June 12,2011

Not a sunny day..but nice and quiet for a while.
Work was a bit crazy yesterday.
You would think that the cave would not be there tomorrow!! Sold out tickets and people did not want to believe it. The Loop road is still closed due to snow and people did not want to believe it. Line forms at the left, and people asked to skip the line.
The trail safety ranger has to give you a safety message before you can climb the mile and a half, 1100 feet vertical gain path to the cave, and people didn't want to hear it.
Sadly these warnings of some danger go unheeded with disastrous results. The reason for the safety ranger is last year a maintenance worker on his motorcycle went over the edge and fell 500 feet to his death. The same summer a little girl fell 100 feet and was injured. Hence new safety measures.
I tell the parents and so does the news every night that parents should not let their children near the swollen rivers..and yet..5 children have drowned in 2 weeks. One was up our canyon. So sad that an 8 yr. old boy died because no one listened to the warnings. Now the bereaved mother who jumped in after him and nearly died herself is telling everyone to stay away from the rivers. I feel for her. I wonder why no one can see the danger.
I get parents everyday asking if the river is dangerous..I wonder if they hear me.
Part of my job is running the bookstore. The other part is giving out information.
Yes the road is closed a few miles up the road..no you cannot go through, because there is 12 feet of snowpack still on the road, why can't I go ahead and try, what about "road closed" don't you understand?
Somedays it is hard to not think of the crowds as stupid. After all I am not the world's smartest person. This is probably the hardest part of any customer service job.
Thanks heavens for the wonderful crew who though they get disgusted sometimes they maintain a helpful attitude and we all get through it and come back the next day!
Did I tell you I like my job a lot?

Now a different thing..Central Park in New York City is banning musicians from Quiet zones. These zones were newly signed and designated in areas where musicians have played for the public in a time honored tradition since the park came into being. One of these quiet zones is the area called Strawberry Fields in honor of John Lennon. Does this seem odd? Lennon being a musician? Well I am wondering about the quashing of the arts in the USA. Funding for arts in the public schools is disappearing, some Republican states no longer fund the arts. These all go back to the erroneous hard feelings the right wing fundamentalists have over Mapplethorpe's provocative photos of nude men in the early 80's that were shown in an NEA funded show. People thought the NEA had overstepped it's bounds by funding thereby condoning gay lifestyles. The NEA was defunded and crippled. The censorship of art has gained a foothold in our country. I just think it is up to the individual to censor..in other words..read the signs, read the reviews, decide whether you want to see the art. If you are offended..then turn around and walk out and get thee to the nearest Thomas Kincaid store and soak up the maudlin, easy on the eyes, no meaning art prints there.
My young artist friend had a show at the University in our gallery at the art building. A sign was prominent..warning of possible explicit material..yet someone went in found the 2" by 3" drawing that was offensive...amongst a room full of ephemera that was gobbed all over the walls and floor, and this poor soul went to the office and complained. My friend's adviser was contacted and she took the offensive drawing down and eventually told the artist! There was no discussion, no
explanation..just instant censorship of a show that had been posted to warn the poor virginal art lovers so they could make the choice to see or not. The joke was on them though. My friend turned it over and reposted the drawing on the wall where it stayed. All were invited to find it. But the lack of concern for all parties involved..even the artist was concerning to me. Where was the outrage for the censorship? Am I wrong to be offended? My friend who is 25 at first was not offended but amused that I was incensed! I found some articles about censorship of the arts in the US and gave them to him and his adviser who is also a friend. eventually he began to see that he had been censored and not in an informed way.
I think this could have been a teaching moment for all concerned. Why is there not a class to address those concerns and how to deal with it?
So I am going to try to find the photos I took of my friend Travis Nickolai and his sign!
Hope I didn't bore my readers! Have a great week.

I found a pic of one of Travis' earlier series of gnomes on butcher paper. He used wheat paste to "tag" abandoned buildings with these guys.
Well I have spouted off. I may not like some art, it may offend me, but that becomes my problem and I can deal with it for myself without trying to bash the artist or others with my ideas of what should or shouldn't be hung on a wall.