O.C.F. Caretaker's Journal O.C.F. Caretaker's Journal"Man must in some way
come to his senses. He must extricate himself from this terrible involvement
in both the obvious and hidden mechanisms of totality, from consumption
to repression, from advertising to manipulation through television. He must
rebel against his role as a helpless cog in the gigantic and enormous machinery
hurtling God knows where. He must discover again, within himself, a deeper
sense of responsibility toward the world,which means responsibility toward
something higher than himself."
--Vaclav Havel
Wednesday 30 May It is reaching the time when I no longer have the time to make entries in this Journal on time. As my days get longer and longer, the time I have to want to sit in front of the computer is correspondingly rapidly shrinking to zero. During the off season I somewhat successfully try to chronicle the daily goings on but eventually it becomes impossible for anyone to know even the half of what goes on around here. It just becomes too overwhelming a thing to try to boil down into a paragraph what can only truly be felt at full throttle with all senses wide open, and even at that you cannot experience the full essence of everythingness that happens---although I for one will always try most mightily to do so. Actually though, as I enter my forth cycle as the Caretaker, I realize just how acutely aware I am of the gigantic tsunami wave headed inevitably in my direction, coming to turn my world upside-down and inside-out for one endless turbulent instant before suddenly spitting me out again upon the shores the apocalyptic aftermath of a post-Fair world. Before I go though, I will absolutely have to give one final movie recommendation, one good for the whole entire family, but actually intellectually geared as much towards adults as anyone I think, taking on as it does Disney, professional wrestling, dating games, Kung-fu flicks, and numerous other genres to numerous to mention, and funny, funny, funny too---yes boys and girls I'm talking about SHREK****, a movie not to missed under any circumstances by kids of all ages. Highest recommendation. So adieu to you Fair readers, I will catch you on the other side at or about the beginning August.
Thursday 24 May "Slowly but surely" I have been chipping away the Energy Cart project, still hoping to have them all welded up before Main Camp starts heating up. Although mainly I have been on my own I did have the help of Steve Simmons all day yesterday---which was greatly appreciated. With four identical carts to build there is a lot of repetition and it helps efficency to mass produce each component of the job before moving on to the next. Steve W. has added the phrase "fundemental incrementalism" to my vocabulary, which is basically a fancy managerial way of saying to break a problem down into its smallest units in order to solve it. In Guatemala the saying is "poco a poco" which of course means "little by little". I have learned "bit by bit" that by simply focusing "one by one" on each and every little detail in the process is the only way to make sure any project comes out right. Tonight I finally got to see the long anticipated AMORES PERROS**** which is an extremely intense movie overwhelmingly rich in its vivid tapestry of gory details. Quite naturally it has been stylisticly compared (favorably) to both PULP FICTION and TRAFFIC, as like these two films it inter-weaves three different storylines, but where I feel this one is superior is in the depth of its characters and the thematic dissection of the sometimes violent underpinnings within our our society. Since 1994 there have been many attempts to recreate another Tarantinoesque feature but none has squarely hit the mark until now. An incredible debut from Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and anyone who appreciates a little ironic, hard edged, gritty realism in their cinema need look no further the local Bijou---where the best movies are always served up.
Tuesday 22 May Steve related an interesting story to me yesterday and although it is now basically third hand information, it still seems to bear retelling. Seems that Tom Alexander (old Board Member) was sought out after one of his hockey games by an opposing player who was also a real estate "developer" and who, as it turns out, was also the other party that had put in a bid on the Fuller property. He had contacted the Hendersons (chicken farm) about buying two acres from them as well. His plan was to subdivide the existing properties into three five acre lots and build more houses on the other two lots. He is supposedly to have said that he would have had the place logged off "before the ink was dry". He was pissed he couldn't cut the trees down and show the "environmentalists" of the Fair what they are really meant for, and he said he lost $100,000 by not being able to do the deal. So this comfirmed our very worst fears and we can be eternally grateful that the Board had the forsight and wisdom to move at what was (for them) light speed to prevent that from happening. Today was a scorcher, the kind of day normally found in July or August, and not in May. Nature is being mown down at an unbelievable rate and that is, together with the automobile, the biggest reason for these abnormal weather patterns. Dubya's opinion be danged, today one had only to walk a few feet from the sweltering heat of the fields into the cool shade of the forest to realize how true this is. So while it is quite literally only a drop in the bucket, at least we have put a few more acres out of the reach of the greedy chainsaw forever.
Sunday 20 May Festival season has opened with a bang this weekend with the Williamette Folk Festival in town and the Rhododendron Festival out in Florence and the weather was absolutely perfect. Traditionally it is a slow weekend out here during this time (with everybody off festing elsewhere) and so I was primed to go to Florence Saturday---but then reality interceded and I ended up having a busy day here instead. We got the garden all fenced and planted though and eventually I actually did get the consolation of getting to go in to see the Sugar Beats. This morning bright and early Ryan and Shane arrived on motorcycles and swept me out of here before reality even had a chance to dawn on me. I've had my bike almost a year now and never really been anywhere on it so this was it. Bay Street in old town Florence was lined on both sides from one end to the other with beautiful hogs. Never have I seen so many motorcycles in one place at one time in my one life. Afterwards we rode up the coast and over to the Benton County Fairgrounds in Corvallis to catch the end of the Antique Motorcycle Fair, again lots of great machines to look at and loads of motorcyclists on the roads everywhere we went. So a great fun memorable day, probably the last weekend I will be able to escape from the Site until after the Fair is well over, which is fine too since I really have fun doing that too---but all work and no play, as they say, makes Andyman a bull doy.
Thursday 17 May New storm clouds seem to be brewing over the controversy surrounding the resignation of Reverend Chumleigh from the Fair Family. I've have my own friendly ongoing battles with the status quo yet at least I have learned that immediate gratification is pretty much out of the question. The Fair as an organization is like a big ocean liner and it takes a lot time to change its speed or course. My take on this whole thing is that if Michael had waited until next year for the idea to take root, it would have been accepted. That ain't necessarily what people want to hear, but like it or not it is definitely the way things do get done around here. Over the time I have been here I have actually become a big fan of the logic of taking this slow and steady course. Nevertheless politically this may be becoming the time that the Board must begin to rethink the issue of tenures for all coordinators. Normally I try to keep politics out of this Journal and I have on occasion been shot down for doing so, but here I go again anyway. Board Members have to stand for re-election every two years and the employees at least have to go through an annual evaluation and are overseen monthly by the Personnel Committee. Coordinators, once appointed, can remain so for life if they want to, as some are apparently quite into doing. Now if they screw up bad enough they can be removed by the Board (that as we know is an entirely different story) but in a democratic society we should have the right to choose our own leaders. I have for many years advocated that all crews be given the chance to elect their own coordinators. Now I have heard the arguments such as 1.) institutional knowledge that would be lost and 2.) that a coordinator cannot make the best decisions if they have to constantly run a popularity contest. To the first point I would argue that it is actually a self defeating idea not to allow younger people the chance to acquire the skills now that we will surely need later on. To the second I would have to say that yes, that would certainly be true if we were fighting a war or something---but I think we are out here to basically have fun. To work hard to put the Fair on, yes certainly, but to be done throughout with our unique joie de vivre. Back when I was a young and eager volunteer I once came within a hare's breath of quitting the Fair too---just because of one action from one unreasonable coordinator. Some coordinators inspire us, others retire us, that is a reality which has gone on for too long in my opinion. Let's get a system into place which has more built-in flexibility and insures, in as much as is possible, that each and every person has the opportunity to at least expect to have an extrodinary experience each and every time they come out to the Fair.
Tuesday 15 May The big news around here is the rain, which is not really news of course. Nevertheless with well over an inch of rain recorded thus far it was enough to saturate the ground and bring the moisture level around here back to a more normal level, well appreciated by flora and flana alike, and us humans are breathing a temporary big sigh of relief. More than likely it is still going to be a long dry Summer though. While Nature did her good work outside it was a good time to put in some time on indoor projects such as welding the wheels for the four new energy carts---which was my entire day. The road must be trod, but it will be very hard. And neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon it. This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.--J.R.R. Tolkien (The Fellowship of the Ring)
Sunday 13 May Fairtime is now just around the corner. This means that I get to start training by packing a squalking brick on my hip and running in all four directions at once. The Fair has made an offer for the Fuller property and that has been accepted, so we have in effect added some very valuable and beautiful uplands to our land base. On Friday night June Harris, Registration Coordinator, brought a group of students from U of O Hillel out to celebrate Lag Ba'Omer with a bonfire. Since Shabbat is a time for rest and prayer, no fire building or tending is actually allowed for them, so I had the honor of being their fire tender. There was also a large memorial service on Saturday in Chela Mela this weekend which involved quite a number of last minute prepartions. Tragedy is an unfortunate part of Life and the Site of course remains an important place to reconnect with Family during such times. Meanwhile I continued to work with members of Kitchen at getting the fence built at the new garden so we can get it planted. Currently I am recieving high alcolades for my efforts--- they have obviously forgotten all the extra work they need to do to keep me such a happy little vegan during Main Camp. This may be the year that I complete my quest to eat every free meal offered up at Main Camp--- a worthy objective which I have failed to achieve during the past three years. Over the weekend a dumpload of potting soil was spread around the Labyrinth and this evening Steve, Arrow, and I planted out a mix of native wildflowers along the ridges.
Wednesday 9 May Monthly chores seem to roll back around rather quickly now. Water Quality Monitoring is no exception to this and today was our duplicate day besides. The top is off the Jeep for the Summer so whether riding two wheels or four I still can enjoy the open air. The past week has been incredibly nice, weather-wise, that is if you don't count the fact that May is turning into another below average rainfall month---with less than a third of normal month-to-date and in fact the same for year-to-date. Although the Figure 8 is as grassy as I have ever seen it, the ground beneath has already dried out substantially during the past week alone. Standing water in the woods and elsewhere is rapidly disappearing or has already done so. The upside to all that is that mosquitoes are practically non-existent, at least so far. We finally started the actual work today on the Monolith---in a way. We had to build a giant jig to cradle the Monolith in order to build it. In order to build that we first had to build another jig to build the jig. For something as apparently simple a shape as it is we have found our Monolith to be surprisingly complex one to construct. Every problem solved seemingly creates another one in its place. Thomas Drew has now come on board to help us on the project and we are certainly glad to have another person to tear our hair out with---and he has a lot of it to spare.
Tuesday 8 May Yesterday I spent the morning mechanicing, including annual maintenance of the Wheeled Weed Wacker. The Site in some ways is at its peak right now and from now on only comes an increasing succession of clippings, trimmings, and trampling in preparation for the Faire in July---which is of course different sort of peak altogether. At any rate we mowed the Labyrinth in preparation for planting native wildflowers there this weekend. Then it was off to the Executive and Board meetings which I for one am always glad to have over with in the beginning of each month. The major Site related event was the passage of Jack's three year phase in of SOP passes from fifty to seventy-five percent. While it can be argued that this helps accommodate the needs of our ever growing Fair Family, in my mind it also translates directly into lots more of those leftover little clearings throughout the woods. As Caretaker it is hard to stay disattached from this fact of life. The Kitchen has been building a big garden space down at Zenn Acres and I am more or less seeing to the fence it will need to keep out the deer. Today Anna was here to help me knock out the Gates and while she was here Ed Moye called and invited us to go sailing. Fern Ridge Reservoir is so low that we had to scramble over the rip-rap to get to his catamaran, the only boat at the Richardson Point marina at this time. From there it was necessary to basically push the boat out through the low water, stumps, and muck to get to deeper water. While the predicted twenty mph winds never materialized it was fun nevertheless to be practically the only boat in the entire lake. During the Summer the reservoir normally loses about eight inches per month and this year may be even more than that considering how low it already is and the demands for irrigation downstream---there probably won't be anything left of it come Autumn.
Sunday 6 May Days are getting longer and that seems to mean that I am too exhasted by the time I should be making an entry here in the old online journal. This weekend was major burst of energy out here on the Site. Bill Verner rode his new bike down on Thursday and I rode in to Eugene with him for the the staff meeting in the office Friday. Saturday was the Spring Fling and there were a lot of folks out and about here before and of course all the old familiar faces popping out of the woodwork. It is an interesting blend for me to be at the WOW Hall, where I worked four and a half years as an employee, and to be with an Oregon Country Fair event, where I have worked for three. Sort of deja vue only in a weird kind of way. Today was the first day of the completely normal complete chaos out here on Site. The VegManECs decided to pull all the hay bails and sandbags using carts only. I commend their decision. Although it is basically counter-intuitive in the modern world, what really matters in when all is said and done is not what is done, and not how it is said, but how it is done. Sauna, Energy Park, Kitchen Crew. Many cars. Amid the festivities tragedy struck when a dog killed Fisher, one of our two site cats. She was old and fiesty and would stand up to anything and on this day that attitude cost her dearly--- but she went down fighting, which was her way. The Queen is Dead. Long Live the Queen.
Wednesday 2 May Working nights in here on all my little projects over the past week or so had created quite a rat's nest. A lot of the dregs were spread out all over the floor. Even the little rug rats from the Sauna had peeked in at my pig sty and commented that I needed a maid. This was the last straw. There had to be a better way. I eyed the spare bedroom that I have pack ratted for the last three years and decided it was high time to turn it into a workshop. It is surprising that it has taken me so long to figure out that that could actually be a usable space. Everyone will be gratified to know that I can attack my own piles of accumulations with the same gleeful big bad wolf ruthless zeal that I generally reserve for other people's leftover dimensional wood. At first it was nearly impossible to get into the door until at least ten boxes filled with old magazines and cataloges was recycled. Other boxes of goods will be taken to Goodwill. Craig, coming out to meet me for our weekly brainstorming session, caught me in the middle of it all and scored some of the good stuff. It is going to be a great thing though. It is going to be just like having a brand new addition built onto the Yurt---for free and without taking up a single camping space!
Tuesday 1 May Holy Delphiniums Batman, it is May already! Sauna Crew was out during the past weekend and they pulled out their 7000 pound hot water container using a giant crane. Tanya mentioned to me that there was only ten little weekends until the Fair and they already feel the time crunch. Putting it that way we are too---only we just don't know it yet. May Day is an ancient Pagan Ritual that is enjoying a recent revival. I was over at my Veneta neighbor's house, Penny and Dave Peek for dinner. Switching the months on the Journal is a bit of extra work so that is it for today. It's off to bed.
