Thursday, September 30, 2010

Return to Paradise - Kauai




Dear Friends,


I missed my scheduled flight to Hawaii. No real fault of my own, except I didn’t obey the two hour before departure rule. I don’t like that rule. I like Casablanca. You know, standing on the tarmac with the doll, and the pilot is in the cockpit smoking a Camel, waiting for you. “Are you ready Mr. Allison, Sir?” the lovely stewardess asks. “Sure, darling, as soon as I’m done saying something cheesy to the broad.” Those were the good old days. I’m sure Humphrey Bogart had a piece in his shoulder harness. Maybe a Glock with a silencer. And a flask of whiskey . . . a Moroccan hookah and a pound of hashish . . . and oh my god . . . a six ounce tube of toothpaste! Remember when we didn’t know how to blow up flights from Seattle to Honolulu with only eight ounces of water? Anyway, after refusing to pay the $150 late fee, she rebooked me for the same time the next day - for free. I promised to be a good boy and arrive on time.


So what happens when you’re supposed to be there and you’re here? Is it a day out of time? A free day! “Wow, what kind of magic will happen where I’m not supposed to be where I am?” I wondered. I got on the fancy new tram heading to downtown Seattle. You know on the iPad when you touch the screen and move your finger right to left? The page flips. Suddenly time flipped like that for me. There was an alien sitting in front of me.


I’m thinking, “I’m sure I can take her out with my eight ounce tube of Tom’s toothpaste - if suddenly her eyes bug out of her head and her neck becomes a slinky, shooting her face right at me.” Beyond the human illusion I saw four inch fangs and nine inch nails, twelve inch red leather stilettos. Flat chested of questionable gender. A Michael Jackson Thriller clone ready to pounce. I frantically rummaged for Tom.


Before I get carried away . . . lost in the fantasy of a flipped page surreal day out of time, I did wake up the next morning and it was almost deja vu but not quite Groundhog day. The plane took off and landed and I am in Kauai.


The land I’m living on


Back to the day out of time . . . I went back home and lightened my load, rested, then met with a nerd at the Apple Store, which I couldn’t have done on Kauai. I shared a five o’clock beer with my son Aaron, and talked about things we hadn’t talked about in real time. Then I had a most wonderful dining experience at a Lebanese restaurant overlooking Puget Sound in Aliki, with my other son Alan and our friend Scott, hosted by the beautiful woman who owns it and served by her movie star beautiful daughter -- on her 33rd birthday night. We sat at the counter and the birthday girl brought us the best wine and unbelievably delicious food, we didn’t have to order a thing. Stories and laughter and flirting . . . and I came that close to dancing on the table, marrying the mother and moving to her 100,000 acre farm in Lebanon. What do you do when you’re where you’re not supposed to be - in a day out of time? Have fun! And dance with the Mother.


The last month in Kauai was crazy for me. I had to move out of my huge fully furnished house I been living in for three years, move a 700 square foot pottery studio, train the gal who bought my business, drive 45 minutes to Kilauea many times to build a 20 x 20 foot platform, put up two 10 x 20 foot tents with a gutter in-between, arrange all my tools there, set up a bedroom, sitting area and kitchen, and basically make a home on my friend’s eleven ideal acres, while continuing to pack 20 years of stuff, and clean 3000 sq. ft. of house and move 100 potted plants and my organic garden and on and on and on - until I wasn’t even quite done before I had to rush off to catch my flight - all before driving 8433 miles around the United States. And here I am again. On Kauai.


My tent home in Kilauea


When I arrived back in Kilauea I realized, almost surprised, that I had a home here. I sort of forgot. Forgot that I had a place to live in paradise and it would be all set up and ready for my return. I come home and go to bed. That easy. The crazy month of doing this while I was doing that, was well worth it. Sure, there is no electricity or indoor plumbing, it’s a bit musty and leaks, the nearest neighbors are at least 1/2 mile away, except Richard and Robert who live on the land . . . but I’ll tell you . . . the stars in the sky at night . . . ummmummmum. For the time being, or the rest of my life if I were to so choose, it is my home, and this is good.


I started the morning at the Coffee Bean, where I could sit and write this blog. It seems like its been such a long time since I left Kauai - so much has happened - and to the girls here it was just another day - where Dakan walked in like he walked in yesterday (three months ago) and they knew my name and drink. Another illusion of time.


I have many stories yet to tell, but for now I have work to do and old friends to visit.


With love and blessings,


David Dakan Allison

Friday, September 24, 2010

Seattle at Night


Dear Friends,


After a summer on the road I’m finally allowing myself to relax. Interesting - the whole point of the summer trip was to relax - find a beautiful Canadian campsite and hang there for a week or two, on my way to Montreal. Easy chair in the shade - work on my novels - take long hikes. Lose some weight. Eat pan-fried trout smothered in fresh vegetables. Drink a couple beers. Wonder why I’m not losing weight. Take siestas. Maybe two a day. Nice plan, but it never happened. Never entered Canada. Mostly I drove - stopped at bookstores or coffee shops with wifi and wrote blogs. Stayed with friends - camped overnight now and then - but mostly slept in the back of the SUV, or in a motel when I needed to shower. I just kept going. My name is David and I'm a recovering do-aholic.


So after a few days in back in Seattle there was this moment . . . I knew the exact moment. One moment I'm perfectly healthy and then the next . . . I felt this little worm with an electric feather stand up in my throat . . . and he just started waving that frickin’ buzzing electric feather around like crazy - like a wild crazy possessed worm on Red Bull. I started coughing to try to make him stop - but he wouldn’t - and I couldn’t . . . stop coughing. One moment I’m this healthy natural remedy guy, and then I’m this DayQuil and NyQuil and Ibuprofen junkie, gulping it down because without it I was just ripping my throat and chest to smithereens. The next day it turned into some sort of flu and I just couldn’t get up. Two in the afternoon and I’m still in bed. Unbelievable! Then the next day I was fine . . . a few hacks here and there . . . but strong. And the nuttiest thing about it . . . somehow all that hacking and sugary shit made my torn rotator cuff better. I am truly baffled with life.


I’ve been staying close to home, so last night I decided to get out and roam around downtown Seattle. I really like this city. It's vibrantly alive. At 8 pm stores are open, bars and restaurants are thriving, anything you want, people of all colors, shapes and sizes fill the sidewalks. Pretty girls. Gay boys looking dapper. (not that I notice) Beautiful rich women strutin' around spending money. Businessmen looking for martini’s or sushi, maybe both. Neon Deja Vu, young love, holding each other, looking for the one, wanting another, a 500 pound woman pontificates next to an alley. Someone is actually listening. An intoxicated native woman stands at the entrance to Nordstroms and screams “I hate my people. They are all Motherf@#$#%^&er’s!” OK. Next to Starbucks clusters of multi-racial teen tribes gather. Pierced faces. Strange tattoos. Black lipstick. Dreads. Excitement. What are they seeing? Planning? Wanting tonight? Some are homeless and have signs . . . Hungry $1 . . .competing with the street vets - old dudes in dirty clothes planted under Macy’s. Street Music. Guitars - open cases. A trumpet fills the air with expectancy. Hip-hop guy with six plastic five gallon buckets bangs away in the Pacific Place echo chamber - setting the beat . . . of cars and trucks and humanity all moving, going somewhere, going nowhere, blending color, sound, blood, breath in rhythm, the pulse . . . of downtown Seattle, on a Thursday night.


A couple middle-aged long-hair American Indians approach me on the corner of 1st and Virginia. “Hey brother. We’re hungry. Can you help us out?” I stop and look them both in the eyes. They weren’t drunk . . . probably hungry - not looking for cheap wine. “Sure. How about five bucks?” I hand the first man the money. “Thank you so much,” he says. “You help restore our faith in humanity. We really appreciate it.” “No problem.” I'm not sure why I'm surprised with how clear and bright they are. Beggar stereotyping. “Can you pray for our brother?" the other man asked. “You know - the one who was killed.” “I know,” I answer, aware of the young Native woodcarver who didn’t put down his carving knife when the officer told him to, (why would he?) resulting in six point blank bullets into the heart. “We don’t know how to stop killing Indians,” I offer as a way of apology. “They’re not all that way,” the first man says, holding up the five dollar bill. “This is going to get us two burgers and fries. Bless you brother.”


I relax in Borders for an hour or so - until 7:30 and then go back out to find something to eat. So many choices. Mostly I just like walking, watching, standing on street corners . . . waiting . . . letting the crowds file by . . . the signals change . . . other people come and go . . . I'm waiting . . . for nothing. This feels good. I decide to walk maybe ten blocks to Belltown.


8 pm. Just the beginning of the night.


A black man - maybe a street hustler - OK, a street hustler - 50ish, Suave. Debonaire. Handsome. Slick. I stop and lean against a street lamppost. He's singing Motown. Two blonds in black dresses. Long legs caught in his web. “Tears on my pillow,” he sings a capella, looking straight in ones eyes, “Pain in my heart . . . over you . . . watch this! . . . over you - ou-ou-ooooou.” Then breaking away, dancing on the sidewalk, then coming back inches from her face, “Earth angel, earth angel, oh, oh, oh, oh, wah-ah-ah, oh, oh, oh, oh . . . Will you be mine? My darling dear . . . love you all the time. I’m just a fool . . . A fool in love with you . . . oh, oh, oh, oh, wah-ah-ah, oh, oh, oh, oh . . .” He moonwalks back, does a few quick dance steps and then slithers up in the other blonds face, “Oh darling, please believe me . . . I’ll never do you no wrong. Believe me when I tell you . . . check it out . . . I’ll never leave you alone.”

I’m thinking, “oh brother.” Now the hustle begins . . . with whispers in their ears that I can’t hear. They leave. He walks the other way, and then returns to his corner. Me and a few black hustlers under the street lamp. I give my compliments.

“I don’t know,” he says. “Sometimes it just gets me in trouble.”

“You were really doing a number on those two blonds. I loved it.” It was like rich chocolate - an exquisite taste of life in the city.

“Yeah, I’m going to meet them in the alley in an hour. We’ll see.” (it never happened. The girls were at a bar where I had dinner and went off with some tall white dude). “Hey brother. How ‘bout I sing you a song?”

“You’re not going to be romancing me, are you?” We laughed.

“No way. You’re not my type. Hey . . . (here’s the hustle) me and my buddy need a couple slices of pizza. You like oldies?”

“Sure - give me five bucks worth of oldie.”

“You got it. (he starts right in - looking me square in the eyes) Here’s my story, its sad but true. It’s about a girl that I once knew. She took my love, then ran around - with every single guy in town. Hayp hayo whoah ooh - I should have known it from the very start. This girl will give me a broken heart. Listen people what I’m telling you - a keep away from a Run Around Sue. (he yells that line real loud as a good looking black girl walks by, ignoring him) She likes to travel around, She'll love you but she'll put you down. Now people let me put you wise. Sue goes out with other guys. Here's the moral and the story From the guy who knows - I fell in love and my love still grows. Ask any fool that she ever knew - They'll say, a keep away from a Run Around Sue - Stay away from that girl. Don't you know what she'll do now? Whoah . . .”


The entertainment was worth every dime. Me and the black guys do the hand shaking thing. I got it right. We bonding.

“Thanks for the money, Brother. Hey what you doing with those notes?”

“I’m a story writer. I’m writing about this.”

“You make sure we’re in your story. Write good things about us, hear?”

“You got it.”


I had dinner a few cafe’s down from his corner. It wasn’t crowded and the food there wasn’t very good, but I was totally enjoying life. Alan came to join me, and by 10:30 the place was filling up - a Brazilian band was about to play. Looked like some dancers in the crowd . . . but for me it was the end of a good day, and I was ready to go home.


Blessing and love always,


David Dakan Allison




Saturday, September 18, 2010

Me and Fidel Castro in Seattle





Dear Friends,


I’m going to take the opportunity to share some art - pieces that didn’t get into my other blogs - with a bit of mind ramblings in between.


It’s a sunny day in Seattle. I should be out taking a walk, doing something other than hanging with the dogs, but there's a point to it all. Molly, Aaron’s lab, and Fidel Castro, Aaron’s friend Jodi’s black pug, are fighting at my feet. Fidel is so far, and probably forever, unsuccessful in his mounting attempts - invading much bigger territory.



I’m trying to take a picture of Fidel Castro's folly, but it is all just a blur.

Excitement is in the air. Alan’s buddy Art is getting married. The groom must have ordered the weather for his bride. I would say that is true - I'm a romantic that way. Alan, Aaron and Jodi are looking for the right clothes to wear to the wedding, while I sit on the couch . . . relaxing . . . not invited (I would have been - but who knew I would be here now), not thinking about doing the rest of the laundry, not cleaning the kitchen, not unloading the SUV on the third day home, not reorganizing the whole frickin’ house. Just . . . sitting here. With Fidel . . . who has now figured out that his trying to do the deed was all in vain. We look at each other. Yes . . . I think I’m beginning to understand.


I’ve created a blur - like Fidel, I'm aimlessly missing the point - thinking my little pug pecker is going to make it all better. So what's really true?


Dad’s come home and made a mess.


Suddenly the house looks like a cyclone hit it. It says in Human Design that Manifesting Generators - which I am one - in their Not-Self conditioning - generate action by doing things, whether needed or not. I thought I had this under control on the trip - not offering to paint kitchens or mow lawns or take loads to the dump. My Real Self was visiting and relaxing after the do, do, doing of driving.


OK, so what do I do after doing 8433 miles of driving? I start doing all my sons’ accumulated laundry - neatly folding it - putting new shelves up to hold it. I pull things out of messy closets and start organizing. The organizer from Hell. It will be better I tell them. Trust me.


My boys tell me that I’m just like Latifa. Just a sidebar . . . Latifa is also a Manifesting Generator. Separately we moved to Kauai at around the same time and became friends in 1994. We both left when we were 63, her two years before me. In her first months of driving around looking for a home and family - just like me - she came to Seattle, and stayed with Alan and Aaron for a couple weeks. Like me she did the piles and piles of laundry, cleaned the house, organized things. I can’t help but wonder how these guys can have clean clothes without me or Latifa around. For their credit - they do quite well for themselves. They are Projectors - and simply aren’t driven to do, do, do.



So what should I do with all my need to be doing?


Human Design tells us Manifesting Generators to Stop It! Stop doing. (How can you stop a runaway train? I question.)


Truth is, no one is asking me to do anything. My son’s didn’t ask me to do the laundry. I just saw something that I thought needed to be done and for some strange reason felt obliged to do. I suppose if I just added to the mess and sat on couch on my ass, I would be a bum. On the other hand, a thoughtful question would be, “How can I help?” And then do what I have been invited to do. Just “doing it” may in fact be insulting and literally “uncalled for.” (although in this case my sons are happy with the maid.)


This is exactly why I’m a student of Human Design. I wish to live my life in balance, according to me true Authority and Design - in Exaltation, not detriment. Ironically, doing my sons’ laundry without being asked may very well be in conflict with my higher purpose. Is this in fact an example of my energy being out of control? Am I the little pug trying to screw the big dog without being invited?



My son Alan is a Projector. He has a management position in a growing company. His job as a Projector is to direct energy. All us Generators want to do,do the do-do that we think we do, do so well. It is up to Projectors like him to control the damn busy beavers - so they’re not doing work that’s uncalled for - wasting time and energy and money with off-purpose or unproductive efforting - doing the company laundry when they have better, more focused, things to do.


I just read this to Alan, and his comment was, “It’s OK for you to be a bum. You don’t have to do anything.” Have I finally earned the right to be a bum? Can I finally just do nothing? or - Will I be folding my sons’ laundry on my death bed? God help me!


What do I think of when there is nothing to do? Seattle sport fans are happy - the Seattle Storm won the Woman’s pro basketball championship, Seattle Seahawks won their first football game last week, and the Mariner’s are posed to lose 100 baseball games this season, as their beloved Ichiro again has over 200 base hits. What's on ESPN? Truly, all is well in the Emerald City. Is it possible that all is well in my emerald head? . . . just being one of the dogs on a lazy Saturday afternoon.


With continued love and blessings,


David Dakan Allison

Folk art - Clara Loretta Allison - my mother - in Ringold, Georgia

Other Art: Doll = Asheville
African Sculpture = Ann Arbor, Michigan
Buick = Detroit
Man at door = my photo - small town in Colorado
Dragon Sculpture = Dallas


Thursday, September 16, 2010

In Seattle after a night in the Poor House



Dear Friends,

I finally made it to Seattle. Sixty-three days and 8433 miles around the US. I'm happy to be here. I'm always grateful and blessed to be around my sons, Alan and Aaron. They are my home - and it makes it all the better that they share the same house. Sunday is their mother Sara's birthday here. I've arrived at the right time.


I spent Tuesday, my last night on the road, in the Poor House.


McMenamin's Edgefield Resort in Troutdale, just east of Portland, Oregon, was actually the Multnomah County Poor Farm, built in 1911, and converted into a trendy resort in the early 90’s. (you can read the history below)


My mother loved this place - I think because she related to those who were disadvantaged, and thought she’d probably end up dying in the poor house. But as good fortune had it, that didn’t happen. The Kansas farm girl from the great American Depression, who left home alone at sixteen and made a better life for herself, ended her days in a modern hospital, with a couple million in the bank. She had a pretty good life. She raised good children (7)


By the time I got to Edgefield, late Tuesday afternoon, I was bushed. I just wanted to relax in the hot tub spa. I asked the gal at the desk about a room.

“We have a single king for $90 a night.”

“$90?” (my budget was around $60) “OK.” I wasn’t protesting. “I’m too tired to go anywhere else. Anyway, I’ve been looking forward to the spa.”

“Why don’t you stay in the hostel?" she offered. "It’s only $30 and you can use the spa and all the facilities. There’s twelve bunks in the room and only one other guy staying there. He goes to sleep at 8:00. I’ll give you the bunk on the opposite side of the room. You probably won’t even notice him.”

“Why not?” I’d spent so many nights sleeping in the back of a SUV; one night in a bunk house for $30 wouldn’t be a problem.


All the walls and doors are filled with murals


His name was Dallas. He was a good looking 52 year-old man from Bend, Oregon - lying on his bunk, wondering whether or not he was going to die from pancreatic cancer. They had removed the tumor, he said he was cancer free, and, for reasons I couldn’t understand, they were now pumping his body with chemotherapy. He felt as though the chemo was now killing him. He got up and told me more of the story - moved over and sat by the window. "I'm not sure why I have to go through this." When I told him they were apparently just after his money, he slammed his fist on the table and screamed, “I knew it!” We moved the conversation over to the Power House (pictured below) - and shared a drink - me an IPA and he - double shots of straight Vodka.


This was once the laundry room - now its a restaurant/pub


I loved the ambiance of Bend, Oregon. He didn’t like the town. He said the economy was an illusion, illustrated by the fact that he had to sell his $500,000 home for $300,000 - in order to pay for his cancer treatments. This man has a very high IQ (he said 175 - they say over 140 is genius) and a photographic memory. Not a normal person. He talked about all the things he wanted to do in life - he had books to write and so on - if it wasn’t for the cancer. He told me the story of his father, who owned Chateau Ste. Michelle winery and flew single engine airplanes. When Dallas was ten years old he watched his father, sister and two best friends come in for a landing. Right in front of him the plane rose up and then crashed. They all died. His father was wise enough to leave a will. On this 55th birthday Dallas will inherit something like 7 million dollars. He sat there at the table across from me, doubting he will live that long. 52 is way too young to die.


I really liked this man. In the morning he was hunched over and didn't look good at all. He told me he was scared; he was obviously in pain. I offered to drive him to the hospital, but he felt he had a least enough strength to drive himself. He was proud. We went down and sat on the front porch of the poor house and talked about cancer. He seemed so lonely, and I struggled with how drawn in I wanted to be. We were just strangers who shared a bunk room. Or were we? How responsibly am I for my brother, any brother, in pain? If we are truly one - would I leave myself there in misery? It was time for me to return home to Seattle, and I was willing to drive him to the hospital, which he turned down.I felt all I could do was bolster his life urge over his death urge. I suggested that he stop feeding his cancer with sugar. I told him that smoking marijuana was a much better way to alleviate the pain than vodka. He didn't like the thought of getting high. He had no idea that cancer cells thrives on a diet of sugar (most doctors don't) - even vodka.


“Why don’t they tell us these things?” He almost whined.


“The doctors and hospitals are like cancer," I offered. "They thrive on your money. You’re their sugar.”


"Oh shit."


I hope Dallas does stay in touch with me. He is a colorful person, with an important story to tell. There was sweetness in his voice as he spoke on the phone with his 73 year-old mother, a lively woman who walks around Palm Springs with her neighbor Magic Johnson. Even in pain he looks for opportunities to give - like from his box in the back of his Mercedes - collector Barbie dolls he gives away to make women happy, even that morning. The world is always blessed by the lives of colorful people like Dallas from Bend, Oregon.


I know that cancer isn’t a happy subject to write about - but it's certainly a part of being genuine and real. I'm not just an innocent fool - I'm aware and knowledgable. My mother and lots of others I was close to died of cancer, and I've spent quite a bit of time doing my homework. There exists a whole lot of mis-information - ignorance - surrounding the conventional medical approach to the treatment and cure of cancer. When I left Dallas I said to him, “Google ‘Alive and Well,’ and read the testimonials of people who beat terminal cancel by simply eliminating sugar from their diet. Once you have the information you'll use it or not. It will then be a question of how important it is for you to continue living.”


Traveling around the United States has fortified my ‘life urge.” I want to see more, write more, visit more people, make more friends - love more. Maybe one day I will meet a woman, a lover companion, who will share these adventures with me - even though, and maybe because of the fact that I’m a silly old fool. But that isn’t as important as my learning to truly love myself - love my life and the wonders of all existence. It appears to me that I will enjoy it all more - being alive - then being dead. So what does it take to keep on living?


I will be working on the answer to that question for the rest of my long life, so help me God.


These blogs will continue. I have more stories to tell, and if you are still interested, I'd love to keep sharing them to you. Below is the story of Edgefield.


With continuing love and blessings,


David Dakan Allison







At Edgefield, during its seven-decade run as a poor farm, a remarkable array of personalities congregated under its roof: sea captains, captains of industry, school teachers, ministers, musicians, loggers, nurses, home builders, homemakers, former slaves and slave owners. There were Germans, Italians, Japanese, Chinese, Native Americans, African Americans; Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Buddhist. Frankie of "Frankie and Johnny" notoriety was there. The nephew of celebrated Confederate General Stonewall Jackson surpassed age 100 while at Edgefield. The one common thread among them was, at one time (and perhaps others) in their lives, each needed a "leg up."

Many of the residents, or inmates as they originally were called, supplied the labor for the 300+-acre farm. Overseen by a succession of well-seasoned, college-educated farm supervisors, Edgefield was a model of agricultural efficiency and production. The fruit, vegetables, dairy, hogs, and poultry raised on property was sufficient for feeding the population at the poor farm, as well as the county hospital and jail. Many years, surplus quantities were canned and sold on the open market.

Perhaps the greatest challenge for the farm supervisor was maintaining an adequate and capable labor force. Field "workers" were constantly coming and going and of course none were hired for their farming expertise. Outside labor gangs were periodically contracted-farm students, prisoners, prisoners of war, even some of Oregon's first Braceros (migrant workers from Mexico)¬-to supplement the on-site force.

The Great Depression was one notable period when the labor supply was not an issue. In the early 1930s, when so many people needed "legs up," Edgefield's population swelled to over 600, nearly double its normal number. Closets were converted and residents put three or more to a room in an ongoing effort to accommodate the great demand. The poor farm's basement quickly emerged as a veritable bazaar made up of booths operated by the legions of unemployed craftsmen and artisans living upstairs. The pool of talent and services available in those basement booths drew faithful patronage from Portland customers.

In the 1940s, when World War II put Americans back to work, Edgefield's population shrank considerably, and those who remained were many Depression-era residents who had number of residents who had reached an advanced age or state of incapacity to prevent their departures. To better suit these needs, in the Post War years, Edgefield took on more of a role of a nursing home and rehabilitation center, though the farm operation continued through the 1960s.

In the 1970s, Edgefield saw fewer incoming patients as private nursing homes and in-home care became more accessible with the rise of Welfare and Medicaid. A shrinking population and a complex of aging buildings in need of daunting repairs forced the decision to close the old poor farm. In April 1982, the last patients were relocated and the place was locked up, though not too securely.

For the remainder of the 1980s, the elements and vandals¬-mostly bored teenagers¬-wreaked havoc on the property. Burst pipes sent water everywhere, windows were broken, every surface was spray painted with graffiti, and everything not bolted down was stolen. The place that for decades had been a refuge for thousands of needy souls was now a liability to the county. Arrangements to demolish the building were put in place.

It would have happened, too, if it weren't for those pesky Troutdale Historical Society folks who decried such a move a "foul and unjust fate!" These courageous and resolute history-minded folks waged a five-year fight to save. Once victory was theirs, however, the bigger battle began: Who wants an old poor farm, anyway? A listing with a New York auction house prompted exactly no bids.

Enter brothers and Portland sons, Mike and Brian McMenamin. Amongst the ruins of Edgefield they saw a fabled gathering spot, a village populated by artists, artisans, gardeners, craftspeople, musicians, and folks from surrounding communities. The people holding the purse strings didn't see it.

General confusion reigned amongst the moneylenders. They felt Mike and Brian's proposal was a somewhat vague and decidedly different direction for the brothers, who to that point had opened a handful of neighborhood pubs in the Portland area. By 1990, though, the pair had developed a pretty good sense about the philosophy and verse of pubs, having opened their first in 1974.

On their journey of discovery, the brothers' definition and expectations of a pub broadened. At the absolute core is a welcoming gathering spot for people of all ages. It needn't depend on trendy décor; rather the people who have gathered and their conversations create the finest atmosphere (though, good music, good beer and good food often will enhance the experience). From this core, radiated such new rays as breweries, movie theaters, lodging rooms, artwork and history. But all this proved to be just a foundation for what a pub could be.

Braced with some experience, brimming with ideas and enthusiasm, and given a proverbial blank canvas with Edgefield, all that was needed was financing. The money finally came when two separate banks agreed to loan the brothers enough to accomplish the first stage. When (if?) that was completed, additional funding would be forthcoming. WaHoo!

First came the winery, in 1990. The following year saw the opening of a brewery, and the Power Station pub, movie theater and McMenamins first venture into lodging: eight rooms. Through word of mouth and minimal advertising, people started to come-despite the property's then remote location on a county road, 16 miles distant from the company's Portland customer base.

And the people came, the McMenamins' faithful, disciples of the then-raging Microbrew Revolution. They were curious about this big new adventure, tolerant of the tumble down condition of the rest of the property, and thirsty for a good brew!

This initial spurt of success allowed the adventure to continue: renovation of the main lodge into hotel rooms, specialty bars, a fine dining restaurant, and inventive event spaces. Also, wondrous gardens, artisans shops, concerts, big and small, and golf.

Every salvageable building, shed, and outbuilding of the old poor farm that could be found beneath the rampant wild blackberries was saved. The mechanics facility became a festive event space called Blackberry Hall. The root cellar-turned stable found new life as the Distillery and clubhouse for the golf course. The delousing shed was reborn as the Black Rabbit House bar. Even the poor farm incinerator got a creative transformation into the Little Red Shed, prototype of McMenamins' long line of small bars to follow.

A blending of art and history has become another of the property's attractions, another McMenamins' first that germinated at Edgefield. A team of more than a dozen artists was turned loose on the place, armed with tales and photos of the poor farm, its residents, and the surrounding area, with the directive to celebrate the rich past while doing away with the property's institutional feel. Now, it's hard to find a surface not enlivened by an artistic flourish and nod to the past.

McMenamins Edgefield continues its emergence as a pub of a most delightfully broadened definition, a village of artisans and publicans. The ever-evolving mélange of personalities, events, landscape and architecture makes for a truly extraordinary setting, inseparable from its poor farm past, and soon to be augmented by new lodging rooms in the 1962 county jail facility, and who knows, maybe a 360-degree bar in the old farm silo

Poorhouses were tax-supported residential institutions to which people were required to go if they could not support themselves. They were started as a method of providing a less expensive (to the taxpayers) alternative to what we would now days call "welfare" - what was called "outdoor relief" in those days. People requested help from the community Overseer of the Poor ( sometimes also called a Poor Master) - an elected town official. If the need was great or likely to be long-term, they were sent to the poorhouse instead of being given relief while they continued to live independently. Sometimes they were sent there even if they had not requested help from the Overseer of the Poor. That was usually done when they were found guilty of begging in public, etc.


[One misconception should be cleared up here; they were not technically "debtors' prisons." Someone could owe a great deal of money, but if they could still provide themselves with the necessities for remaining independent they might avoid the poorhouse.]

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Oregon - Coming Home


Thompson Pass - Willamette National Forest

Dear Friends,


I have to go back a couple days. I spent Sunday night in some Idaho motel and by Monday evening I was cruising through downtown Bend, Oregon, a city of 80,000 - with perfect old brick turn of the last century buildings, trendy shops, art galleries and exotic restaurants, tucked into a very healthy looking city center - covering several blocks - with shade trees and a river running through it. Beautiful. It was after six when I arrived, and I wasn't hungry, and didn't want to stay in a motel. If I had I would have had trouble deciding what great looking restaurant to eat at. I did go to awonderful Whole Foods/type market - which was smaller but much nicer than Whole Foods. Made me want to buy all sorts of food I didn't need. Heading West and about twenty miles into the forest is a town called Sisters - it reminded me of Taos, but different. Taos was all adobe. Sisters looked like a designer town - perfectly laid out with only frontier buildings - all nestled in the pines. The perfect tourist town.



I spent Monday night under the tall Ponderosa Pines in the Willamette National Forest, not far from Thompson Pass. The United States is incredibly scenic, and I have passed through some amazing places - it is hard to rate the beauty of Mother Earth. I particularly love the pines. More than anything I love mountain pines and babbling brooks. So I have to say that the most stunningly beautiful place I had been on my whole journey was right there in the Willamette National Forest.



The Willamette National Forest was exactly what I was looking for in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. I'm sure its there by I never saw it like this. This was the first unobstructed 40 mile drive through pristine forests and rivers I had been on. Remarkably, there were no houses or stores - nothing by National Forest campgrounds and trails. Wooden bridges placed here and there went half-way over the river - just for the tourist's enjoyment of looking down. Plenty of places to stop and take pictures. In fact, once I got down to the bottom of mountain I wanted to turn around and go back up. The only reason I didn't was because my camera died - and of course there was no store to buy batteries. Some places just soothe the soul - and this was one of those places for me.


It's mid-September. The campground was empty. It was just me and the trees and the incredible silence. There isn't anything quite like being high in the mountains, with a refreshing chill in the air - cooking fried potatoes, eggs and toast - a blue cup of fresh brewed coffee in hand. Ahh. I think it would only have been better if I had a loved one to share the ahhh with.



After breakfast, I drove two hours to Corvallis, Oregon, where I graduated from High School in 1965. Which at this moment seems impossible from my current perspective. 45 years! On my way there I wondered why I had never been to Willamette National Forest, or even Albany which is only 11miles away. Then I remembered. I didn't have a car in high school. I could borrow my parents Cadillac or VW to go to the store or cruise some weekends - but take a road trip? No way. When I first came to Corvallis in 1962 I wanted to meet people, so in August I tried out for the football team. I had never played football in my life - and suddenly this 120 pound sophomore kid was being bowled over by 200 pound Senior linebackers. "Get up, Allison! Be a man!" Shit - what was wrong with being a boy?


After a week or so I couldn't get up. Literally. That was the end of my football career. In my Senior year one of the boys actually died in football practice - but I guess it was worth it - they were No.1 in the state of Oregon that year. The coach was a Nazi - but he did give me A's in PE all through High School - wondering why I didn't stick to it. He thought I had potential, even though I was trying out for running back next to his son - who ended up being All-State and college All-American. Anyway - unlike my visit to my Junior High in Columbus, Ohio - which looked just like I remembered it 50 years before - they recently mowed down the historic Corvallis High School - which was at least 50 years old in 1965 - and replaced it with a modern version. Below is the incarnation of the same place where I was almost died.



From Corvallis I went to McMinnville, where my Grandfather started a business called Pacific Reflex Signs back in 1949. Five brothers inherited it when he died in 1962 - and since they were remote owners, all sorts of shenanigans took place - manager after manager who invented ways to report income, if you know what I mean. Long story - but amazing that they are still in business 61 years later. Now the cousins, sons and daughters of the four brothers (one of the five did time as a manager) are inheriting the struggling business. I hadn't been there in about 40 years when I walked in the door yesterday and introduced myself as one of the Allison's. I told them that as an artist I had been thinking of ideas for the business for 30 years - but my father didn't want to hear it. Unfortunately. By the time I left, the gals working there offered me an office, all the computers and graphic equipment I wanted - to help them save the business and their jobs. I may just do that.

Tomorrow I'll write about my night in the Poor House - and my return to Seattle.

With love and blessings, David Dakan Allison