Wednesday, April 18, 2012

What's up with all these trees......



You know the saying that sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees. This is sort of what this whole experience has been like in making a TV show.

When you are actually making it you are focused on the day to day. You have be here at this time and you have to say this or that. You have to hit this beat and mention this point and you have to bring out these facts. Hurry up we have to film this before we run out of light. Hurry up we have to finish before the crew gets overtime. Hurry Up. HURRRRRRRYYYY UUUUUUPPPPPP!!!!!!!!

But you have to take some time to get back to the basics. What story do we want to tell? How do we want to tell it? What's the tone of the show? Informational? Funny? Family oriented? Business oriented? You need to have a plan or at least an outline and stick to it if you want to grow a big beautiful forest.

The show looks great and is very informational and has a lot of heart. People are going to love Lisa. They kind of cut everything else out so we basically have "The Dress Boss." I think people will like it and enjoy the transformations of the women and the fun they are having in the store.

Today is an interview day and we have to bring the joy.

105 comments:

windbag said...

There seems to be something out of joint for a reality show to coach people on how to project themselves. These people didn't need any coaching in their attempts to address your question, "What's up with all these trees....."

Trooper York said...

The thing is they don't want you to be yourself. They want you to be who they percieve you to be. So if you're a swamp guy you never read a book. Just because a guy is an ice road trucker doesn't mean he doesn't read or like classical music or whatever. People are not all of a piece.

Well some people are all of a piece. Like Snooki. She is all of a piece of shit.

But the rest of us contain multitudes.

The Dude said...

Watched an episode of Justified yesterday. Raylan was standing on a porch in some "holler" in "Kentucky" with a pepper tree behind him. Nothing says Appalachian forest better than a Schinus molle. Yep, reality ain't even real in fiction.

chickelit said...

Wafting through every forest are invisible clouds of natural products called terpenes. Terpenes are building blocks for all sorts of things (cf. turpentine) but they also seed clouds

Are there any gas clouds circulating through your forest?

Trooper York said...

Well Justified is an example of what I am talking about. They really push it when they show rural people. Just like they do when they show urban Italians. I mean some of it is true but they have to push it as much as they can.

Trooper York said...

Although there are some great characters in "Justified."

Madge Bennett. Dickie Bennett. Loretta. Eva. Dewey Crowe.

This season was a little too over the top though.

Neil McDonough or whatever his name really is can not be on TV because he is just too freaky looking and he always plays a psycho. It is too over the top.

The Dude said...

Hey, Neal McDonough can't help it if he looks like a son of the fatherland, just sayin'...

Trooper York said...

But he is so over the top.

In the 1960's it was the same deal when Bruce Dern showed up on a Western. You knew he was a freaking lunatic.

I mean after all he was married to Jane Fonda in "Coming Home."

At least he had the decency to kill himself.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

LOL @ Sixty

See. That's your problem. When Raylan was on the screen....I don't SEE the trees. /wink.

I still think a murder mystery show about a reality show where the subjects (Troop and Lisa) snap under the pressure to be so freaking unreal that they go off the deep end and kill some of the Hollywood types would be a hit. Make some of the Hollywood people really vicious so we can cheer. Like in Dexter. We root for the bad guy even though we know we shouldn't.

Maybe that's why we all love Raylan (besides the eye candy effect for us girls and maybe Titus) and even Boyd Crowder. He is a bad boy but he means well and has a very defined sense of morality.

Vicarious thrills. Payback for pushing people around.

:-D

ndspinelli said...

When attorneys would try and tell me how to do my job I would simply say, I would never have the temerity to tell you how to write a brief or conduct a deposition. I let them know if I was going to fail, I would fail doing it the way I believe to be correct, not their way. It took years for that to be established w/o knashing of teeth. In this new show biz world, you're seeing just had difficult this righteous philosophy can be.

Anonymous said...

Maybe in the second season, things will change a bit back to what you had envisioned. At an rate you and Lisa have accomplished more than many folks, be proud!

Darcy said...

I love that Sixty is liking Justified! Despite the location glitches. ;-)

Maggs Bennett was so bad she was good. I miss her. I did like the season ender re Neal McDonough's character, but yeah, over the top.

Did you know that he will not kiss another woman onscreen? He won't do love scenes. (This season of Justified probably tested that line for him, come to think of it.) He takes his vows to his wife that seriously, and I remember that every time I watch him in something, even if over the top.

Darcy said...

Still really looking forward to watching the LeeLee show!

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

Leave the joy, bring the attitude.

chickelit said...

I have "Justified" season 1, queued up on Netflix.

chickelit said...

@DBQ: I scarcely notice arboreality either. It might take a palm-tree-in-Wisconsin faux pas for me to notice.

Darcy said...

Hehe. I love your play with words, chick. :)

So Sixty is an stickler for arboreality?

Dust Bunny Queen said...

@ Chick LOL

Darcy, that was an interesting bit of information about McDonough.

He must have been really pushing the envelope of his moral code in this season of Justified. His character was just so twisted!

chickelit said...

Darcy said...
So Sixty is an stickler for arboreality?

I don't want to poke him or upset him but yeah, in films. I think he expressed that quite clearly here recently. His knowledge of trees is actually quite impressive.

Darcy said...

Why would he be upset about being an arboreal genius?? ;-)

***Justifed Season 3 spoiler alert***

And DBQ: Yeah!! I guess he doesn't have a problem with nudity. But(t)! (Oh, I'm bad.) He wasn't shown actually doing anything to the victims of his warped stuff. That might have made it more creepy in some ways.

*sigh* I miss Raylan already...

chickelit said...

Haven't we teased Sixty about being a stickler in the past?

OT, but I just spoke with the taxidermist. He wanted to know which pose I wanted my son's deer to be. Did you know that the secret is these forms?

chickelit said...

Darcy said...
Why would he be upset about being an arboreal genius??

I bet if you called him an arboreal genus he'd be plenty upset.

Darcy said...

Well, that's over my head, but I shan't, nonetheless.

blake said...

It's good to look up occasionally to see how far you've come.

MamaM said...

...and we have to bring the joy.

Joy is illusive; bring yourselves! Be as clear, confident and centered as you can both manage to be amid the distortions and hurry-up pushing from the outside. Truly another reality is being played out under the surface of the one being constructed and lived through. Who knows what doors will be opened or where this will lead? For you and for those participating, watching, and forming responses. Success has many faces and wears an ever changing variety of outfits.

To those with eyes to see, the bio affirms solidity and integrity beyond whatever characters those in charge have chosen to create or portray for the show. Who you are, douche and all, has been revealed many times over in:

-a neighborhood where an entire lifetime of daily interactions have taken place.
-an accounting business where 35 years of responsibility and integrity were key.
-a marriage and business partnership where commitment, respect and mutual relationship count.
-a faith community where Higher Power is acknowledged
-a store where vision, quality and service are mandatory.
-a blog where humor, story and perspectives are trotted out and tested under the Big Top.

It's enough.

chickelit said...

blake said...
It's good to look up occasionally to see how far you've come.

I chatted about that too with the taxidermist. Because the head will be going way up high on the wall over a doorway, I wanted to know which pose would look best from below.

He knew that pose. :)

chickelit said...

Well written, MamaM!

Chip S. said...

Not only does MamaM win the thread with that comment, she wins the entire blog.

At least for the day.

Chick, I've also started watching Justified via netflix, on the recommendation of TY the person and the commentariat. They know what they're talkin' about.

ndspinelli said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ndspinelli said...

Mama "Gandhi" M!

Dust Bunny Queen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AllenS said...

I like a nice tree. If you need a wooden leg, well, there you go.

The Dude said...

chickenlittle wrote... "I bet if you called him an arboreal genus he'd be plenty upset."

Or, laugh out loud, which is what I did.

That's why we like the Royal Chicken hereabouts - he brings the science. Puts the humor in humerus as it were.

Understanding from where a sculpture will be viewed is crucial to properly designing said sculpture. A lot of what we consider the classic Greek profile was developed to compensate for foreshortening when portraits were viewed from below. A wee little bitty button nose would not "read" properly from below. Gotta have a big ol' honker on there.

But that was idealized human portraiture, not taxidermy.

Speaking of taxidermy, my son messaged me today "Do you know a good tax attorney?" My response "No, but I'll visit you in prison." That's not true, I wouldn't really visit him - just trying to make him feel better.

Those of you who know would get that my name IRL is more pastoral than arboreal. But that doesn't stop me from being a stickler for arboreality. Branching out into new areas, not being stumped by what has come before, having a bark that is worse than my bite.

Speaking of bite, do you suppose Bo is getting a bit nervous?

So Darce, tell me why you miss Maggs.

And for the record, when Raylan is on screen with his metrosexual attempt at beard growing I am darned sure going to notice what kind of trees he's in front of, just sayin'...

ndspinelli said...

Sixty is obtuse. Not my style, but to each their own.

The Dude said...

Some people find me acute.

Anonymous said...

Sixty, just don't get infested with the ash borer. I got two trees in my front yard inoculated, I'd be happy to fix you up.

The Dude said...

Emerald ash borer will spread until ash trees are gone, apparently. I have worked with local Carolina ash and pumpkin ash, and when people ask, I say that my products came from a big ash tree.

Darcy said...

Acute and adorbs.

And I didn't like Maggs. But she was such a complex villlainess that she entertained me enormously. She also touched my heart a couple of times unexpectedly.

Her son Dickie, not so much, but there a lot of things to enjoys about that character too.

Metrosexual? Raylan? Not!

Darcy said...

Grr. Enjoy. I'm on my iPad so i won't delete over a stupid typo.

The Dude said...

LOL! I enjoys dem hill folks too, jes don' understand why you speakin' of Maggs in the past tense.

Actually, I do - my brother mentioned that to me a couple of months ago. He needs to improve his spoiler alerts.

chickelit said...

Do ash borers leave behind ash holes?

chickelit said...

Woah! When did the Darcy upgrade to an iPad? Stylin'!

Anonymous said...

Well some can bore you a new ash hole.

ricpic said...

The southern pine, otherwise known as the loblolly pine...well, that's all I know but I like loblolly, the way it rolls around in your mouth.

In the pines, in the pines,
Where the sun never shines
And you shiver when the cold wind blows.

Great great lyrics. But even better is this less well known part of the song:

The longest train I ever saw
Went down that Georgia line,
The engine passed at six o'clock
And the cab passed by at nine.

Ah, lonesome.

The Dude said...

This is my favorite version:

Seldom Scene, John Duffy on mandolin.

Titus said...

I don't watch tv at all and heard that there are so many great shows.

I am curious, on average how much tv do you guys watch a week?

Not to be judge judy or anything.

tits.

Anonymous said...

Nice! That guy Muddyshag has some really great music on is YouTube page.

chickelit said...

Usually just Mad Men on Sundays. Also, 1 or 2 Netflix movies. I did catch one Discovery Channel program on the Titanic. My family teases me because I can barely use the remote and I am never in charge of the remote. They watch much more than I do.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Dude said...

Rider

Titus said...

I watch Dancing With The Stars. When I in Wisconsin for a year I would go over to their house and we would watch it and give scores like the judges-isn't that sweet?

Otherwise, I don't watch anything else.

I watched Portlandia and if there is a new South Park and Family Guy. So I guess I probably do about 2 hours a week.

Sometimes I watch PBS when they do nature shows or specials. I loved the Amish one. I know totally commie.

I could never watch any talking head from the left or right-completely awful.

I watch about 7 minutes of porno on my computer once a week.

Why can't we eat clams and crabs that are still living and washed up on the beach? If we could, the spics would be all over collecting them but they are not.

There are so many crab shells with the crab gone that the seagulls have eaten and I am a little sad for the crab.

Have I told you I love the ocean?

Chick, you live in California right? I think. Don't you love the ocean?

I generally don't know where any of you live actually.

tits.

windbag said...

Zero television. Occasional movies. We got Schindler's List in the mail from Netflix about three weeks ago, but haven't watched it yet. Hell, we just got around to eating our St. Patrick's Day corned beef last Friday night (I think...one night last week anyway).

I did shoot the neighbor's dog the other night. In the face. Way more fun than television.

The Dude said...

Yeah, but did you eat it?

Titus said...

When I see millions of empty shells all over the beach I think to myself....what happened to whatever was living in it. And does something always live in all of them or are some of them just a lifeless shell?

Do they all get eaten by gulls?

sponge, jelly fish and tits.

ricpic said...

I don't own a TV, Titus. Occasionally I get a TV fix by going on Hulu. A little goes a long way. The problem is that everything has become increasingly hopped up. Movies as well. There seems to be a terror of boring the audience. So everyone's hyper. Not relaxed. Not subtle. Kills drama and comedy even moreso.

The reason I live in upstate NY is they don't allow spics on the beach up here.

Titus said...

What are your thoughts on Lobster Foam?

I say pretentious.

tits.

windbag said...

No, I only used a pellet gun. He was charging me and darting away while I was cleaning up the remains of a Bradford pear tree that I felled a couple of weeks ago. I just sauntered into the house, got the gun, stood back in the living room to muffle the sound and shot him through the open front door. He yelped and ran home. The neighbors left about three minutes later. I waved and smiled real big as they went by, and went on cleaning up the tree.

Stupid dog.

The Dude said...

I was walking my dogs the other day and an aggressive loose 65 pound dog that looked like a Pitbull mix chased us home. It was unpleasant, to say the least. Neither of my dogs got bitten, neither was I, but now I carry a stick with me.

I don't want to harm a dog, in any case, but I will defend mine and myself.

The smallest firearm I have is a .22 caliber pistol, but using a firearm in a neighborhood is not a good idea - ricochet, through and through, hitting the wrong dog - the usual issues are all contraindications. But I can at least poke a dog with my shillelagh.

Yeah, run with it, bitches!

Chip S. said...

What are your thoughts on Lobster Foam?

I say pretentious.


It'd be pretentious to answer this question.

Hell, it's pretentious to ask it.

Titus said...

I am convinced the spics are taking over. Most, if not all, of my Boston friends are Italians that came from working class suburbs of Boston. Everett, Revere, Chelsea, Malden, and Medford. They still live in these communities, on a floor in their parents house, natch.

Those towns now look like the UN. The italians have fled. What used to be 70% of the population along with jews and polish is now spic.

They do keep the catholic churches pews full though and for that the church is very grateful.

And no one, I mean no one, speaks English.

My friends and I bitch to each other all the time. Sure some of them are hot to do but there needs to be a fucking limit.

And where did all the fucking Russians come from?

And the spics multiply like rabbits and have 5 families living in a first floor of a triple decker. And every fucking female is preggers while one is in the carriage and 3 or 4 are walking beside her and the skinny skizzy husband.

I sound like Archie Bunker....but a gay one.

Totally sad.

OK, I am done.

The country is fucked.

tits.

Titus said...

I have never had lobster foam. I just saw it on the Food Network and thought...what the fuck is that?

tits.

I am actually not pretentious at all. Hello, I can't be. I am from Wisconsin.

tits.

Titus said...

One last thing, none of these spics get elected to anything in these towns. Yes, they are the majority and likely illegal but they have no representation. Probably the illegal thing has something to do with this, but hello, this is Mass.

Do you all know we are the most urban state in the U.S? Also best hospitals, universities, medical research and cures and biotechnology in the world? For that I am grateful. And highest income and educated, by degree state in the country? So you take the good with the bad..that's the facts of life.

We never suffered the housing bust either. Real Estate prices and rentals are through the roof.

The Italians, thank God, still run these towns.

Have a great night.

tits.

Lastly, I went to a restaurant tonight in Revere called Nicks and the owner who is like 28 was yelling at the all the spics and saying you fucking idiot and shit like that to them. I love that about Mass. Most other states are too fucking polite and chances are you would not hear that.

Chip S. said...

I always thought lobster foam was the gunk that floats on the top of the water in a pot of boiling lobsters.

chickelit said...

Titus said...
When I see millions of empty shells all over the beach I think to myself...

I think...natural carbonic acid buffer which ensures that the oceans will never acidify.

Chip S. said...

I think, I wish I weren't barefoot.

windbag said...

FWIW, race means nothing. Culture and environment are crucial. I ran a restaurant in Charlotte, NC back in the early 80s. I'd hire a black kid any day of the week over a white kid. Chances were, the white kid's dad kicked his ass and told him to go get a job. He didn't want a job, he wanted to sit on the couch and play Nintendo. A black kid who was looking for a job was trying to climb out of the inner city shit hole, and was motivated to work his ass off.

Nowadays, I get a fair amount of Hispanics in my popsicle stand. I've never had a complaint from one...ever. They understand that eating out is a luxury and they are prepared to pay for whatever they order.

It's the 60-70 year old, entitlement-minded crowd that bitches about having to pay for extra this or that. My ex-partner's brother called them "FOPS." Fucking Old People.

Again, FWIW, people are people. I'm not saying all old people, all black kids, all white kids, and all Hispanics are the way I just portrayed them. I'm just citing my limited, unscientific experience.

All hippies smell, though. That IS true...every time.

ndspinelli said...

windbag, I agree, however the qualifier "generally" covers what you said @ the end more succintly.

When I went back to college in 1999 to get my teaching certification I had an 80 year old professor who taught ecology. Great guy, an enviromentalist but not a whacko..w/ age "generally" comes some wisdom. He would once in awhile complain about the narcissism of his age group. He said, "We were the Greatest Generation" until the 70's, we've turned selfish since then. Albert Brooks book 2030 covers this well.

chickelit said...

Today is an interview day and we have to bring the joy.

So, did everyone jump for Joy yesterday or did she get out unscathed?

chickelit said...

Chick, you live in California right? I think. Don't you love the ocean?

Very much so. Especially at night. Sunsets and bonfires, weinie roasts and adult beverage toasts.

MamaM said...

So, did everyone jump for Joy yesterday or did she get out unscathed?

Untrammeled is the broader question.

Fun word, untrammeled, from trammel. Fits my experience of trawlers and trollers, Russian and otherwise, three layers of mesh, full of holes but strong and effective. A dickens to mend, requiring constant vigilance and daily upkeep.

The "bind up a corpse", hinder and restrain part goes back a ways too.

Chip S. said...

The baseball Hall of Fame remains
unTrammelled
, and Tiggy's probably none too happy about that.

AllenS said...

They say that during sex you burn off as many calories as running 8 miles.

Who the hell runs 8 miles in 45 seconds?

chickelit said...

Nothing escapes your retinal acuity does it MamaM?

chickelit said...

Where you ever on "Deadliest Catch" MamaM?

Anonymous said...

Wam bam thankyou ma'am?

MamaM said...

Where you ever on "Deadliest Catch" MamaM?

Not a big fan of fishing Cl, but enjoy swimming in fresh or salty water.

Titus said...

I just pinched a garlic loaf.

Whenever I eat garlic my loaves are explosive and particularly stinky.

tits.

chickelit said...

Garlic loaves should ward off vampires and other suckers of bodily fluids, Titus.

Michael Haz said...

Deadliest Catch was about fishing?

Crap. I thought it was a medical show.

Titus said...

The beach makes the rare clumber pinch enormous loaves.

So does the woods.

In the city they are just average loaves of poo but get him on a beach or forest and it is loaf city.

My Indian, UK husband with huge arms, says those environment's may be natural laxatives.

I don't know about that though.

Do you all know that I always notice if male dogs are not fixed? And when I see them coming toward me with their owners I am generally correct 9 out of 10 times.

After we pass I turn around and sure enough big balls bouncing on the dog. I don't care for people, especially in the city, that don't get their dogs fixed.

I want to yell get them fixed irresponsible owner but I don't want them to pull out a gun. So I just take a deep breath.

tits.

chickelit said...

Do Indians eat dog Titus? I could see the word "cur" in curry.

The Dude said...

I can see dog in the curmander in chief.

Titus said...

Did you all know that my previous dog before the rare clumber was the rare basenji.

The basenji is the bark-less dog. Almost feline like. They do not shed. They look like a fox and have a wrinkled forehead and are incredibly assertive.

I purchased her from a renowned breeder in Lebanon New Hampshire named Deborah Harry-not kidding.

They are completely different than the rare clumber. They are incredibly active, can't be taken off a leash and are fucking fast. In a pack they could bring down a zebra in their homeland. Similar to the Boston Marathon Kenyan runners.

tits.

The Dude said...

Is Obama an Eagles fan?

chickelit said...

I think he favors whoever Michael Vick played for.

chickelit said...

I purchased her from a renowned breeder in Lebanon New Hampshire named Deborah Harry-not kidding.

I should have named her Blondi.

That should end the thread.

chickelit said...

"You" not "I"

lol I'm Titicus!

Titus said...

My husband's a vege.

Indian's don't eat dogs and about 90% of them are veges. Although, in India, they are not nearly as many dog owners. Most of the dogs are on the street. My neighbor, here, who is a fabulous Yoga instructor from Bogota, actually adopted a dog from India. It's name is Itly which means something in India.

The only words in Indy I know are ticke ticke.

I am willing to give a 10 year old some slack though but not some 40 year old chick, big difference. Romney did just name a big fag to the head of his foreign policy though. I actually don't mind Santorum or Palin or Gingrich because they seem sincere and have deeply held beliefs-I respect that. Enough politics.

Midnight Express is on! I would be open to be in a Turkish Prison-but just for like 1 hour.

tits.

Titus said...

Lebanon NH is right next to Durham.

Do you all that Dartmouth is very different than any of the other Ivy League schools?

Do you all know the differences?

ndspinelli said...

Titus, In reality you would not to be in a Turkish prison for 2 minutes. But, I get the hyperbolic humor.

windbag said...

Michael, I went back to an old post of yours today. RIP, Levon.

Chip S. said...

One thing I do know, Titus, is that Durham NH is a couple of hours from Lebanon. Other things I know include:

Dartmouth is the only Ivy that calls itself a college rather than a university.

Brown is the only Ivy named after the color of pinched loaves.

Cornell and Penn are just a couple of state u's with 'tude.

Princeton is full of pompous douchebags, even by Ivy League standards.

Columbia gave Barack Obama an undergraduate degree.

Yale just plain sucks.

chickelit said...

You can tell Titus is a Harvard man but you can't tell him much.

Chip S. said...

Damn. I knew I was forgetting a school.

TTBurnett said...

Durham, NH is over near Portsmouth and the seashore, not far from York, ME and the Ogunquit area we were talking about on another thread. I don't know if it's two hours, but it's a haul from Lebanon. Titus may be mixing it up with someplace else, such as Hanover, NH.

When driving to New Hampshire, it's required by law (at least it looks that way) to stop at a conveniently-located State Liquor Store near any toll booth. You can load up on cheap booze, but don't let the Massachusetts State Trooper taking down license plate numbers intimidate you. You'll just hear from the Mass Dept. of Revenue about the sales tax you've been trying to dodge up there in Live-Free-Or-Die Land.

When heading to Lebanon, the things to visit are Woodstock, VT (touristy, but we have a soft spot), the American Precision Museum in Windsor, VT, Augustus St. Gaudens' house and studio in Cornish, NH, and maybe the chapel at Dartmouth if you have time. There's also the Simon Pearce glassmaking operation and restaurant in White River Junction (the nearby Quechee Gorge is not to be missed), and you can get great cheese at the Sugarbush Farm, seriously up some rutted mountain road near Woodstock. I hope it wasn't washed out in the floods last year.

Actually, a trip out the Mass Pike to 91 heading to Brattleboro, and then a leisurely drive up the Connecticut River Valley on local roads to Lebanon/Hanover is a great thing to do, especially in fall. It's beautiful, historic, and there are all sorts of odd and quirky things to see and explore.

Anyway, enough of Tim's remarkably tit-free New England tourist tips.

ricpic said...

There's like, what? six miles of New Hampshire between Mass and Maine and they charge you what? three bucks for that stretch? Bastids.

ndspinelli said...

Molly Stark Trail Bennington to Brattleboro. Beautiful.

I have an uncle who lives in West Rutland, Vt. The area attracted European[mostly Polish]miners to work in the marble quarry. It is beautiful white marble. The local grade school, where my aunt taught 2nd grade, was built back in the 1930's out of white marble donated by the mine comapany. Quite incongruous seeing a marble school in a blue collar town. The quarry is closed and one is filled w/ water. As kids we would swim in that quarry. Even in the dead of summer that white marble cooled water would shrink your nuts up into your throat. There is still a part where marble can be taken and an artist community has grown in recent years, using the marble for sculptures.

I guess we are just talking amongst ourselves while Trooper gives head...shots I mean.

Michael Haz said...

Windbag - Thanks. I saw your comment last night. Much apprecaited that you even remembered that I wrote about Levon Helm.

Spent too much time today listening to this. Maybe because I'm a rider... the appeal seems timeless.

RIP Levon.

Titus said...

Tim is right. I meant Hanover.

Durnham is UandH.

sorry.

Please forgive.

tits.

The Dude said...

Had to go all Monk here.

TTBurnett said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TTBurnett said...

nd is referring to Proctor, VT, home of the marble quarry where stone for, among other famous things, the U.S. Supreme Court was taken. It's basically a scruffy mill town set in a dark and very green valley. But, as nd says, the town business was marble, so almost every public building is built of beautiful white marble. I love the marble bank building in the little downtown, and, yes, the little marble school.

You used to be able to visit the stone cutting operation, and, in fact, they had a tourist-oriented showroom with all kinds of marble geegaws—salt & pepper shakers, paperweights, cheese boards, lampstands, etc.—mostly made on site.

There was also a stone yard where you could buy for larger projects—curbstones, architectural pieces, tombstone blanks, slabs for inlays, etc. A couple of times I bought pieces for projects I never seem to have gotten done, including a nice slab of green tavertine ("Denby marble" locally) for a tabletop.

One visit on a cold, dank day in October, the guy who ran the yard was in the office shed, talking to his assistant. The guy in charge was dressed in khaki overalls and a padded, khaki baseball cap, looking like he'd been there since 1957. He had a week's grizzled stubble on his face, the end of a cigar in his mouth, and the now-scarce, thick upcountry accent. His helper was a skinny, sallow kid with long, greasy dirty blond hair. He had several teeth missing and couldn't have been more than 19. He also had the accent.

It was the last day the yard was open before winter shutdown. The kid says to the boss with all the eagerness of his room-temeperature IQ, "Watcha gonna do ovah th' wintah?"

Boss, leaning back, rolling the half-chewed cigar in his mouth: "Ruthie and me is goin' t' Santa Barbara. Gotta condo on Cabrillo Blvd., right on th' beach. Plan on doin' some fishin.' We like that restaurant on th' enda the pier theah, too. We'll prolly head up th' Santa Inez Valley an' cut ovah t' Paso Robles an' do a little wine tastin'. Mostly jus' take it easy, tho."

Kid: "When ya comin' back?"

Boss: "I'm heah first Monday in April. You should be, too."

A true story. If the boss was kidding, it was drier humor than than even the driest Yankee I've ever heard. And how did he know so much about Santa Barbara? I think the simplest explanation is the marble business was more profitable than appearances let on.

ndspinelli said...

Tim, I've been to nearby Proctor but there was a quarry in West Rutland. The one that filled up w/ water was literally 50 feet behind my uncles house. This was before ambulance chasers but when I think of it now, it really was unsafe. You just walked up a slight incline and there was the quarry. It was ~10 foot drop into the water. We had a rope to pull yourself out. There were no warning signs, no fence..nothing. And, my uncles house was right on the outskirts of town, w/ @ least another 10-15 houses on the same street.

TTBurnett said...

nd: Ah, okay, West Rutland it is. Sounds just like Proctor with all the marble buildings. Last time i was in Proctor was about 10 years ago, and things did not look like they were closing, so I was a little surprised to hear about a filled-up quarry.

Anyway, there's lots of marble in that corner of the U.S., enough to have made more than a few holes in the ground.

ndspinelli said...

There is indeed a lot of marble. My aunt told me acid rain has had an effect on the marble school where she taught for 40 years, it's not as white as it was years ago.