Staying put: My city and I’m sticking with it
Last night Shonnie and I attended Jenny Bowen’s Faces of Asheville Photo Documentary Project fundraiser at the Orange Peel where approximately 350 portraits were displayed, musical groups performed and a number of folks had the opportunity to tell their stories of what Asheville means to them. Below is the story I shared that was recycled from a piece I had written in early 2001.
Staying put: My city and I’m sticking with it
By Bruce Mulkey
Home is not where you have to go but where you want to go; nor is it a place where you are sullenly admitted, but rather where you are welcomed—by the people, the walls, the tiles on the floor, the flowers beside the door, the play of light, the very grass.
I was driving alone from Fairbanks to Anchorage in the mid-90s, dealing with early September snow showers and shoulderless mountain roads. I was intermittently entertaining myself with the awe-inspiring landscape and trying to stay awake by listening to Alaska Public Radio. As the radio signal faded in and out, an author who had recently written a book titled Staying Put: Making a Home in a Restless World was being interviewed. Scott Russell Sanders spoke compellingly of creating a life that’s “firmly grounded in household and community, in knowledge of place, in awareness of nature, and in contact with that source from which all things arise.”
I was spellbound by the author’s perspective. And though I had contemplated thoughts of remaining in Alaska a while, I decided then and there to return to Austin and to irrevocably claim it as my home.
On my return, however, I found that this eclectic Texas city could not hold my allegiance. Certainly I had many fine friends there. I enjoyed running on the trails around Town Lake. I could while away half a day at Book People, Whole Foods Market, and Waterloo Records without spending a penny if I so desired. But this was also the place of scorching summer heat, flat terrain, and a booming population. I would not put down roots in Austin.
Before I proceed, it would probably help you to know that I had participated in a week-long workshop near Dahlonega, Georgia, at the tail end of the Southern Appalachians, a few years prior to my Alaska trip. This encounter involved whitewater rafting on the Chattooga River, a ropes course, and a solo camping experience. As nightfall approached on the banks of the Chattooga, I lay alone in my makeshift plastic shelter. Then, as dusk turned to darkness, I became filled with a profound sense of having come home—home to myself, home to the plants and animals around me, home to the mountain terrain. And I knew from that moment on that somehow, someday, I would return to live in this part of the world.
There has been much talk recently of why people are coming to Asheville, why they aren’t coming, why our youth are leaving. I don’t pretend to know what motivates others; I can only speak of my experience. A few days after my epiphany on the riverbank, I visited newfound friends Loyd and Ken Kinnett of Hendersonville (also workshop participants) at their charming mountaintop home. I came for a weekend and stayed several weeks. I tried with all my might to land a job with North Carolina Outward Bound School, and I wound up with a new friend but, alas, no job. I cast about for other means of supporting myself but finally returned to Texas. Nonetheless, every two or three years I would visit Ken and Loyd and, if only briefly, re-experience my dream of living in these mountains.
It took ten years to turn vision into reality. My wife Shonnie and I came to western North Carolina for a week in August 1997. I was negotiating with a local entrepreneur about assisting him in his business endeavors. Shonnie was visiting the area for the first time. My opportunity did not bear fruit, but Shonnie discovered a job opening, had an interview, and was all but invited back for the second interview before the week was out. Needless to say we considered this a very good omen.
During our weeklong visit we both were drawn to Asheville in ways that can be described with words and in ways that cannot. The lively downtown full of diverse individuals, Jubilee! Community Church, Salsa’s, Laughing Seed, French Broad Food Co-op, Fine Arts Theatre; Malaprop’s Bookstore, candidate for mayor Leni Sitnick, the ease of navigating the city, opportunities for community involvement, the four distinct seasons, the underlying vein of spirituality that permeates this place, and, of course, the mountains.
Near the end of our week in western North Carolina, we hiked to Shining Rock. It was foggy, and we caught only glimpses of the sweeping mountain vistas. But as we trekked and talked and laughed and sang, our path became clear. We were moving to Asheville. And we’d be staying put.
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009Faces of Asheville Photo Documentary Project at Orange Peel on Monday
The One Night Only Pre-Exhibit Exhibit of the Faces of Asheville Photo Documentary Project
A display of nearly 350 portraits capturing the true essence of today’s Asheville.
Monday, February 16th
7-10 pm at the Orange Peel.
Funds raised during this event will be used to print the final archival quality images that will be displayed downtown in June 2009 at the Satellite Gallery, and then later donated to the city historical archives at UNC-A.
The evening’s celebration of community will include the local arts entertainment of:
- Snake Oil Medicine Show
- Space Medicine
- Nikki Talley
- and the incredible aerial acrobatic skills of the Libravado Sisters!
There will be presentations of community celebration & awareness, addressing many topics & concerns facing Asheville.
Speakers will include notable citizens such as:
- writer/blogger Bruce Mulkey
- arts activist Sara Widenhouse
- City Councilman Dr. Carl Mumpower
- Professor Robert Yearout
- Michael Harney of the Western North Carolina AIDS Project
- as well as many others from Asheville’s diverse community.
The evening will introduce an extensive series know as the Asheville Community Forum Series that is being birthed from the data collected throughout the documentary project. Beginning in March and continuing through October, these forums will cover nearly every issue and opportunity addressing the city of Asheville. All forums will be held free of charge downtown alternating Fridays at Firestorm Cafe and Sundays at Rosetta’s Kitchen. A full schedule of topic issues can be found online at: http://www.jennybowen.com/calendar.html
All project participants attend the pre-exhibit celebration for free. Just give your name at the door! Bring friends to see your portrait!
Community tickets are available for a suggested donation of $15 at The Orange Peel’s website: www.theorangepeel.net
Walk-up’s are encouraged the night of 16th with a ‘donate what you can’ policy.
See you at the exhibit of individual expression & community celebration!
Faces of Asheville is part of 501(c)3 non-profit, Arts 2 People. Arts 2 People also houses the Lexington Ave. Arts and Fun Festival (LAAFF), the REACH Programming series, the new Pritchard Park Cultural Arts Program, Moving Women, AMP and more. Arts 2 People is devoted to promoting the role of the arts as an integral part of our culture by serving the entire community through arts outreach, bringing the arts to those in need of the healing power of art, supporting the careers of artists, and through community cultural development. To find out more, visit www.arts2people.org.
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009Sprint!
In his blog post below, Seth Godin clearly captures the intensity and single-mindedness of my three months of working for the Obama campaign in Ohio. No time for negative mindtalk to slow me down. No time for second guessing myself (or my leaders). No time for overpreparation. At the top of my consciousness was the most creative and compelling action I could take next—an unrelenting progression of “Fire, ready, aim!”
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By Seth Godin
The best way to overcome your fear of creativity, brainstorming, intelligent risk taking or navigating a tricky situation might be to sprint.
When we sprint, all the internal dialogue falls away and we just go as fast as we possibly can. When you’re sprinting you don’t feel that sore knee and you don’t worry that the ground isn’t perfectly level. You just run.
You can’t sprint forever. That’s what makes it sprinting. The brevity of the event is a key part of why it works.
“Quick, you have thirty minutes to come up with ten business ideas.”
“Hurry, we need to write a new script for our commercial… we have fifteen minutes.”
My first huge project was launching a major brand of science-fiction computer adventure games (Ray Bradbury, Michael Crichton, etc.). I stopped going to business school classes in order to do the launch.
One day, right after a red eye flight, the president of the company told me that the company had canceled the project. They didn’t have enough resources to launch all the products we had, our progress was too slow and the packaging wasn’t ready yet.
I went to my office spent the next 20 hours rewriting every word of text, redesigning every package, rebuilding every schedule and inventing a new promotional strategy. It was probably 6 weeks of work for a motivated committee, and I did it in one swoop. Like lifting a car off an infant, it was impossible, and I have no recollection at all of the project now.
The board reconsidered and the project was back on again. I didn’t get scared until after the sprint. You can’t sprint every day but it’s probably a good idea to sprint regularly.
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Calvin & Hobbes explain the bailout
First appearing around 15 years ago, this Calvin & Hobbes comic was prescient in explaining the intricacies of the current financial bailout.
Many of you will know all about the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. It’s written and illustrated by Bill Watterson and a new one appears daily. The comic has been around for years and continues growing in popularity. This is probably down to the fact that it is well written, funny and provides you with the entertainment you get playing games at places like poker.de. What’s more is that it is quick to read, so it’s a quick fix of fun.
The comic is set in the US and depicts the life of Calvin and his friendship with Hobbes, as well as Calvin’s relationship with his family and his classmates. The comic never refers to specific politicians but it does raise important issues such as public education, flaws of opinion polls and environmentalism. Take a look at the comic below to see for yourself why it’s so great.
