Judging Day

Phone out since last night, another tree down on Mackletree, saw it on my way to work, early this morning. Won't be able to SEND this until tomorrow night. Only two phones in a three mile stretch so it's not high on the Sunday Verizon repair list. Too bad, as I actually wanted to make a couple of calls and keep you posted. The vagaries of isolation. Happening day at the museum. D and I fiddled around a bit, moving a few things, then Sara arrived, then Ken and Mary from Columbus, to do the judging. They walked through everything, before making any decisions, then back around, eliminating pieces. They worked quickly, with little banter and very few disagreements. What banter there was was choice, "lose the crow", "don't step on Jesus" (the wooden crucifix is in, and the damned Appalachian shrine), and, from Mary, "someone gave me a little press-mold that allows me to put the Virgin on pancakes and toast". Lunch over at Clay and Sara's loft, Clay had prepared a very nice spread. Excellent conversation, but D and I bail back to work, to get the rejects cleared away. Storing them in the downstairs classroom, alphabetically; so we walk many miles, up and down the stairs, dozens of trips. As we remove pieces, we spread the other work out, along the walls, and the extent of the show takes form. Almost all of the 3D work makes the show. Because there are so many photographs and watercolors, the competition there is fierce. We dog it around all day, shuffling stuff. The Best In Show and other awards was a great dialog between Ken and Mary. We had put the three works in question against the front wall, in decent light, and they sat on a bench maybe eight feet away, we three were in an outer circle, eight feet from them. Perfect, because we could both listen and whisper. A wonderful day but oh so tiring, and on the way home I just get a footer with chili and cheese. More severe storms forecast, and I walk up the hill. No way I could call in the driveway excuse for the next couple of days. D looked at me, we were outside having a smoke, said we had a lot of pieces to hang, yes, I said, 133 in three galleries before Friday, 45 a day for three days, and then we have to light and label. This is only a problem if you think of the merely possible. What happens happens quickly and then is past. Time is the factor. If I was holed up in a cave, because of bad weather, I might make a drawing, something to fill the time, maybe over-draw it a few times, I didn't mean to start a revolution, I actually cherish my solitude.