noelleprice (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} noelleprice) wrote,@ 2006-09-18 19:45:00 |
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Kudzu and Coke: a day of revisitations
Upon leaving Cloudland Canyon, I was informed that the trip to Atlanta by way of rural highway was a half hour shorter than the trip by interstate. You know how I love to hear that. But little did I know the bonus it would provide me... a reunion with an old friend of mine... here's a little portrait, which I find totally unsatisfactory as usual:
Please at least humor me by clicking to enlarge.
Ah yes, towers of kudzu. And no, this is not by _far_ the most impressive display I witnessed that day. In fact, I saw some formations I'd never seen before. I saw a whole huge _field_ of kudzu that stretched for at least half a mile, rippling over what presumably were rocks and low bushes, and possibly the occasional hapless dingo or wildebeest for all I know. It was pretty cool. But all of these things seem to happen in places where there is no shoulder to pull off and take pictures from. And besides, it's just not the same as getting the in-person panorama. Back in the day, none of this deterred me from wasting several rolls of film in the attempt. This time, I came away with three modest images, the best of which is above. The difference? Digital, baby. Not only could I instantly delete disappointing attempts to make space for more photogenic subjects, my ability to see immediately what even my good pictures looked like disabused me of the fantasy that it was within my power to take that perfect kudzu picture I've always wanted. So I just let go and enjoyed the unbelievable scenery. Unambivalently this time, since one of the things I've gotten clearer on in the last 11 years is that for better or for worse, my approval or disapproval of things in my environment doesn't do a darn thing to change the reality of them, so I may as well enjoy the view whenever I can find a way.
I close this kudzu retrospective with an observation: had there been digital cameras available to the average schmuck in 1995, "Kudzu" would most likely be minus one verse, at the very least.
If you're unfamiliar with the song I'm referring to, and you're curious, email me through the "contacts" tab, and I'll see what I can do about posting the song on the site.
From there it was on to Atlanta to visit my friends from the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. First stop was Carolyn's home, to drop my stuff and get ready to go out to fellow Coke Scholar Jany's for a girl's night out Bunko party. Carolyn and I became friends through the infamous 2005 banquet (infamous due to the fact that what I thought was to be a singing performance turned out to involve some "simple choreography" (shudder)) and our week in Slidell last January, and because she is really fun to talk to and hang out with. Bunko is a dice game involving great food, very little mental activity, wine as desired, gratuitous hollering, and enough raucous laughter to make your abs sore the next day. At least that's what I gather from my first initiation to the sport. How many extremely cool groups of people can one expect to meet in one trip??? Seems like I hit the jackpot.
Next day I spent some time in the office with the heroic staff of CCSF. They were all excited to hear about what's been going on down in Slidell, and to try to tack down dates for another week-long trip. For those of you who don't know my history with the Foundation, here's a quick re-cap. 1990: Coke flies me out to Atlanta for the finals of their national scholarship competition. Coke gives me $5000 a year for college. I get a degree in math and become a part-time mental health worker. After several years, I graduate into the similarly rarified field of carpentry. 2005: Coke surprisingly asks me to sing at their Scholar's banquet. I repay this magnanimous offer by providing considerable tangible support to the supposition that white people have no rhythm. But the energy and optimism of the young Scholars of the class of 2005 rubs off on me a bit, and gets me thinking about the extent to which I am and am not living a life that is in line with what I believe to be truly important. Then Coke Scholar Caitlin puts together a post-Katrina trip to Slidell, and the rest is history. In short, if you know a promising high school student, encourage them to apply for the scholarship - they don't all turn out like me.
Here's a pic of the staff, a truly amazing group of people who have won a tremendous amount of respect from me over the years... as much as anything else, by making friendly room for outlying variables like myself. Special thanks to Gabi, another fellow Scholar and friend from the Slidell trip, who came out to meet us for lunch.
Upon leaving Cloudland Canyon, I was informed that the trip to Atlanta by way of rural highway was a half hour shorter than the trip by interstate. You know how I love to hear that. But little did I know the bonus it would provide me... a reunion with an old friend of mine... here's a little portrait, which I find totally unsatisfactory as usual:
Please at least humor me by clicking to enlarge. Ah yes, towers of kudzu. And no, this is not by _far_ the most impressive display I witnessed that day. In fact, I saw some formations I'd never seen before. I saw a whole huge _field_ of kudzu that stretched for at least half a mile, rippling over what presumably were rocks and low bushes, and possibly the occasional hapless dingo or wildebeest for all I know. It was pretty cool. But all of these things seem to happen in places where there is no shoulder to pull off and take pictures from. And besides, it's just not the same as getting the in-person panorama. Back in the day, none of this deterred me from wasting several rolls of film in the attempt. This time, I came away with three modest images, the best of which is above. The difference? Digital, baby. Not only could I instantly delete disappointing attempts to make space for more photogenic subjects, my ability to see immediately what even my good pictures looked like disabused me of the fantasy that it was within my power to take that perfect kudzu picture I've always wanted. So I just let go and enjoyed the unbelievable scenery. Unambivalently this time, since one of the things I've gotten clearer on in the last 11 years is that for better or for worse, my approval or disapproval of things in my environment doesn't do a darn thing to change the reality of them, so I may as well enjoy the view whenever I can find a way.
I close this kudzu retrospective with an observation: had there been digital cameras available to the average schmuck in 1995, "Kudzu" would most likely be minus one verse, at the very least.
If you're unfamiliar with the song I'm referring to, and you're curious, email me through the "contacts" tab, and I'll see what I can do about posting the song on the site.
From there it was on to Atlanta to visit my friends from the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. First stop was Carolyn's home, to drop my stuff and get ready to go out to fellow Coke Scholar Jany's for a girl's night out Bunko party. Carolyn and I became friends through the infamous 2005 banquet (infamous due to the fact that what I thought was to be a singing performance turned out to involve some "simple choreography" (shudder)) and our week in Slidell last January, and because she is really fun to talk to and hang out with. Bunko is a dice game involving great food, very little mental activity, wine as desired, gratuitous hollering, and enough raucous laughter to make your abs sore the next day. At least that's what I gather from my first initiation to the sport. How many extremely cool groups of people can one expect to meet in one trip??? Seems like I hit the jackpot.
Next day I spent some time in the office with the heroic staff of CCSF. They were all excited to hear about what's been going on down in Slidell, and to try to tack down dates for another week-long trip. For those of you who don't know my history with the Foundation, here's a quick re-cap. 1990: Coke flies me out to Atlanta for the finals of their national scholarship competition. Coke gives me $5000 a year for college. I get a degree in math and become a part-time mental health worker. After several years, I graduate into the similarly rarified field of carpentry. 2005: Coke surprisingly asks me to sing at their Scholar's banquet. I repay this magnanimous offer by providing considerable tangible support to the supposition that white people have no rhythm. But the energy and optimism of the young Scholars of the class of 2005 rubs off on me a bit, and gets me thinking about the extent to which I am and am not living a life that is in line with what I believe to be truly important. Then Coke Scholar Caitlin puts together a post-Katrina trip to Slidell, and the rest is history. In short, if you know a promising high school student, encourage them to apply for the scholarship - they don't all turn out like me.
Here's a pic of the staff, a truly amazing group of people who have won a tremendous amount of respect from me over the years... as much as anything else, by making friendly room for outlying variables like myself. Special thanks to Gabi, another fellow Scholar and friend from the Slidell trip, who came out to meet us for lunch.
