Safe at Home Base

Elspode · 09-08-2006, 08:59 PM

Well, we've been in the new place for a bit over a month, and I've been accumulating little tidbits that I felt like sharing about life, the new place and everything. I figured that Home Base was about as obvious a spot for it as The Cellar has to offer.

I think the most surprising thing about the move and new home has been how energizing it is, both spiritually and physically. It seems preposterous, but the drive to work seems to actually be interesting and refreshing for some reason, even though I know the route intimately and have so known it for my entire life. In fact, my daily commute now passes within sight of the first home I remember living in when I was about three or four years old. It doesn't get a *lot* more familiar than that, does it?

The route to work takes us down old 50 Highway, now known simply as Blue Parkway (everything in the KC area is named either Blue somethingorother or Trumansomethingorother, after our second largest river and our most famous native son). It travels for much of its distance through town along the banks of Brush Creek. For those of you at all familiar with Kansas City history, most of the attention caused by our second worst and probably most costly flood (circa 1977) was centered on Brush Creek where it runs through KC's historic shopping district, the Country Club Plaza. Indeed, Blue Parkway essentially ends at the edge of The Plaza, at the extreme Northern edge of which my wife works. In the intervening 30 years since the big flood, Brush Creek has been transformed from a large concrete ditch into a Corps of Engineers designed, scenically pleasant string of small lakes, "waterfalls", walkways and greenspace meant to double as prevention against a reoccurance of the disastrous '77 flood.

Since I've made this drive many times over the course of my adult life, I've watched the Brush Creek watershed alter slowly; with it, the aging, almost ancient businesses and neighborhoods along Blue Parkway have seen spurts of renewal and rebuilding. Blue Parkway is now an interesting, if a bit eccentric, assemblage of modern public/private partnerships, freshly painted older homes, and mom and pop businesses - with a few pre-superhighway roadside motels thrown in for good measure. It is a truly interesting drive, especially after 30 years of traversing the infamous "Grandview Triangle" in the course of making a living. Indeed, the usually monotonous morning commute which Mrs Elspode and I make together more often than not has actually turned into a positive sharing experience between us. Nothing Earth-shattering, mind you, but neither is it a blank, hypnotized stare at traffic, either. I may have to alter my mantra of "Change is Evil, Change is Bad" if this keeps up.

As I have mentioned before in the "Good Vibes" thread, the singular thing about our new place is the magnificent yard. There is so much open space that it just sort of calls to you when you are inside; it beckons you to come out and be in it. It is especially at night when I hear its Siren call, because then, it is much harder to see all the weeds and trimming I need to do in the morning. Indeed, beneath last night's full moon the Mrs and I sat, watching the low, sparse cloud deck scurry by, our copiously wooded back fence standing boldly silhouetted against the silver darkness of the sky. On weeknights, there is a low hum of nearby 350 Highway/Blue Parkway, but mostly you hear the tree frogs and the breeze rustling the branches. On Friday nights and Saturday afternoons, there is the roar of the nearby dragstrip, with ground pounding roar after thunderous growl rolling over the intevening neighborhoods and fields in quick, evenly spaced succession.

Some might find that an unwelcome interruption to their solitude...but not me. That strip is the very same to which I used to make pilgrimages in my teens with my asshole stepfather, the one thing he would ever take me to do in his years with my mother. It is the selfsame track where I saw "Dyno" Don Garlits, Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen, Dickie Harrell, Al "The Flying Dutchman" Vanderwoodie, The Little Red Wagon, Art Arfons' Green Monster, and so many other drag racing icons of the late 60's and early 70's. The throaty roars I hear while sitting under the sky in my backyard swing (WalMart, $69.99, some assembly required), while no longer issued forth from the big players of today, jog my memory and remind me of the simpler days of my youth...and just how fucking loud a hot shit car can get.

Much as I enjoy the new place, I don't think any of the family is getting as much out of it as our dog, Bridgid. For her, a whole new world has opened up. She's gone from outdoors being a chore for her, tethered to a dog trolley and used only as a bathroom, to being an environment...one which she prefers to share with another family member. She'll go outside by herself, sure...but she usually stands there looking at you, imploring you to go investigate the place with her. She isn't frightened - she just seems to want to *share*. She seems drawn to be outside in our mini-park in much the same way that I do, just to be immersed, to enjoy the place for what it is.

Perhaps it is because it is the biggest piece of property either of us, Bridgid or I, have ever been able to call our own. Perhaps it is because it is new, and that newness will wear off. Or maybe, just maybe - all of us are meant to be here.

xoxoxoBruce · 09-08-2006, 10:44 PM

It's a good fit...it looks good on you. It sounds good on your spirits, too.

zippyt · 09-08-2006, 10:59 PM

Rock ON Splode !!!!
Have you gone walking in the "Hunters Moon" yet ??
That is what I call a WAY full moon , so bright you can damn neer read by it .

Is there a cache set yet ???

limey · 09-09-2006, 06:02 PM

Please keep posting, Elspode. It's just great to hear about how you are enjoying your new home.
I live where I do because a place spoke to me and I listened. There is no work here for a someone of my profession/training, and I get by on a job which pays about a fifth of the maximum I have ever earned. Some people base their idea of how they want their life to be on a profession, or an income bracket, or a household/family set-up - but for me, ever since I first visited this island I have know that this is where I want to live, and career, income, partner, everything else was secondary to achieving that dream.
I hope you continue to be as comfortable and at home in your Home Base as you seem to be now for many years to come.

JayMcGee · 09-09-2006, 07:19 PM

I moved here (cheshire) 'cos it was closer to the (then) job. And yet, the moment we arrived, I felt like I'd come home. The leafy lanes, rustic setting and the sheer 'manana is too soon' pace spoke to my very inner being.

Now, I commute virtually to Merseyside most days, and pysically drive there once a week or so. For me, it works..... being where you want to be is so much more important than than earning that extra few pounds/dollars or two.

(and as an aside to Limey..... Arran is within the west coast rather that off the west coast...... as an ex-Campbeltownion I've many a time taken the steamer to Glasgow via Arran)

glatt · 09-09-2006, 08:58 PM

I just got home from my neighborhood block party. We got permits to close off the street for several hours. Fun time.

I have to say that I LOVE this neighborhood. The people are all so friendly. They are good people. There are a TON of kids running around to play with our kids. We are in a great location, and the schools are fantastic. The only downside is that our house isn't anywhere near as nice as the house I always imagined I'd live in.

The best part of it was that we just got lucky when we moved here. This was the first house in this town that we found that we could afford, but wasn't a complete dump. We bought it for those reasons, but were so happy when we met the neighbors and found out about the schools. It feels so good to be part of a dynamic community. This place rocks.

Elspode · 09-10-2006, 12:25 AM

I encourage all of you Cellarites to use this thread to tell us all something about how your own location makes you feel. We all live somewhere for some reason. We probably know how we feel about it. Why not share?

For me, it has been pretty easy to relate what I was going through. After 30 years in essentially the same place, there wasn't much about moving that didn't trigger something at least marginally worthy of elucidation. Now that we're settling in, there is so much that is unlike what I've grown used to in the previous decades, it remains a relatively simple matter to spew my observations and emotions about the whole shebang.

Tonight, we held our first monthly "Pagan Movie Night" in our new place. Pagan Movie Night is where several of our closest Pagan friends come over and watch a film which has some relevance, directly or indirectly, to our spiritual paths and/or general way of viewing life, the universe and everything. That is the ostensible reason for the regular gathering, but often as not it is also a time to catch up, to tell what is going on in our lives. In short, it is probably like anyone else's gatherings, except that we're all better than you

(kidding).

After tonight's film, during which we shared some lovely mead fresh out of the carboy, we adjourned to the front porch for some chat. It was getting a bit chilly to a couple of our number (one of our closest friends has had recent digestive tract surgery, another is struggling with neurological problems), so we adjourned secondarily to the back yard and broke in the new fire pit we just bought.

If life gets any better than sitting around a crackling fire in your own suburban back yard with five of the people you admire and love most in the world, I'm gonna need someone to hold the spooge towel...

Rock Steady · 09-10-2006, 02:10 AM

Patrick, this is good stuff. Any progress on the wireless network?

The best thing about our house is that our dog came with the house. Just this labor day, Sandi suddendly died of an expanding tumor near her heart. She was 10 years old, a lab/retriever mix. Wonderful personality, always greeted our guests.

When we took a second look at the house, my wife said too bad the dog doesn't come with the house. After we bought the house, the owners said that they were moving to Colorado and couldn't take the dog, so they asked us to take her. She was 2 years old at the time, eight years ago.

The house seems like it is missing something.

xoxoxoBruce · 09-10-2006, 09:23 AM

It's amazing how a pet that takes up so little room in your home, leaves such a huge hole in your life when they're gone.

Elspode · 09-10-2006, 11:44 AM

RS, what a great picture of your late friend. She looks like she was a wonderful companion. You must miss her terribly. We've lost two of our four cats since the move. They went out (escaped, really), and never returned. One we found dead at the roadside after having been gone for a month. The fate of the other, Merlin, my familiar, is still unknown. That has been the worst part of the move for me.

I still have problems keeping my son's apartment connected. I added a can to his existing antenna, and doubled his signal quality, but it is still pretty dicey.

limey · 09-10-2006, 01:13 PM

There is an acute housing problem here - the only people who can afford the houses here are those who have earnt the money elsewhere (I am a case in point). I regularly tell the customers in the shop where I work that the only way I can afford the luxury of working for my boss is by having paid for the house I live in before I moved here!
I was invited to take part in a survey to investigate the housing situation because I have bought a house relativley recently and one of the first questions asked was "Why did you move to ...?". The multiple choice answers included things like health care, schools, house prices (

), work, to be near relatives etc etc, but there wasn't a check box for "This place feels like home" or "This is the only place I want to live". I could, fortunately, tick "Other" and write in why.
It's always felt like home to me, since I began visiting in the late 70s.

zippyt · 09-10-2006, 01:24 PM

spooge towel...

evver so Ellaquent Splode

Elspode · 09-10-2006, 01:45 PM

Thanks. I like to mix an occasionally lofty aesthetic with the ocassional gutter concept. Makes for surprising reading.

zippyt · 09-10-2006, 01:54 PM

Your just a man of Manny tallents !!!

09-08-2006, 08:59 PM	#1
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	Safe at Home Base Well, we've been in the new place for a bit over a month, and I've been accumulating little tidbits that I felt like sharing about life, the new place and everything. I figured that Home Base was about as obvious a spot for it as The Cellar has to offer. I think the most surprising thing about the move and new home has been how energizing it is, both spiritually and physically. It seems preposterous, but the drive to work seems to actually be interesting and refreshing for some reason, even though I know the route intimately and have so known it for my entire life. In fact, my daily commute now passes within sight of the first home I remember living in when I was about three or four years old. It doesn't get a lot more familiar than that, does it? The route to work takes us down old 50 Highway, now known simply as Blue Parkway (everything in the KC area is named either Blue somethingorother or Trumansomethingorother, after our second largest river and our most famous native son). It travels for much of its distance through town along the banks of Brush Creek. For those of you at all familiar with Kansas City history, most of the attention caused by our second worst and probably most costly flood (circa 1977) was centered on Brush Creek where it runs through KC's historic shopping district, the Country Club Plaza. Indeed, Blue Parkway essentially ends at the edge of The Plaza, at the extreme Northern edge of which my wife works. In the intervening 30 years since the big flood, Brush Creek has been transformed from a large concrete ditch into a Corps of Engineers designed, scenically pleasant string of small lakes, "waterfalls", walkways and greenspace meant to double as prevention against a reoccurance of the disastrous '77 flood. Since I've made this drive many times over the course of my adult life, I've watched the Brush Creek watershed alter slowly; with it, the aging, almost ancient businesses and neighborhoods along Blue Parkway have seen spurts of renewal and rebuilding. Blue Parkway is now an interesting, if a bit eccentric, assemblage of modern public/private partnerships, freshly painted older homes, and mom and pop businesses - with a few pre-superhighway roadside motels thrown in for good measure. It is a truly interesting drive, especially after 30 years of traversing the infamous "Grandview Triangle" in the course of making a living. Indeed, the usually monotonous morning commute which Mrs Elspode and I make together more often than not has actually turned into a positive sharing experience between us. Nothing Earth-shattering, mind you, but neither is it a blank, hypnotized stare at traffic, either. I may have to alter my mantra of "Change is Evil, Change is Bad" if this keeps up. As I have mentioned before in the "Good Vibes" thread, the singular thing about our new place is the magnificent yard. There is so much open space that it just sort of calls to you when you are inside; it beckons you to come out and be in it. It is especially at night when I hear its Siren call, because then, it is much harder to see all the weeds and trimming I need to do in the morning. Indeed, beneath last night's full moon the Mrs and I sat, watching the low, sparse cloud deck scurry by, our copiously wooded back fence standing boldly silhouetted against the silver darkness of the sky. On weeknights, there is a low hum of nearby 350 Highway/Blue Parkway, but mostly you hear the tree frogs and the breeze rustling the branches. On Friday nights and Saturday afternoons, there is the roar of the nearby dragstrip, with ground pounding roar after thunderous growl rolling over the intevening neighborhoods and fields in quick, evenly spaced succession. Some might find that an unwelcome interruption to their solitude...but not me. That strip is the very same to which I used to make pilgrimages in my teens with my asshole stepfather, the one thing he would ever take me to do in his years with my mother. It is the selfsame track where I saw "Dyno" Don Garlits, Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen, Dickie Harrell, Al "The Flying Dutchman" Vanderwoodie, The Little Red Wagon, Art Arfons' Green Monster, and so many other drag racing icons of the late 60's and early 70's. The throaty roars I hear while sitting under the sky in my backyard swing (WalMart, $69.99, some assembly required), while no longer issued forth from the big players of today, jog my memory and remind me of the simpler days of my youth...and just how fucking loud a hot shit car can get. Much as I enjoy the new place, I don't think any of the family is getting as much out of it as our dog, Bridgid. For her, a whole new world has opened up. She's gone from outdoors being a chore for her, tethered to a dog trolley and used only as a bathroom, to being an environment...one which she prefers to share with another family member. She'll go outside by herself, sure...but she usually stands there looking at you, imploring you to go investigate the place with her. She isn't frightened - she just seems to want to share. She seems drawn to be outside in our mini-park in much the same way that I do, just to be immersed, to enjoy the place for what it is. Perhaps it is because it is the biggest piece of property either of us, Bridgid or I, have ever been able to call our own. Perhaps it is because it is new, and that newness will wear off. Or maybe, just maybe - all of us are meant to be here. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog Last edited by Elspode; 09-08-2006 at 09:05 PM.

09-08-2006, 10:44 PM	#2
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	It's a good fit...it looks good on you. It sounds good on your spirits, too. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

09-08-2006, 10:59 PM	#3
zippyt LONG LIVE KING ZIPPY! per Feetz Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Arkansas Posts: 7,661	Rock ON Splode !!!! Have you gone walking in the "Hunters Moon" yet ?? That is what I call a WAY full moon , so bright you can damn neer read by it . Is there a cache set yet ??? __________________ "Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get. " Brother Dave Gardner

09-09-2006, 06:02 PM	#4
limey Encroaching on your decrees Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: An island within the south-west coast of Scotland Posts: 7,016	Please keep posting, Elspode. It's just great to hear about how you are enjoying your new home. I live where I do because a place spoke to me and I listened. There is no work here for a someone of my profession/training, and I get by on a job which pays about a fifth of the maximum I have ever earned. Some people base their idea of how they want their life to be on a profession, or an income bracket, or a household/family set-up - but for me, ever since I first visited this island I have know that this is where I want to live, and career, income, partner, everything else was secondary to achieving that dream. I hope you continue to be as comfortable and at home in your Home Base as you seem to be now for many years to come. __________________ Living it up on the edge ... of civilisation, within the southwest coast of

09-09-2006, 07:19 PM	#5
JayMcGee Cardigan-wearing man Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Much Binding In The Marsh Posts: 1,082	I moved here (cheshire) 'cos it was closer to the (then) job. And yet, the moment we arrived, I felt like I'd come home. The leafy lanes, rustic setting and the sheer 'manana is too soon' pace spoke to my very inner being. Now, I commute virtually to Merseyside most days, and pysically drive there once a week or so. For me, it works..... being where you want to be is so much more important than than earning that extra few pounds/dollars or two. (and as an aside to Limey..... Arran is within the west coast rather that off the west coast...... as an ex-Campbeltownion I've many a time taken the steamer to Glasgow via Arran) __________________ I like wearing cardigans...... my current favourite is an orange cable-knit with real leatherette buttons.

09-09-2006, 08:58 PM	#6
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I just got home from my neighborhood block party. We got permits to close off the street for several hours. Fun time. I have to say that I LOVE this neighborhood. The people are all so friendly. They are good people. There are a TON of kids running around to play with our kids. We are in a great location, and the schools are fantastic. The only downside is that our house isn't anywhere near as nice as the house I always imagined I'd live in. The best part of it was that we just got lucky when we moved here. This was the first house in this town that we found that we could afford, but wasn't a complete dump. We bought it for those reasons, but were so happy when we met the neighbors and found out about the schools. It feels so good to be part of a dynamic community. This place rocks.

09-10-2006, 12:25 AM	#7
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	I encourage all of you Cellarites to use this thread to tell us all something about how your own location makes you feel. We all live somewhere for some reason. We probably know how we feel about it. Why not share? For me, it has been pretty easy to relate what I was going through. After 30 years in essentially the same place, there wasn't much about moving that didn't trigger something at least marginally worthy of elucidation. Now that we're settling in, there is so much that is unlike what I've grown used to in the previous decades, it remains a relatively simple matter to spew my observations and emotions about the whole shebang. Tonight, we held our first monthly "Pagan Movie Night" in our new place. Pagan Movie Night is where several of our closest Pagan friends come over and watch a film which has some relevance, directly or indirectly, to our spiritual paths and/or general way of viewing life, the universe and everything. That is the ostensible reason for the regular gathering, but often as not it is also a time to catch up, to tell what is going on in our lives. In short, it is probably like anyone else's gatherings, except that we're all better than you (kidding). After tonight's film, during which we shared some lovely mead fresh out of the carboy, we adjourned to the front porch for some chat. It was getting a bit chilly to a couple of our number (one of our closest friends has had recent digestive tract surgery, another is struggling with neurological problems), so we adjourned secondarily to the back yard and broke in the new fire pit we just bought. If life gets any better than sitting around a crackling fire in your own suburban back yard with five of the people you admire and love most in the world, I'm gonna need someone to hold the spooge towel... __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

09-10-2006, 02:10 AM	#8
Rock Steady Day Tripper Join Date: May 2005 Location: Silicon Valley Posts: 784	Patrick, this is good stuff. Any progress on the wireless network? The best thing about our house is that our dog came with the house. Just this labor day, Sandi suddendly died of an expanding tumor near her heart. She was 10 years old, a lab/retriever mix. Wonderful personality, always greeted our guests. When we took a second look at the house, my wife said too bad the dog doesn't come with the house. After we bought the house, the owners said that they were moving to Colorado and couldn't take the dog, so they asked us to take her. She was 2 years old at the time, eight years ago. The house seems like it is missing something. Attached Images __________________ Last edited by Rock Steady; 09-10-2006 at 02:23 AM.

09-10-2006, 09:23 AM	#9
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	It's amazing how a pet that takes up so little room in your home, leaves such a huge hole in your life when they're gone. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

09-10-2006, 11:44 AM	#10
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	RS, what a great picture of your late friend. She looks like she was a wonderful companion. You must miss her terribly. We've lost two of our four cats since the move. They went out (escaped, really), and never returned. One we found dead at the roadside after having been gone for a month. The fate of the other, Merlin, my familiar, is still unknown. That has been the worst part of the move for me. I still have problems keeping my son's apartment connected. I added a can to his existing antenna, and doubled his signal quality, but it is still pretty dicey. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

09-10-2006, 01:13 PM	#11
limey Encroaching on your decrees Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: An island within the south-west coast of Scotland Posts: 7,016	There is an acute housing problem here - the only people who can afford the houses here are those who have earnt the money elsewhere (I am a case in point). I regularly tell the customers in the shop where I work that the only way I can afford the luxury of working for my boss is by having paid for the house I live in before I moved here! I was invited to take part in a survey to investigate the housing situation because I have bought a house relativley recently and one of the first questions asked was "Why did you move to ...?". The multiple choice answers included things like health care, schools, house prices (), work, to be near relatives etc etc, but there wasn't a check box for "This place feels like home" or "This is the only place I want to live". I could, fortunately, tick "Other" and write in why. It's always felt like home to me, since I began visiting in the late 70s. __________________ Living it up on the edge ... of civilisation, within the southwest coast of

09-10-2006, 01:24 PM	#12
zippyt LONG LIVE KING ZIPPY! per Feetz Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Arkansas Posts: 7,661	spooge towel... evver so Ellaquent Splode __________________ "Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get. " Brother Dave Gardner

09-10-2006, 01:45 PM	#13
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	Thanks. I like to mix an occasionally lofty aesthetic with the ocassional gutter concept. Makes for surprising reading. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

09-10-2006, 01:54 PM	#14
zippyt LONG LIVE KING ZIPPY! per Feetz Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Arkansas Posts: 7,661	Your just a man of Manny tallents !!! __________________ "Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get. " Brother Dave Gardner

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