Art Crawl

In case you didn't know, I take photographs. I just started in June of this year (with a good camera), so I'm very much a novice. I filled out an application to show at the Statesville Art Crawl and got accepted. Now came the hard work. I had to pick which shots to use, get them printed, get them matted/framed, figure out how to display them, come up with price tags, get business cards made.....
Just before I got my notice that I'd been accepted in the Art Crawl, we found out that our 3 year old daughter has Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). If you want details and updates about that, please visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/lindsaytempleton
So when I saw the email saying I'd been accepted, I almost immediately replied that I'd have to bow out, because there was no way I could get all this stuff done with the emotional state that we all were in. But I didn't reply. I told my wife about it and she said that I had to do it. A very good friend and her daughter stepped up and said they'd take care of the printing and matting/framing. My father-in-law took care of the business cards. All I had to do was pick which shots and get them to my friends.
The Art Crawl was last night and it was pretty cool. I actually sold some pictures (I came up with prices as we were hanging the shots) and had a great time!

Friday After Five

We went to Friday After Five downtown the other night (Friday). It was really hot still and we took the kids. We got there at about 5:30. We were 4 of about 20 people. Well, maybe a few more people were there than that. It actually did pick up a little shortly after, but my first impression was, "Uhhh, really? This is it?" There was a church playground right next to where the band set up so we just hung out there so the kids could play.
I must say, I did like the song selections by the band. Tom Petty, Green Day, Lynyrd Skynyrd. I guess they are your typical cover band, including the fact that they sounded like crap. I have no idea what the band's name is, so, sorry, I can't post their schedule.
My favorite band member had to be the lead singer. Very stationary, unenthusiastic. Bright, red polo shirt with the collar up....way up.
There was a huge empty space from the stage to the "crowd". I'm not sure if there were supposed to be people in that area or not. Maybe people were staying clear of the bass guitarist (the guy in black) hocking the biggest loogies I've ever seen out into the street. I did get a sweet picture of them...from the back. I do have a side shot, but it doesn't capture the fiery energy of this gas-powered rock and roll band.

War is not the answer.

I visited the Quaker church here in Statesville a couple of weeks ago. To me, this is surprising on a couple of levels. a) Statesville has a Quaker church??? and b) why am I going to church in the first place.
Answers:
a) yes
b) that's a good question

I went without wife or kids. It was part scouting mission to see if kids would be cool at a Quaker meeting...that's what they are called, meetings, and part looking for something different that might appeal to me in Statesville.
It turns out that, yes, children are very welcome at the meetings and they can talk as much or as little as they want. The same rule applies to adults.
There is no pastor/minister/priest/holy man.
No performance to watch.
No music to listen to (unless you bring your own).
No obligation to pray or read aloud or anything else that I've had to do at other churches (mostly Presbyterian, because that's what I was raised)
They have Bibles and hymnals if you want to read scripture or songs.
They believe in The Trinity but don't make blanket statements in regards to it because they believe that what you believe is not necessarily right on with what the guy next to you believes through and through. And it's not their place to question others' beliefs. Be peaceful with yours and I'm peaceful with mine.
You are supposed to (I think) be at peace with yourself through self awareness and self discovery. Also be at peace with everything and everyone else. (the Quakers are pacifists) Contemplate what you will and if you so choose to talk about it to anyone else or the entire group (I was one of three people there) then you go right ahead.
I gotta say that I liked it. I was alone with no obligations to anything. I could just sit in the silence and look at the stained-glass windows and really old organ. I read a pamphlet on prevention of deadly conflict (very insightful)
In the end I did not stand up and share my thoughts with anybody else. I did talk to the guy in charge before and after the meeting. I learned about the history of the building and a little bit of lore about Statesville.
I will go back and try it with the fam. Maybe not too soon though, they didn't seem to have any air-conditioning.
I did return later that day to take some pics. Click here. The pics are not separated into albums, so you'll just have to look through the list. If it looks like a small church, that's it.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I got a bumper sticker,
WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER

I don't remember getting that at any other church, but then Quakers don't have an annual BBQ to advertise on T-shirts either.

82 yr old Native American ladies

Sometimes I get a strange look from people when I answer their question, "What do you do?" I usually point to my son and daughter and say, "This is what I do. I raise my kids." Usually, from younger parents, I get a very positive response. One of them (the wife normally) may be an at-home-parent as well and won't blink twice. The husband may make a comment like, "I don't know how you do it." I could say the same thing to the guy that funnels money from here to there all day, or helps mass produce something that's so important that I DO live without it.
There is a class of people that almost always respond the same. The Greatest Generation. "Ahw, that's sweet. It's Daddy's day out. Your wife is very lucky today. And what do you do?"
2 days ago, I was asked by an 82 year old Native American (Cherokee) lady, "So, what do you do?" We were in a hair salon (that's right) and I was wearing my son. I pointed at him and said, "This is what I do. I raise my kids." Her face flashed confusion, denial, maybe she heard me wrong, these kids today are so out of touch. The look lasted all of a millisecond. I understand there is a generation difference. I even think I may understand there may be a cultural difference that has something to do with this one. So I just looked at her. Then....
we had the most pleasant conversation. It turns out that she knew the parents of the guy that built my new house. My new house was built in 1901. Did I mention this is a small town?
Right now, I'm thinking of a certain other Native American lady (not 82) that will set me straight. Check the comments to see if she reads her friends blogs.

It's ok to be different...

unless you are different.

We went to story time at the Iredell Public Library yesterday. The reader selected "It's Okay to be Different" by Todd Parr. Personally, I think it's a great book. It goes through several different subjects stating that "It's okay if...". For example, "It's okay to be a different color." And the picture would be of two zebras, one black and white, and one different colors.
The reader comes to a page and announces to the group that, "I'm gonna skip over this page, and I'll show you why." She shows us the page. It's the cartoon faces of two women next to each other, and the faces of two men next to each other. The book reads, "It's okay to have different mommies and different daddies." Or something like that. The reader is nodding her head and raising her eyebrows as if to say, "See this filth?"
I can't decide what to do. I checked the Iredell Public Library website and they have no email address to contact them. I hate confrontation, so I'm pretty apprehensive about going there in person and accusing this lady of bigotry.
Maybe I'm reading way too much into this. Maybe the reader was thinking that some of the parents/grandparents that were present really didn't want to have that discussion with their kids. Discussing issues with your kids is pretty overrated anyway. Am I right or am I right?
I guess I just feel like she should have never even chosen that book to read if she's going to censor it due to her "beliefs".
So, is it okay to different in Statesville, NC? I guess it is, if you are a colorful zebra.

"I learned it by watching you!!"

2 year old falls off the wagon. Yup, in Statesville.

Statesville Skateboarding

The great Greg Barbera (punk-rocker, at-home-dad extraordinaire, NPR regular) of Durham, NC let me know that Statesville hosts the World Championship of slalom skating, or something like that.

Here's a link to read all about it:

http://marcsboardshop.blogspot.com/2007/09/downhillbillies-hosting-world.html


This is quite a skateboard friendly community. I see skaters all the time. If I hadn't been reallllly bad at it 20 years ago, I may have the itch to join them. But, as I have gotten very accident prone the older I get, I won't be giving it go.

Finding Culture

I'm learning that to find culture where you think there isn't any, you really have to quit looking and trip over it. I love art (as in paintings) Sometimes you just see a piece of art and you can't help but to stop and look. When I say stop, I mean stop everything. Stop moving, stop thinking, stop listening. I love it when that happens. Well, needless to say, that has not happened to me in a long time. And it still hasn't, but I really liked this one anyway.

Six degrees of separation

Not too long ago, a woman disappeared here in Statesville. The cops later found her at the Greensboro Airport in her car, not alive. It was on the national news. Anyway, her boyfriend is the brother of Mr. Landlord (see story below). She also sold her house right before she.....you know. We had been house hunting and had looked at her house.
Well it's not a great story, but I thought was weird.

What the hell is in this meatloaf?!

Confederate Memorial...er, it's heritage, not hate!!

Old City Hall

where, I'm sure, small town justice was handed down swiftly and fairly

Nice Sniper Tower

I thought this was a conservative community?

A Nightmare on Elm Street

This is kind of a long story, but I'll try and make it brief. We moved into a rental house on Elm St. We knew we wanted something short term while we house hunted and got to know the town a little bit better. We found out about the Elm St. house through a friend. We took a look at it and thought it was a great house. The outside paint was chipping and the inside needed some minor repairs, but we were definitely interested in moving in. The landlord said he was gonna fix some things inside and we told him that we wanted the paint that was chipping on the outside to be tested for lead. He said he'd just go ahead and have the outside repainted. Sounds great, right? As it turns out, no.
It was gonna take the paint crew a while to get started, but they were gonna go ahead and "scrape and wash" the outside of the house and get everything all cleaned up before we moved in. Wasn't that nice of them? Yes it was. Unfortunately, the painters were not what I would call bright or capable or, well you get the point. When we moved in, there were paint chips covering the lawn still. Ok, no problem. The painters were coming the next day to get it officially clean. A few days later, one guy shows up with a leaf blower. After a couple of hours of creating a nice dust storm, he packed it up. I'm not sure, but I think it was dirtier after he left than when he showed up.
Summertime in the south, means that there are a lot of thunderstorms. It rained off and on for a few days, and according to the painters, this preempted any attempts to get the paint chips up.
Meanwhile, days come and go, and we are constantly cleaning up paint chips in the house. They get tracked in every time we come in. The dogs track them in every time they come in. It's starting to get a little frustrating. So, a call goes out to the landlord, once again asking to have the paint tested for lead. He says he'll call the painters immediately to take care of the mess. True to his word, the painters actually started to clean up a bit. By now, the painters had decided it was time to start actual work on the house. Up until now, another job had kept them busy. But wait...the back of the house has not been "scraped and washed" yet. What the hell??!! So, some dude gets a power washer and starts on the back of the house. Paint chips are exploding off the side of the house. Everything that is in the backyard is covered. (Chairs, toys, playground set, my grill) This takes about one afternoon to complete.
Finally, they start painting. And scraping windows. And smoking cigarettes at the windows. And talking on their cell phones at the windows. And blocking the driveway. And knocking on the door to ask if they can use the bathroom.
We grin and bear it. And clean up paint chips. Then.....we found paint chips on toys INSIDE. And we found paint chips on Lindsay's (my 2 year old) arm. So, another call goes out to the landlord. "Something has to be done. These paint chips MUST be tested!!" "OK", says Mr. Landlord. He tests them. And guess what. They are F@#*ing positive!! Lead paint chips on EVERYTHING!!
That day we take the kids to the doctor to get blood tests. The results won't be back for several weeks we are told. We start looking for a new place. We call the health department to find out how to clean our stuff. We ended up having to throw away a lot of our stuff because we couldn't get it clean. After a month and a half of living on Elm St. we moved into a 2 bedroom apartment. Most of our belongings are in storage. Our dogs are living with my in-laws. We are still house hunting.
The good news about all of this is, unlike Johnny Depp, we survived Elm St.

Welcome to Statesville, NC

This is an on-going story of the lives of one family in Statesville, NC (mine). We just moved here from Madison, WI. My wife, Ginger, is a vet and took a job at the Animal Hospital of Statesville. We've been here a month, and so far it's been quite an adjustment. Hopefully the goings-on of our lives will be entertaining. If nothing else, it's something to read when you're bored.