It’s January- we’re shut up with the cold, and yearning to get out. I like to explore different places, peruse areas of interest, attend functions, meet people and get away from the obsession of this computer once in a while.
Last night, I had the opportunity to go to a reading at the Orange County Arts Council in Chester, New York. The visit had come into doubt, due to the horrendous weather that morning. Accidents were abound, and when I drove my son to school, I found myself one of many parked on main street to walk up the blocked hill (a bus had stopped half way up unable to climb the steep hill and blocked the road; I saw a car behind it literally slide ALL the way down to the main street).
I was placed on some kind of list probably a year ago by a person- Melanie Gold- a theater teacher, poet and writer who sent a group email about this gathering. I spent time trying to piece together where and how I got on the list, but nailed it down to her- I’d met her at a poetry night in a small coffee house in Nanuet. Regardless, after a few email exchanges I decided to check it out.
After work, I stopped home and got an old poetry compilation titled “Hardship” I put together years ago. I was really unprepared and I hadn’t signed on in advance of doing a reading. I don’t like to commit myself to a new place, for me it’s all about the vibe and how the inspiration of people around me, make me want to share.
When I arrived I met the host and executive director Susan Linn, who not just read this very entertaining recipe by the painter Man Ray, but cooked the most INCREDIBLE enchiladas I’d had in some time! Usually, I’m not one to make a pig of myself, but I couldn’t resist the scrumptious food along with fresh guacamole & kalamata olives. There was wine and beer and as much I wanted to partake, I held off due to the horribly windy weather, the mountainous terrain, and the sense of open fields with only a few towns scattered between. The place was opposite a ski area known as Sugar Bush. For some silly reason all I could think of was Neil Young’s song, “Sugar Mountain”- which I think I’ll have to post after this…..
There must have been about 20-30 people there, the conversation was abundant, it was very open and positive. It’s places like this I like to spend my time. I’m usually quiet (at first). I listen perhaps more than I talk, if you can believe that. When you put a bunch of creatives in a room, and leave them there with wine and good food, I don’t think you get more fascinating conversation or ideas.
I shared three poems with a little monologue about each- “Woodwork” (listening to disintegrated dreams from drunks- on my robertswriter.com site), “Caulk on the Pavement” (a NYC observation of a body outline on a busy street) and “#456117A” (a poem on the absurdity of genetic diagnosis as it relates to health insurance- also on my site). The response was positive, which is always a good thing. Positive reinforcement can never be bad…..
The “conference” was tied up in about 2-2 1/2 hours. I was fortunate to meet some wonderful people. Two conversations I had towards the end of my stay revolved around a site called www.artsmap.com -a site which maps out different visual artist places in towns all over the world (those of you in the visual arts- painters, sculptors check it out) and a beautiful Eastern European hat (the kind which you see on many Russians in winter) purchased in Hungary by a beautiful woman named Suzanne. The conversation dove into the need to visit different cultures and places in the world and another website called www.artsinorange.org among other things. Without her assistance, I may have been lost in some remote snow blown area of the mountains (no GPS), but she kindly showed me how to hit the highway (LEAD me to the main road back home……)
Winter is the time of hibernation. It’s the time we lurk indoors, “hermitize” ourselves and wait for the coming of Spring. If you’re adventurous, and take the chance to meet some new personalities, you may find a flower’s bloom in even the coldest weather- such as I did last night. Thanks you Orange County Arts council.
Steve
PS- For the men out there, you might recognized Orange County from the Custom Motorcycle show “American Chopper” (Orange County Choppers). And NO Pauly Senior WASN’T there…… but a few years back I did meet a guy who was a dead ringer for Pauly- I’ll have to tell ya that another time….