zen of an american road trip

©2011 gary garbett.com

Taking a road trip is one of my favorite things in the world. I'm sure it harkens back to the days of my childhood when my family would pack up the station wagon and journey through America. With my father's career as a Navel Officer, we did our share of long distance road travels every couple of years, in addition to our countless summer vacations of camping. I have vivid memories of viewing the country from the backseat of Dad's authentic Detroit made automobiles, especially his 1968 turquoise Gran Torino. With the windows rolled down and the wind whipping in a little faster than the posted highway speed, it was spectacular.

We made the 4000 mile plus drive across the entire United States from coast to coast at least four times, including a 1300 mile jaunt along the Alaska Highway, back when it was just a two-lane gravel and dirt road and long before there was ever a thought of paving it. We reached our destination late that summer in Anchorage searching for the ferry departure to Kodiak and for a carwash to remove the heavy coating of red clay covering Dad's Ford.

Seeing America from the road has always been a Zen like experience for me. I find a centering peace in the miles of memory, beauty, and the numerous hand painted signs for Mom and Pop type stores that read "just ahead".

Chicken or Egg? I Solved It.

Seems doubtful that this blog post could resolve the ageless question. Call it scientific or happenstance, but it was interesting that I witnessed both just minutes apart during my recent visit to Paint Bank. All I can really add to this longtime debate is what I actually saw. Seeing it with my own eyes made me a believer.

I’d only been in the tiny mountain town for about fifteen minutes before I was greeted with the wide smile and the southern drawl from the young lady behind the counter of the Paint Bank General Store. She was cleanly dressed all in white, helpful, and quick to answer my touristy questions. She also never missing a chance to flash her pretty smile. As we talked, I spotted my first glimpse of it, sitting on the counter an arms length away. It resembled a sacred stained glass work of art as the afternoon sunlight passed through it.

There it was, in a tiny town with a population count between 146 and 148, depending on which road sign you read. Inside of the general store that claimed to have “a little bit of everything”; and while listening to the beautiful twang of a long drawn out Southern dialect, I discovered the answer to all of those centuries long questions, faiths, and scientific theories. They were red and resting in the one-gallon glass jar at the end of the counter.

It wasn’t more than ten minutes later when I walked upon all of those lovely ladies in the coop out back. They were curious, talkative, and certainly kept a close eye on me. By that point however, I’d already made my discovery and regardless of how persistent and persuasive they attempted to be, I already knew the truth.

The pickled egg clearly came first.

business of art and pez

©2011 gary garbett.com

In preparation for this weekend's 43rd Street Festival of the Arts, I recently placed the order for my new business cards. With all the advancement of technology and the addition of social media, there's a good bit more text than there use to be these things. 

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the best damn art show in Richmond. Period! It's a day filled with fine food, fine music, fine art and fine folks. Come get your culture on and be sure to stop by to take a look at what I've been doing creatively. If your one of those kind that needs even more incentive than all the above goodness, …yes, I'll be giving away Pez dispensers while they last. 

Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011
10-5
Forest Hill and 43rd Street.

Come see me. I'll have a free 2" x 3.5" limited edition print waiting for you.

a thankful reflection

Full Moon Claytor ©2011 gary garbett.com

There was solemnness and a revival upon departing from my vacation yesterday morning. My time away was beyond healthy and a well needed refueling for my soul. It wasn't something I jotted down on my to-do list while I was away. It just happened. Seemed almost ironic with the decade commemoration of 9/11 being played out around our country and the world.

Perhaps my deciding to take the long way home was an attempt to extend my vacation a bit, but traveling along the Blue Ridge Parkway with the windows down and the roof open was more about reflection rather than delaying my return to the real world. It was a time of emotion and celebration as I thought of the day that changed so many lives ten years earlier and on a day that looked so similar to the one I was experiencing. The air was fresh. The sky blue, and the sun warmed my skin with its touch. I drove through the beautiful panoramas, stopping from time to time just to live in the moment, knowing I have a lot to be thankful for.

The end of my vacation drive found me in the parking lot of our church. I was thirty minutes late for the 5PM dedication memorial service for 9/11. I walked in with my hair a mess, wearing shorts, and my skin still warm from the hours of sunshine. Those things were trivial and just didn't matter. I listened and was touched by the stories I heard of those retelling their personal accounts from a morning ten years earlier.

I'm not sure I could have scripted this past week any better. It renewed me, gave me hope, and opened my eyes. I believe in a lot of things ...some of which even more today than I did seven days ago.

9.11.11 a good morning and a goodbye

©2011 gary garbett.com

On a day that marks the ten year anniversary of such horrific memories of hatred and loss, I found myself waking to this remarkable view. No radio, television, telephones, or headlines were able to interfere with the beauty of another morning. I was surrounded by peace.

After spending the week with my cameras and my thoughts during most of the days, I'll spend this morning packing my suitcase with dirty laundry and the enormous amount of sincere life that surrounded me for seven days. This place is mind healthy and always reconnects me. Im not sure that I could honor this date in any better place, either on earth or in spirit.

Good morning and goodbye mean the same thing today. Hatred does not exist here.