Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

There is a lesson in here someplace...

Click on image to see entire house

Every year this building becomes more dilapidated as stormy winds tear pieces of the roof off and every year the roses bloom brightly in great profusion.

It is located at the intersection of Poor Farm Road and Franklin Pike in Floyd County at a spot that is identified on the map as Pizarro, a town that no longer exists, but was the hometown of more then a dozen men who entered military Service during World War I.

The building provided a variety of useful services for many years and now serves only as a rose arbor. It was in a town that had sufficient vitality and public spiritedness to send at least 13 young men to war in 1917 and 1918.

At this time there are probably less than twenty people who live within a mile of this intersection. Only this tired ruin is left to mark what was once a dynamic community, and the roses are slowly taking over.

Perhaps the take away lesson is that there will always be a use for everything we've built, even if it is not the use we intended. Furthermore, whether it is a house or a carefully tended lawn, nature will start to take over as soon as we turn our attention elsewhere.

Even the Pyramids which were among the most massive structures ever built are but a shadow of their former glory. Their polished facades were stolen and dispersed while Europe was still populated by people living in huts and wearing skins.

Perhaps that is as it should be. We create places to live and work in and when the time comes to move on to other things, we build anew with different goals in mind.

There is a certain poignancy in an abandoned building, as it represents an abandoned dream. But the important thing to remember is that there are always new dreams to pursue. If a dream is no longer viable, maybe it is time to seize upon one that is.

Wildwood Farms is open again!

You do not want to miss this opportunity if you have any interest in obtaining the finest in daylilies for your garden. This nicely landscaped garden is located just a few miles south of Floyd on Route 221.

Last year Gretchen and I discovered the daylilies at Wildwood Farms and we were amazed at the number of varieties they had to offer. They have more than 1200 different plants to choose from and the helpful staff makes it very easy for you.

They even have shaded swings for non-plant-buying husbands to rest in while their spouses amble from bed to bed going, Oooh!... Aaahh!... Look at that one!

These images were taken today and the beds are about one quarter in bloom. In the next two weeks, they expect their daylilies to be in full bloom.

To get an idea of the variety of plants they have, see these images and these from the article I wrote last year.

Owner Judy Bowman and her sister Lou Hall are very knowledgeable and they provide an excellent customer experience.

It takes two hands to blog...

There is an old sailing expression, "one hand for the ship, one for yourself" which relates to using one hand for hauling on sails and one hand to prevent yourself from falling to the deck far below.

Unfortunately, blogging is not a one-handed operation. For the past two weeks I have been so involved in the preparations for Floyd's Grand Re-Opening weekend that I have not had time  to blog about them. Now I am trying to catch up.

The Grand Re-Opening celebration ran from Friday through Sunday and involved Gallery openings, a Friday Night Jamboree with Wayne Henderson and The Looping Brothers, a Saturday Ice Cream Social put on by the Chamber of Commerce and a concert by King Wilkie, and a Sunday concert by the psychedelic country rock band, New Riders of the Purple Sage.

To add to the carnival atmosphere, the Carhartt Swat truck which is a high tech clothing showroom on wheels was parked across from the Floyd Country Store and provided an opportunity for the boys (and girls) to test their tire-changing and bull-roping skills.

The Grand Re-opening refers to the fact that both the Winter Sun building and The Floyd Country Store have been extensively rebuilt and refurbished and are great places to bring visitors.

Gretchen and her partners in the Art Under The Sun Gallery had a fantastic opening weekend, and well they should have, because they had worked non-stop for many weeks getting the Gallery painted and set up for business. My task was putting up the track lighting and I could not have done it without help from Mike Limke and Bill Smith.

Here is a glimpse of the the trio who played during the opening and behind them you can see the custom counter built by Mike Limke, which is a work of art in itself.

The Floyd Country Store was packed on Friday night and the crowd overflowed onto the street. As usual, there were visitors from far places at the Friday Night Jamboree. At least one came from Australia and another from New Zealand. They both received souvenir hats from Woody Crenshaw, the friendly proprietor of the Country Store.

Meanwhile, out in the Floyd County countryside, Laurelsong and Luke Staengl celebrated their marriage in a beautiful and moving ceremony along the river that borders their farm. The alternative community and international guests partied until the wee hours to the music of John Winnicki and Sonic Safari.

Click on images to enlarge them

Michael Yon - Arrowhead Ripper: Day One

Michael Yon and Michael Gordon of the New York Times appear to be the only reporters on the scene for this 10,000 man military operation focused on trapping and killing Al Qaeda fighters in the vicinity of Baquba. He says they are being given full access to the battlefield and to the video feeds coming through headquarters.

Yes, civilian casualties are occurring. Read why and you may get a better understanding how Al Quaeda was able to use uninformed media organizations to further their mission in the past.

On the other hand, civilians are pointing out IEDs and enemy fighters, so that’s a good indication that Al Qaeda has worn out their welcome.

You can read Michael's version of the action on his website. I haven't seen any other original reporting at all, and according to Michael, mainstream media organizations are still trying to get reporters out there.

You don't have to wait for CNN, TIME, or Reuters, you can read what is happening today.

More things your music teacher never told you...

Crawfish and bluegrass are a tasty mix, but there is one drawback...

“The only thing is, you’ve got to wash your hands good before you pick up your instrument,” says local bluegrass patriarch Eldon Bryson.   “Otherwise you’ll smell crawfish on your fiddle for a long time.” 

This bit of local wisdom was captured by Lawrence Specker at the Crawfish and Bluegrass Extravaganza presented by the Knights of Columbus at St. Mary Parish in Mobile, Alabama.

A tip of the hat to the Bluegrass Painter

Michael Yon's most powerful dispatch yet - "Be Not Afraid"

Michael's observations have not been popular with the Administration or mainstream media, but he has been on the front lines long enough that his words are ignored only by the terminally indifferent.

When he writes that General Petraeus has launched the largest battle since “major hostilities” ended more than four years ago, it is a good idea to see what he is talking about.

Michael wrote in early 2005 that Iraq was in Civil War and that was generally ignored in the euphoria of the first Iraqi election. He caught some flak for his choice of words, but it appears that Michael's on-the-spot observations were more accurate than all the ruminations and ponderings of the Administration or mainstream media.

Michael confines his dispatches to what he sees in his area or what he hears directly from the forces he is embedded with, so his observations are localized and have been downplayed by others as a result. My take on it is that a careful and unemotional observation of even a small area is more useful than glowing or hysterical reportage of an entire sector. A small truth is better than a giant generalization.

In his latest dispatch Michael discusses the mistakes that have been made which have led to the growth of Al Qaeda and announces an impending battle of epic proportions against Al Qaeda in Diyala Province. The City of Baquba is the Al Qaeda stronghold this time and it appears that our people may have learned enough from Fallujah to create a more favorable result.

Read Michael's dispatch now and compare it to the mainstream media news next week, if ever.

Today's  key word is Baquba. See how long it takes for it to surface on Google, then how long it takes to appear in print. I'll guess 2 weeks. UPDATE: I was wrong. It was on ABC news tonight.

Community culture needs continuing care and support

For many people who live here, Floyd presents an outstanding opportunity. We get to live and work in a community that is still small enough so we can know most people by sight and large enough that we have room for a variety of personalities and lifestyles.

One of the notable things about Floyd for Gretchen and I has been the incredible level of hospitality shown to us by those who arrived before us or who have lived here all their lives.

Since we were welcomed and assisted by families that have lived in this region for multiple generations, we felt impelled to offer the same support to newcomers in our turn. In addition, we feel a continuing obligation to support the community in every way possible.

We have seen here a remarkable incidence of socially-motivated people who view service as a normal part of existence. I am not sure how it came about, but it seems to be part of the local culture and I want to do everything possible to preserve and support that kind of culture.

I know from personal experience that some amazing and pro-survival cultures have come apart quite swiftly when they were not defended and cared for.

A culture is based on the informal agreements of the people involved. As new people move into an area, they bring new ideas of what a desirable culture should be. If the existing group actively recruits these new settlers, these new people become part of the group and strengthen it with new ideas that are tempered by the experience of the existing group. They also strengthen the existing community by exchanging services and support.

Community cultures, like corporate cultures, are more fragile than they appear. When new  community leaders or corporate leaders appear, they can damage a culture beyond repair by instituting changes to make the existing culture resemble some other model that has some flashy benefits but serious problems. This also can happen when there are a vast number of unassimilated new settlers.

As long as a person's worth is measured by their contribution to the group, things will stay pretty sane and progress will occur. When some set themselves up as superior beings because their families were here first or are related to someone important, bad things happen and unfortunate divisions appear in the community.

When someone considers themselves better than others because they are a "native" or even because they are a "newcomer", the proper question to ask is what has that person done for Floyd lately?

Those that seek to create divisions between people because of their racial, cultural or political differences are afraid that if anyone were to take a close look at them their personal shortcomings would be immediately visible.

Fortunately, these people are in a minority, but their behavior should not go unnoticed or unmentioned. Floyd is a "Live and Let Live" community, but when someone is trying to foment dissension through hateful messages, this person is factually trying to destroy the culture that has made Floyd so desirable.

The real test of a person is what are they doing for others and for the community, not who their parents were or where they came from. I think that anyone that tells you different needs to be watched as that person is working against the culture that makes Floyd special.

Michael Yon is still with the Brits in Iraq

The more I see of Michael Yon's dispatches, the more I admire those who are out in Iraq doing their jobs as soldiers. This is one of the Queens Lancers.

This is the first war that we at home have had a prayer of getting firsthand information on what is happening and who the players are.

Every day involves avoiding death and confronting the stark realities of life in the desert. At the same time, we get to see the human dimensions of life in present-day Iraq through the lens of Michael's camera.

This is the third part of Death or Glory, Michaels embed with the Queens Royal Lancers. Read all three parts and draw your own conclusions.

Discover Floyd County

For many months I have been mulling over the best way to create a "Visitor's guide to Floyd County" that would help bring tourist business and dollars to Floyd County.

This guide must be updated frequently, would have room for pictures and articles about Floyd history, points of interest, and stories about Floyd restaurants and shops and artisans...and all of this should be compact enough to carry around in your pocket and should cost less than $4.95

Well, I'm not there yet, but I have already investigated several approaches that will not get me there. Printing a pocket book sized version of a guide to the best of Floyd involves so many compromises, like leaving out color images, and is so expensive using local printers that I've opted for an "out of the box solution".

Let me review the minimum requirements for making this Guide to Floyd a must-have tourist item:

It should be affordable and some version of it should be free
It should be continually kept up to date
It should have color photos of reasonably high quality
It should be easy to find information through an index or other means
There should be a way for readers to provide instant feedback on errors or needed changes
There should be accurate maps with detailed directions for every point of interest
If I have left anything out, just leave a comment.

I think the "Guide" should eventually be portable so it can be carried around in a Treo or equivalent, but the first step is to assemble the information and make it available even while it is being assembled. To that end, I have started a website with maps and pictures which someone can print out on their own and carry around until we have a more sophisticated delivery system.

What I wish to create is a website that attempts to answer the questions: what can I do in Floyd in an afternoon, a day, a weekend, or for the summer? It will also attempt to answer the questions regarding who to call for medical help, auto repair, or any of the other non-intended consequences of a vacation trip. It can even be expanded to cover the questions asked by those who are thinking of moving to Floyd.

I have already launched the prototype website and it is called Discover Floyd County. I will populate it with articles from my weblog and articles from other writers. This is not intended to be a solitary effort as I would like to open the game to whoever would like to become an editor and contribute.

I would like to see an editor for farm stories and agritours, and an editor to cover shopping recommendations for visitors. Editors for spinning and weaving, craft editors, fine arts editors, a historical editor and so forth.

The major product of this website and any ongoing publications is to help people discover what is here in Floyd that they can relate to. If we can set visitor expectations properly, we will have happy visitors and happy merchants, artisans, and innkeepers.

When people come here and they are already familiar with Floyd culture and resources and the lack thereof, they merge seamlessly into County activity and are able to contribute and feel a sense of accomplishment from the very beginning.

The students at the Jacksonville Center are a living example that this can be done and everyone benefits.

I do not see this website and guide generating money directly for several years, so it will carry advertisements to help defray expenses and cover the cost of Friday Pizza parties for those contributing to the website.

If you would like to get in on the ground floor and see where this takes us, your help is very welcome. If you would like to help with the development of a long-term business plan, that could prove very interesting also.

Think of this as a grass-roots effort to attract visitors, money, and even settlers in a way that will keep Floyd Green.

Interesting week so far - can't wait to see what's next

I've found that hyperlocal blogging has expanded my awareness of Floyd and the people who give it a unique character. I try to capture the images and sounds and experiences that make every day an adventure.

On Friday night, the Jamboree went off just as planned, even though the Floyd Country Storefront was covered with scaffolding. I got to hear Blue Moonshine perform in front of the Floyd Barbershop and they gave me their new CD of mountain music to review. More about that later. It is fine music!

Contrary to what you might expect, the more I write about Floyd, the more I see that I want to write about. Every day I see new relationships that were not visible before and new business opportunities being developed by people who are creating startups on a small scale with a minimum of resources.

All of this takes place in the midst of bucolic scenes that fairly scream to be photographed. As I drive around the county on errands, I can't take the time to dismount and soberly set up tripod and fetch the light meter. Instead, I slow the van and shoot through the open window or occasionally through the windshield if it is clean enough.

I spend some of my daylight hours networking with potential clients, visiting with friends, or developing stories for the Floyd Press. I volunteer as staff photographer for the Jacksonville Center and I am constantly shooting photos in an effort to capture a visitor's experience in Floyd County.

In the last few days, I been able to share the excitement of the five artists who have opened a gallery-studio and a teaching studio under the Winter Sun in Floyd. Gretchen and four of her talented friends have been working for weeks to get the gallery ready and are already seeing a steady stream of visitors even though their sign is not up yet.

If you are visiting the Winter Sun clothing store or the Cafe del Sol, make sure you come down the stairs and visit them in the Art Under the Sun Gallery.

In the midst of all this activity I managed to fix up this weblog design and make it a little easier to navigate.  The nice little scrollbars I installed work on Firefox, but not on Internet Explorer, so the weblog appears different to different browsers. I am not through yet, so if you have suggestions or comments, this is a good time to let me know what you are thinking.