Staging Day

The next dance starts tomorrow. The last of "Visually Literate" came in today and some of it will be difficult to display. It's always a challenge because the kids tend to attempt the impossible, or maybe they don't know what is possible, stuff that's too heavy, stuff that's not acceptably rigged for hanging, the wrong kind of glass (makes them difficult to light), too delicate, too sharp (really common), and often poorly assembled. It's a juried show, and Sharee was a bit unhappy about the selection. The judge makes the show. I was running late, odd for me, and had forgotten I'd agreed to docent two groups of art students through the Carters. Very good tours, both groups were interested and engaged. Their teacher was a local boy, I know him fairly well, Charlie, he's a fine painter himself. He'd given the students some background, we talked about techniques and mediums. Several hours of this and I was used up, so had a huge lunch late at the pub, steakburger and fries (with mayo instead of ketchup), and chatted with John The Barkeep about the Masters. Satisfying day. Drove home slowly on back roads because it's so beautiful. The Forest Service roads are in good shape because of the mild winter and I usually don't encounter another soul. I can just stop in the road, to get out and look at something closely. I picked up another large cheap magnifying glass that I keep in the truck. Several times a Park Ranger has stopped to see what I'm looking at. They all recognize me at this point, know where I live, know some of my interests. There's what you might call a free flow of information. Today I was examining young oak galls, about which I'm fairly knowledgeable, and one of the guys stopped next to my truck, on his way home, too. He had a cold six-pack, and made the universal sign for 'do you want one of these' to which I made the universal acknowledgement, he came over and we sat on the tailgate. These people, the Rangers, are mostly very bright, they bring a lot to the tailgate. We talked about oaks, exclusively, I told him about eating leached acorns and he was all over it, an instant convert; and, in just a short walk, he showed me the way in which oaks morph, accepting characteristics from different species. I think of it as docenting in the woods. Arrived home with a slight buzz and a list of words I needed to look up. This is an almost daily drill, not the buzz so much as the list of words. If I don't spend some time, every day, in an unabridged dictionary, I start getting a rash between my toes. It doesn't make any sense, but it seems true, nonetheless; maybe I scratch when I'm confused, but it's true. I keep a record of things, so I know when what happens. A habit, right? Tight collar and a crucifix. Jodi got my taxes back to me, with pre-addressed envelopes and little stickers that showed me where to sign. She has chickens in a show this weekend, they raise varietal chickens, and they hadn't been shampooed yet, so she was going home to do that. I can't help but notice, from the way she'd organized my returns, that she'd realized, in many ways, I'm an idiot. It's perfect, because I am, and the way she did it is absolutely perfect, fool-proof, even for someone who can lose pages of text. 
 
Tom
 
And start another, what are going to do?