2000-05-17 -

The building itself was a strange mix of original architexture and add-ons - from what must have at one time been the front entrance it seems like a large southern mansion, with larger than life white columns and a tree lined front walk. Other parts of the building were based in stone, which gave it a castle-like appearance. We skulked around the grounds and felt giddy and spooky like children in a graveyard - but the more we explored the more relaxed we felt and the more awed we were by our surroundings - its amazing what a building says to you when its empty of furniture. We climbed up on concrete blocks and pressed our hands to the glass, peering in the windows. The basement of the institution had rooms full of old chairs stacked up, and old equipment such as stretchers- and we think we saw an electronic shock therapy machine - that part of the building was dank and creepy. The middle part of the building and upper levels were rooms in which the patients stayed - these were empty and white and seemed to reflect the most human experience. Then there were the large beautiful ground floor rooms - the sitting rooms and entrance hall. The floors in this area were either hardwood or tile and there were sets of grand staircases and light fixtures that held electric candles to look like old gas lamps - It was so very beautiful inside these rooms, it was hard to believe this had been a mental institution. As we walked around the grounds in the dark we found them to be unkept and wild - in some places the bushes and vines had overgrown to the point of growing through the window panes and into the building itself. The trees were large and sad.

At one point we were overcome with the beauty of the building and the magic of the moment - we imagined what it might be like to have a dance in the ballroom there - we found ourselves waltzing amidst the rubble under the full moon.

Later we were effected by the sadness and frustration of the lingering spirits of some of the people who had been there and the residual energy that the building was emminating - we thought the building had been closed many years and yet the traces of the people in the spiritual energy of the place seemed so fresh . . .

Today I found out why - I was talking about the experience with another friend who said he had known of the place - It turns out it we were at the Georgia Mental Health Institute and it only closed down in the early part of 1998. It was an unusual jaunt for a Tuesday night and a moment with my friends I will never forget - we decided to return soon with cameras for an artistic appreciation of the place, and for some more reflection/communtion.

In other news of my day . . . B left me a note today saying "Never forget that I am anahilated by your beauty on a daily basis" Wow. I read the note and totally melted . . . it has been such a long time since anyone has complimented me truly and I am touched.