambler (only plunked down a few bucks into the nickel slots). I was winning at one point, but I got greedy and lost it all back into the machines. Jason, I fear, got too carried away by black jack. SOLE need healing? It can happen in a pink teal and pink trailer in West Wendover, Nevada. Is that the fish or the part of the shoe? Saturday,April 20,2002 All done. Dinner tonight at Cafe Trang to send Kathy back off to Mass. The conference seems to be going well. The people from Las Vegas were late and missed their session, and since the people from Colorado had already canceled, the folks from Washington had a captive audience. I guess putting the address and the fact that we were at the South City Campus several times was not enough. There were many close calls as about 3 groups went out to Redwood. Yeesh. Oh well. That's over, at least. After another close call, our keynote speaker, Kathy Cain from Merrimack College, arrived. She was stuck in Chicago for a while while they balanced the plane. Apparently there was some talk of canceling the flight. Now the only thing to really be concerned about is whether food services really brings food this morning or not. I should think there will be quite a few pissed off people, otherwise. Thursday,April 18,2002 Hectic. We were supposed to take Kathy Cain, the keynote speaker at the conference tomorrow to dinner tonight, but I received a call from Stephen after I'd gotten it all arranged to say that her flight had been canceled in Chicago. Ok I gave up worrying about such crap a long time ago, so I just thought of all the cool jokes I could make tomorrow night at dinner. So after a marathon round of re-calling all those people I had just invited to go to dinner to uninvite them, I sat down and promptly fell asleep. (I'm getting over a bad cough..fun.) Anyway a while later I was awakened by the phone to find that the keynote speaker had indeed arrived...about an hour later than expected, but she was here. Still it was too late to go out and I wasn't going to head out with sleep head. Tuesday,April 16,2002 Well the weird weather has caused a power outage at the College. It also mud rained and snowed. Could it get more fun? Flaming hail is predicted for this afternoon. Thursday,April 11,2002 From abroad: Hi Clint, Glad to hear the Olympics didn't cause too much damage...it sounds like it was very fun to be a part of. And glad to hear you like TRAX...you constantly inspire me to be more socially conscious...thank you." When I told my students and teachers about Easter, most acted like they had never heard of it. But in the spring they have cherry blossom viewing, which means a group of adults get together, sit under the cherry blossom trees, get drunk and dance around. I am really sad that I missed it because I was in SE Asia, and spring came early this year. Yes, I do know what you mean about karma. It is a simple principle and a good one. But I like the mystical approach...not because I believe it, but because I think the symbolism is creative and fascinating...make sense? Cambodia. Wow. Yes, it does still seem war-torn...a desperation that is psychological as well as physical. Our tour guide at the temples said there are killing fields in every village...some people in the village did the killing and some people in the village were killed...creating big rifts in the community. Laos was poor, but it didn't have the same feeling of desperation that Cambodia did. I loved Laos...wish I would have had more time to explore the wilderness there. But I did meet some cool folks who worked for NGOs in Vientiene. Take care and see you soon, Mary Thursday,April 04,2002 Nice to be out of the Center today. Tiffany needed some help with some of the web page stuff (mostly so she can update it on her own w/o having to hassle me all the time.) Anyways from the CWC we went to Big City Soup--I had the Manhattan Clam Chowder--and then to South to check the rooms for the conference. We ran into lots of folks I hadn't seen in a while (I never get over to that campus.) Then I had a division meeting which elapsed in record time. So now it is yard aping extraordinaire. Ok, so I've been set to rights: "'Why don't I write? I think I figured that out right before grad school. I didn't really have anything to say. Writing fiction really isn't like writing love or lyric poetry. Think of it. All the great lyricists are/were young. Why? Because they are close to that spot when singing brings its reward. Most other writers are generally more mature. Why? They have something to say. Now I am not saying that poetry has nothing to say...I said lyric poetry not all poetry. I would even argue that a poet's major work comes later in life...if they live that long.'" "Some of the most interesting pieces of literature that I've read lately have been by relatively young writers, around your age. They have not been novels but short stories, entertaining, thought provoking, and have produced some strong "reader responses" in me. So I don't think that not having anything to say has anything to do with it. Just the act of living day in and day out provides ample experiences to relate, it's how they are related that makes good writing." Cordelia Cordelia was corresponding with me about Trollope. They are showing an adaption of one of his novels on PBS (sorry I don't remember which one and I don't really care.) I wrote to her that Trollope and his mother had built up a lot of bad environmental karma since they wrote these huge novels. Although I don't know much of his mother's work, most of Trollope's novels were in a sequence of 3 and each novel sequence was usually a trilogy. I don't believe they were serialized ala Dickens...their appeal was that they would come out like our modern movies...in sequels. My friend Stephen tells me that in those days authors were more often then not paid by the word, rather...even famous one...so the more you write, the more cash to stash. So you churn out the Pallisers Novels and invent the post box. Nowadays writers just get jobs at Universities. Just think of all the handy devices that are going uninvented because of such civility. Anyway, to get to the damn point, Cordelia asked me if the fear of bad environmental karma is why I don't write. I remember reading that and I wasn't "taken aback" exactly, but more kind of consider it an interesting perspective since I haven't really thought of myself as a writer for a very long time. I don't think one can claim such a profession unless you get the cash to stash. Now granted I really like playing around with words and ideas and such, but most of the time I spend writing now is academic stuff, or goofy things like this events thing. Why don't I write? I think I figured that out right before grad school. I didn't really have anything to say. Writing fiction really isn't like writing love or lyric poetry. Think of it. All the great lyricists are/were young. Why? Because they are close to that spot when singing brings its reward. Most other writers are generally more mature. Why? They have something to say. Now I am not saying that poetry has nothing to say...I said lyric poetry not all poetry. I would even argue that a poet's major work comes later in life...if they live that long. Am I talking about some creative explosion about to occur? I doubt it. Writing for me is in many ways like chanelling a muse. No, I am not boasting. It is just what it feels like when it is going right. |
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Copyright
© 2002 Clinton R. Gardner Last update: February 3, 2002 7:54 PM
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Went out with Adrianne last night. Seems like she is doing better, over all. One would pray that she can overcome the problems and see how talented and caring she is. 
House smouse. I went to Wendover with Jason. Nice little trip. Haven't really had a chance to talk with Jason that much since he started up in paramedic school. He still likes to revisit the past a bit too much, but I don't mind. It takes a long time to work things out, I guess...for me...for him...for everyone. Funny how they still have an effect upon us. 
In any case, Jason is doing well. He graduates soon and then it is marriage time. It was funny to compare notes with him. I didn't really want to ever get married until Mary came along; he seemed to always want to get married. In any case, Britt is a great woman. He needed some stability in his life.
The Salt Flats were nice. It is fairly wet out there.. I think that bodes well, but they are still warning us of our dire water conditions. I don't think Count Von is going to like my water conservation efforts. Fuck him.
