MonkInTheCellar Discussion

[Dave]

Thanks, I'll have a look at those songs.

My view of a story is that it should be somewhat of a roller coaster with twists and surprises to keep the reader interested. But there's a limit, of course, and as I turn this into a novel each of the twists and surprises will have to contribute to the story or they'll have to go.

I think the blog is a pretty good rendition of the story in First Draft form. The novel will end with the Brothers heading out on the road. But the Blog will go on as they move to at least one new venue and maybe more.

The Story is that of redemption, of course. What story isn't? When I go back and re-shape the narrative and fill in holes and smooth the edges, it will portray a man who has run from the responsibilities of his earlier adulthood to languish in a mountain monastery, there to eventually "retire" into depression. But circumstances force him from the role of bystander to that of a player who takes stock of himself and sees a man with something to give ... experience, authority, wisdom ... hiding it while he lets others direct him in the name of monkish obedience. He is forced into leadership, an uncomfortable mantel that he does not wear well at first.

I think any reader can identify with that theme and if I tell it well it will be a good story.

[keith]

This group will be at the Fairgrounds in Frankfort in July, just a stone's throw from Mucky Run Road.

[Dave]

Isn't the Herkimer Co. fair usually the weekend after the Boilermaker?

We have a bunch of crazy Irishmen down here at Irish fairs all summer summer long in Green county in East Durham, Hunter Mountain, Leeds and other small towns with an Irish pub on every corner. Hahahaha!

In East Durham, you can attend Mass at Our Lady of Knock church and then walk across the street to the Irish Heritage Museum and then down the the road to the pubs. Or ... as some do ... you can reverse the route and sit schnockered in church!

Ah, me. I don't miss those days.

[keith]

Great American Irish Festival, July 29-31.

[keith]

Paul Bunyan.
www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/964

[keith]

Dave,

Is the blog going to remain up for a bit?

I just thought of a new person to point towards it.
Keith

[Dave]

Yes, it not only will remain up, but will continue as the Brothers continue at Mucky Run. I'll post that again if Sally didn't make it clear.

[keith]

My misunderstanding. I was afraid that the continuation might be in a new blog.

[Dave]

That's still a possibility. I'm still considering it.

To tell the truth, I haven't found the Blog format as interactive as I hoped it would be.

And don't forget, the Brothers have not yet made the decision to leave the Woodstock/Saugerties area. They might decide to go to Utica. They might in fact go, but things may not work out. One never knows.

[keith]

I sent the Russian Airborne video to my friend Mirko (Mike) Vesic in Chicago. He is a Serbian born in Germany who came to the US as a child. I first met him when we were in the US Army on the West German/East German border. He was working at that time as a Russian/English translator. It will be interesting to see what reaction (if any) he has.

[keith]

Music.

I'm not sure how to make use of it, but there is a lot of enjoyable music in Le Miserable.

[Dave]

I saw the road company version of Les Mis the musical a few years ago here in South Carolina. I was surprised to recognize so much of the music, the songs having by now become popular. The company tried their best, but they didn't have enough audio for the size of the place (The Palace.) But it was still enjoyable.

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out.

[Dave]

Feb 5, 2011 13:25:26 GMT -5 keith said:

Paul Bunyan.
www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/964

Now, I wonder if that's the same one I remember. It somehow looks different from the one I remember. Of course, it could have been repainted. But I remember driving by maybe 15 years ago and I thought it had been removed.

I suppose it could have suffered terminal Old Forge Winter and been retired to the scrap heap and this is a new one.
Interesting.

[keith]

We took all 4 kids to New York to see Le Miz in 1993(?). I completely immersed myself in it, listened to the music constantly for a couple weeks, read the unabridge version (finished it on the train on the way down). It was throughly enjoyable.

My wife & I saw a road show version in Utica years later. Still good but not in the same class.

[keith]

I enjoyed the song by the Judds, I don't listen to them often, mostly when my wife asks me to update her ipod.

With the amount of wool gathering Brother Jesse's blog inspires perhaps he should consider raising sheep rather than dairy cows.

Brother Jesse's farm sent me off into thoughts of ... stray voltage. Some backgroung may be in order. For the last few years before he retired, my father had, among other responsibilities, assisting customers with stray voltage problems. I think part of the reason he was given that duty was that he was an electical engineer who knew where not to step in a milking parlor and his company had many farms among their customers.

He became a recognized expert in the field, presented papers for the IEEE, that sort of thing. After he retired he set up a consulting company to help those having a problem. Dairy farms are particularly vulnerable. A half volt leakage in a milking machine can seriously affect production, problems are often intermittant.

He became somewhat discouraged with consulting. He had no problem getting customers & usually solved problems quickly. However he wanted to solve engineering issues and found himself more & more involved as an expert witness. I just did a Google search on his name & stray voltage and half the top results concerned trial testimony.

Anyway, it's a kind of problem an old dairy farm can have. It can occur at hard to identify times, e.g. when a particular motor starts or a yard light comes on or even only during wet weather.