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Episode 20
The Midwest's Hidden Treasures Anuj Timblo It's 2AM right now - this is the third time I've opened my powerbook tonight. I've been trying to sleep for almost 4 hours now but my attempts have been in vain. Sleeping has never been an easy thing for me since Pieces of East started. Managing and playing in a group I believe so strongly in makes life susceptible to mental extremities. My insomnia can either be attributed to excitement or frustration, depending on how the POE beast faired that day. Tonight I think its a bit of both. I haven't quite gotten over the recent midwest adventure. The people, places and performances changed me. And now I'm filled with a carried over sense of excitement blended in with some anxiety. Anxiety because of how desperately I want that adventure to continue. 4AM is what the alarm is set for right now. Laura has foot surgery at 5 and I need to escort her to the hospital and be there for the whole nine yards. I guess the doctor needs physical proof of the presence of a post-surgery care taker for her. My arrival at the hospital at the break of dawn should provide ample evidence that a temporary guardian for LG does in fact exist. Having said that, I assure you that this will not be exceedingly long. 2 hours might seem like a long time to write a diary entry - but judging by my current pace - reading it shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes. Fine - so the band did 2 weeks of touring this summer. What's the big deal? Its not like that's a unique thing among bands. In fact, most successful independent bands do it all the time. What makes this experience so unique?
Ironically, Lou and her husband Doug were the first to prove my point. Doug for instance fascinated me with his extensive knowledge in Indian history coupled with an amazing modesty that did nothing but further my respect for him. Our brief conversation about Goa (my native state in India) took me back home. It had been a while since I talked to someone who knew about the place, let alone aspects of its heritage as a portuguese colony.
After my conversation with Doug, Laura and I visited with Lou in their kitchen. We managed to persuade Lou, who is a professional sculptor, to share some of her work with us. Her work was wonderful and entrancing. Talking to fellow artists about their craft and their philosophies always helps me gain better insight into mine.
When I visited the Stillwater UU structure for the first time, my yearning to accurately express what UUs are about ceased for a while as I was graced by a brilliant monument on the front lawn. It stood approximately 20 ft high. According to me it accurately represented Unitarian Universalism.
If you look closely at the monument in the enclosed picture, you will find certain spaces among the symbols. At first glance it might seem like those spaces make the monument incomplete but Felicia Urbanski (the minister at Stillwater) informed us that it was intentional. Those spaces represent the fact that humans have not explored all facets of spirituality and thus there are spaces left to explore.
Yes Siree - our adventure had begun. America's hidden treasures Anderson Gardens - Rockford, IL
In 1989, when I was 9 years old, I learnt a very interesting lesson. My brothers, their friends and I were playing cricket in our backyard and I was in the batting team. My turn to bat hadn't yet arrived so I was sitting by the sidelines waiting. Inevitably at that age, a young boy finds himself anxious to step onto the cricket field and play even if its at the cost of his other team members getting out ("getting out" is analogous to "striking out" in baseball). He is so consumed by the excitement of facing the cricket ball that he forgets the big picture. The unfortunate truth that the quicker he gets to bat, the better the other team's performance is. And ultimately, the lower the probability of victory. While I was waiting, I came across a small ant hill conveniently close to an even smaller piece of chocolate. To this day I remain fascinated by the workings of an ant colony. The way they spread, the way information is dispersed and the way they survive as a team. At the corner of my eye I noticed a lone ant heading towards a piece of an apple which was quite obviously bigger than the chocolate. Once this ant reached the apple and turned around, another ant began to follow the new trail. It was as if a silent signal only detectable by ants was released. As this signal spread, more and more ants were lining up to pick at the apple. Gradually the apple became the focus of attention. After witnessing this microcosm of activity I began to realize what it meant to be the first. To go against the grain and to search out for something new. Those hidden treasures. That apple probably fed those ants for a good month. The experiences we've had on this tour can amount to the discovery of several hidden treasures. When bands usually setup their tour, they try their hardest to get from one metropolitan city to another. Consumed by the herd's direction. I'm glad that we didn't do that. One of the treasures we found was definitely the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, IL. Rated as the highest quality Japanese Garden in North America, the Anderson Gardens took me to a different state of consciousness. The tranquility and beauty that this 14 acre space exuded brought inspiration to all those who came along. The minister of the UU Rockford, Dave Weissbard, and his daughter were our "garden chaperones".
The meticulously orchestrated placement of the waterfalls, plants and structures made the Japanese Garden nature's way of composing and conducting a symphony. Definitely an inspiration to all those right brainers.
The Greatest Tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright - Tahlequah, OK
On occasion I ask myself - How much do I love playing the guitar? Or writing songs? I egotistically assumed that it is an obsession and that my relationship with my passion is as deep as it goes. When I visited Vernon and Joan Isom's house in Tahlequah, OK, this assumption ceased to exist. The value one gives to any relationship - be it with a person or an inanimate object or even a relationship with a talent - is truly gauged by the time and energy put into it. How much of that selfish royal YOU are you willing to part with in order to service that relationship? To learn more about it. To let it take you on such a unique ride, that you end up a different person at the end of it. At a certain point, the relationship becomes a significant part of you. Vernon and Joan Isom live in a beautiful house in Tahlequah. The first thing you realize when you see the house is its uncanny resemblance to its surroundings. The design and structure was built to blend in with nature, not to overpower it. The surrounding trees, grass and rocks stood comfortably by this home - as if to signify their acceptance of this man made structure. The first two words that came to mind was Falling Water (Frank Lloyd Wright's house for Edgar Kauffman). This house was most definitely inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, arguably one of the most recognized names in 20th century architecture. His ground breaking designs were the first to create a sense of smoothness to the aesthetic flow of residential houses. According to me, FLWs architecture is one of the many representations of what freedom of thought and speech can produce. Vernon is another example of this. The sheer drive it must have taken to not only design the building from ground up, but also build it, left my fellow musicians and I speechless. Vernon worked on everything himself - right from the artistic design to the structural and electrical engineering side of it, to the physical process of building the structure.
Combining the beauty of art with the preciseness of science - Vernon managed to capture our hearts with his FLW tribute. Its hard for someone like this to live without a creative significant other. I've always believed that creativity expands exponentially when opened up to more creative energies. That belief was cemented when I learnt about Joan's accomplishments. Joan is an author and illustrator of children's books. Its rare to be both. Her recent book on Van Gogh was nothing short of brilliant. How can one capture the true nature of a misunderstood and mistreated genius in a book for children? This question lingered in my head until Laura and I picked up the book to read it.
Joan's book covered all bases beautifully. In fact, the book was also translated to and published in Korean. We got to see both versions, but only understood one. :)
I'm sure the spirits of Frank Lloyd Wright and Vincent Van Gogh are more at peace.
The Midwest's Third Hidden Treasure So we explored the wondrous gardens in Rockford and the Isom's beautiful Tahleuqah home. Can the experiences continue? Will I be able to find treasures in the remaining areas of the midwest. The truth is that I was pleasantly surprised by nearly every town we visited - from John Prescott's brilliant display of musicianship with his piece "Ghazal" in Springfield, MO to an outwardly poignant speech on the truth of politics and media biases during Reagan's death by Reverend Dave Weissbard in Rockford, IL to Mukund Rajan's incomparable hospitality in Chicago to Greg Hoeltzel's charm and musical talents in St. Louis. The tour's last leg could not have been any better largely due to three extremely wonderful women. Nancy, Stacy and Rita were our hosts in Springfield, IL. Among the vast crop fields lay a small town on the outskirts of Springfield. IL named Gerard. Covered by beautiful lake houses, the town was a welcoming sight to 5 weary travelers at the final leg of their trip.
The NSR trio left me with such a warm feeling inside. Not to mention long lasting memories of living in a cozy house by the lake. After thinking about what that third hidden treasure could be - it hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. The most valuable part of this midwest tour was the revelation of heart. No longer did I want to be in a bustling city where people give a lot more weight to adding numbers than extending a helping hand. I wanted to be among people like Nancy, Stacy and Rita. People who accepted you for who you were and who embraced the concept that we were all human and all we have is each other to share life experiences with.
Thank You Felicia, the Spivys, Lou & Doug, Iris, Thea, Vernon & Joan, Carl & Sonya, the Linebargers, Dixie & Earl, Emily, John & Karen, Eva, Shirlee, Jane, Dave & Karen & Hillary, Mukund, Prithvi, Fred, Nancy, Rita, Stacy, Linda, Debby, Scott and the Hoeltzels. As you can see by the large list of people from 7 towns in the midwest - the area is definitely not short of an extreme abundance of H-E-A-R-T!! Or at least the UU part of it! :)
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