Solstice

[defixione]

Just bring 'em with you.

[japhy]

i was curious, so googled el centro

the first image that comes up is drive-in, which looks cool as shit…all sorts of nostalgic

The Frontier Drive In is going to be cool as shit when it is completed.

We are building complimentary facilities and trying to provide a way for the locals to benefit from what is coming.

It is a dirt poor place in economic terms but there is a rich culture in the community. Blending nostalgia with a hopeful future is going to be a challenge. I think we have good people in positions where they will keep it balanced. But change is almost always fought by some faction who thinks they are at risk of losing something.

We are still in the honeymoon period.

Something as simple as taking the paper down that has been covering up a storefront for 25 years and just letting people see the lights on inside can cause traffic to stop.

There will be fun for kids of all ages, so bringing children is not a bad thing. But getting away from the kids for awhile is not a bad thing for parents either. You can stay later at the afterparty.

[japhy]

FUUUCK! DAMN! SHIT! FUCK!

I just heard from a friend in Antonito, Cano Espinosa's home burned last night. It is right next to his towers and is his workshop/studio as well as his home. The Towers are still in place. I asked Ron if Cano needed any help figuring out how to rebuild, was he going to rebuild? was there anything to rebuild?

Ron's response was "He already started building back! He is at it today! I think he is a licensed engineer!"

Ha! Of course, I forgot, Cano was given a mission directly by God and so he can not be stopped.

If you come to Solstice you should definitely drive down to Antonito and visit Cano. If you catch him working there is a good chance he will stop and talk to you. If you have ever stopped at the Garden of Eden in Lucas KS, imagine meeting and talking to S P Dinsmoor. It would be kinda like that. The guy is a legendary character.

[pdub]

Either my senior year in high school or freshman year in college three of my buddies and I drove to Lucas from Lawrence, hot boxing the car along the way.

The Garden of Eden was insanity.

[japhy]

Dinsmoor's second wife, Emma Runkles was a dental patient of my dad. My dad was a friend of her son Rodney, who spent part of his childhood living in the Garden of Eden. Rodney said it was the greatest home a kid could ever ask for.

The only thing more interesting than seeing something that mind boggling, is getting to meet the mind responsible for it. Cano is always happy to talk about his visions and what he is going to do next. He is always adding to the built narrative. But he is getting old and it is good to spend time with these characters while you can.

I got to meet Buck O'Neil a couple of times, and three times took the tour of the Negro League Museum with him as the tour guide. It was the best way to see the place. You could hear the stories of the people enshrined there from one of their peers, someone who knew them well. No one will ever see it that way again.

[KUTradition]

that Buck O’Neil story might be your best, Japhy

[japhy]

A lot of people who went to the Negro League Museum on Saturdays got that treat. Those who missed it missed one of the best things in KC.

If you come to Solstice I will show you Satchel Page's death bed. It is in the Spud Lounge, it was going to the metal recycling yard but I got the demolition Contractor to let me have it instead.

[jhawks99]

Dinsmoor's second wife, Emma Runkles was a dental patient of my dad. My dad was a friend of her son Rodney, who spent part of his childhood living in the Garden of Eden. Rodney said it was the greatest home a kid could ever ask for.

The only thing more interesting than seeing something that mind boggling, is getting to meet the mind responsible for it. Cano is always happy to talk about his visions and what he is going to do next. He is always adding to the built narrative. But he is getting old and it is good to spend time with these characters while you can.

I got to meet Buck O'Neil a couple of times, and three times took the tour of the Negro League Museum with him as the tour guide. It was the best way to see the place. You could hear the stories of the people enshrined there from one of their peers, someone who knew them well. No one will ever see it that way again.

My daughter got a tour with Buck with the rest of her class. She still talks about it.

[japhy]

My daughter got a tour with Buck with the rest of her class. She still talks about it.

I was recruiting a potential employee several years back. A woman of color, graduating MIT with her PHD in Structural Eng, she was from NC so getting her to move to KC was going to be trick. I took her to the museum on a day Buck was giving the tours. She fell in love with the guy. At the end of tour she bought a Buck O'Neill jersey for her younger brother and Buck signed it for her. I told him we were trying to convince her to move to KC. He spent another 30 minutes talking to her about Kansas City, the place the people and just charmed the hell out of her. She was mesmerized.

His charm effect only lasted so long. A week after she got back East she told us she was taking a job closer to home but she did thank me for introducing her to Buck and what a great experience it was. I almost thought she would move to KC just so that she could visit Buck every Saturday.

I took my youngest daughter to the museum one Saturday so she could meet Buck. She was fascinated by him. He always made a point of connecting with every young person on the tour.

[japhy]

Good news on Cano's plight. Money poured in yesterday and the community is rallying to help him rebuild. I heard he is in very good spirit's now and the project is moving forward.

[Overlander]

Socialism saves the day!

[TDub]

neighbors helping neighbors isnt socialism

[japhy]

There is a lack of resources in the valley. Nothing goes to waste and if people have left overs they tend to share them with anyone who has a need or asks. There is an interesting facebook page called Sagtowners. People post on there that they are looking for something and what they need. And within a short period of time someone else posts that they have what is needed, they aren't using it any more, and if you want to come over you can have it. It isn't communal property so much as a sense of community and a shared responsibility to help the members. And a faith that others will help them if needed. It is a culture that is completely foreign to me. I admire it. We are trying to assimilate. They are kind of suspicious of newcomers but most are willing to give us a chance.

In the first 24 hours, $4000 was raised for Cano. I suspect there have been donations of building materials as well.

[TDub]

yea thats a good thing, and something I think should be more prevalent in society. But, its not socialism.

[Overlander]

yea thats a good thing, and something I think should be more prevalent in society. But, its not socialism.

It’s not?

[Deleted User 863]

No. It's not.

so·cial·ism
/ˈsōSHəˌlizəm/

a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

(in Marxist theory) a transitional social state between the overthrow of capitalism and the realization of Communism.

[Overlander]

I knew I could count on you to to come running in Illannoy.

Is Tdub ok?

[TDub]

I'm just fine. thanks for asking.

[japhy]

It is really about community. In a place where supply of resources from outside your region is not reliable you tend to rely on each other. They are isolated in both geography and technology. Each small town has it's own dominant culture that seems to be the source of the sense of community and a belief in helping their neighbors. Political ideology varies widely. It is not uncommon for hard left and hard right individuals to be working together for a common goal. They don't seem to really talk about politics amongst themselves because it would probably be a strain on the sense of community. They talk to us outsiders a bit about politics just to find out more about us and then let it drop.

There is Saguache which is a hippie enclave that intermingles with an old time anglo agricultural/ranching culture. There is Crestone that is a mix of buddhists and crystal hugging woo woo spiritualism. There is Antonito and San Luis that are a mestizo culture that speaks their own centuries old version of Spanish. There is Center which is a hispanic culture sprung from the United Farmworkers strikes in the 1970's. There are small towns that wouldn't seem out of place in the midwest like Monte Vista and Del Norte. The list goes on.

In KC I see this sense of community mostly associated with sports. We all come together to celebrate a Chiefs or Royals or KU success but that is about it. But at least we have that.

[Overlander]

The Valley is definitely unique, and amazing.

Some of the nicest people I have met.