2000-05-22 -

Wow- I just got back from the most wonderful weekend trip - B invited me with him to visit some of his friends in Asheville NC for the weekend. I agreed to go because I wanted to hang out with him and a road trip to the mountains of North Carolina sounded like fun - The weekend turned out to be one of the most fun weekends of my life.

I arrived on Friday night with B and the party was already going on. We were at a cabin on the top of a remote mountain which is inhabited by 2 of B's friends, a couple. There were about 40 other people staying there for the weekend, and everyone else was camping in tents in the surrounding property and down the mountain trails. Some of the people there were old friends, but most of us didn't know each other - and it didn't matter, we were all enjoying ourselves and on the same wavelength.

I had barely arrived before a guy comes up to me and asks me "Are you a poet?" And I said, "why yes, yes I am" and he told me that they were going to have a poetry slam that night - A half an hour later we DID have a poetry slam - 6 of us started out reading poetry and there were a few judges and each round someone was eliminated until there were only 3 left, and then there was a final round of spontaneous improv poetry to determine the "winner" - We passed around a hat to come up with the prizes for the winner and they were things like cigarettes, change, a banana, a moon pie, a wish etc - The other poets there were all men and all friends of B - And they were all so clever - They were writing a totally different kind of poetry than mine and I was inspired - The improv round was particularly exciting to me because these guys came up with some wonderful lines with only 20 seconds to prepare and with topics like "Broccoli Teleportation" and "Tics and Chiggers" It made me realize the poetential for poetry in everything - In the slam I went by "H-bomb" as my name, so the rest of the weekend whenever I met anyone people just called me H-bomb. It felt good to be in a community of people where creativity is embraced.

Saturday we all got up at 9 Am and made pancakes for the whole group - Then we went on a short hike to a nearby natural waterfull. The mountains were breathtaking - I really enjoyed being back in the woods and the hike felt good. The waterful was tucked away at the end of a long trail and to get to it we had to crawl under some fallen trees and climb over a bunch of rocks. The water in the stream was CcccOLD. Everyone stripped down to their underwear and took turns walking under the fall - It was freezing but so worth it. After we had all been under the water once I went back in a second time. Just before I reached the waterfall I saw the most beautiful rainbow - it was in a thin band arcing at eye-levl in front of me. I walked into the falls and this time I kept my eyes wide open - and I found that I was in the middle of a torrent of white water from above with the rainbow surrounding me on all sides like a hoop - Its moments like those that make you glad to be alive.

When the group got back from the falls, the whole afternoon was spent partying, free-style. We had our first beers around noon. For he rest of the afternoon: people napped in their tents, hiked the trails, hung out and listened to music or made music with guitars and drums, we had face-paints and painted our faces or bodies, we had bubble-mix and a coat-hanger and we made giant bubbles, we lit a fire in the fire-pit and roasted marshmellows, one guy had a tent and spray paint and we made his tent into an art project, we had a slip'n'slide, we talked and laughed and ate and drank and generally had a good time.

At night some of the guys had a band they called "Big Tasty" - The trio consisted of one guy on electric guitar, one guy on electric violin, and one guy on ELECTRIC BANJO! They played rock, folk, celtic, and just all around good music - I play violin and own a guitar and a banjo, so I was totally enthralled and inspired - The violinist was just wailin' and it completely inspired me and makes me want to practice practice practice - I would love to be in a group like that and I would love to be able to pour myself out in music like they did - Their music was fearless!

At midnight Gordon, the owner of the place, gathered us all together around the firepit and held a toung-in-cheek ordination ceremony - He is an official certificate-through-the-mail pastor for the Universal Life Church - to become a member or a minister of said church you only have to agree to 3 tenets:

1.living how you feel is right, so long as you:

2.understand others are living how they feel is right, and do nothing to infringe upon the rights of others

3. believe in the good life

So Gordon had the whole group repeating after him by firelight and he offered to initiate anyone into the "church" by raising our hands in agreement - so we did and then we followed him back into the house and all drank tea he had prepared for us. Then we all relaxed and began the party again. A short while later it began to rain and the whole group of us piled inside and sat down on the floor to watch a show of slides from one of the guys in the group who was a photographer - we spent an hour watching his photos of babies and butterflies and insects and scenery - it was lovely and we were all enjoying each other so much - it was a wonderful way to get together. After the slideshow we all hung out until we got tired and one by one we went back to our sleeping bags, only a couple of people were awake to see the dawn.

Sunday we got up and went out for a homecooked southern breakfast at a place called Grandma's Barn - I made sure to order my share of grits. The weekend was coming to a close and he group dissipated and all got in our cars to drive our seperate ways - some of us going back to atlanta, others driving to asheville or durham nc, some going to st simons island georgia and some driving as far home as michigan and arizona -

I am so glad I got away this weekend- it was fulfilling to me on so many levels - On the one level it was just a good party and a good time and I boogied some and relaxed too.

It was also good to spend so much time with B, who continually delights me - I got to see him in his element, among his friends - and I got to see him in his most basic state - (I also got to see him blow smoke rings with his cigarettes, which is a talent I much admire) I feel much closer to him after this weekend.

I have also gained from this weekend an understanding of the ideal community that friends can be - even though I came to the mountain party not knowing anyone but B, I felt a part of the group and on the same wavelength as others there - it was a completely Drama-Free weekend - I realized that the people there were all enjoying each other and keeping it simple, and I really hope that I can bring that same vibe to my Alabama friends, so that we would get the most out of our time together with no worries - This group has shown me the possibilities in friendship, and they seem endless to me now.

And this weekend was such an inspiration to me creatively - it has made me see how much I have to learn and how far I have to go -- there is so much more to poetry and music than I have explored and I feel energized by the creativity I witnessed in others there - And each time I have an opportunity to be in a state as we were on Saturday night I always come away feeling profoundly changed and more real, more myself, more understanding of who I am in relationship to the life around me and I feel much deepened by that experience.

All in all, it feels good to be alive.