Yesterday afternoon I was getting gas in Mill Valley. A young guy pulled up to the pump behind me, got out and looked at the Velcro band I had across my chest.
“Bad back?” he asked.
No, I said, cracked ribs.
“Would you like me to pray for you to be healed in the name of Jesus?”
Sure, I said.
He asked my name, then came up to me, put a hand on my shoulder and said: “Lloyd, may you be healed in the name of Jesus.”
Well I’ll tell you what. I went for a slow shuffling run that night at the beach (the first in 6+ weeks) and no rib twinges at all. The day before I could hardly walk much less run, without pain.
I’ve been getting some great comments on the blog lately, some of which I’m putting out front, like this one.
“masterofhounds has left a new comment on your post ‘Couple Seeking Bona Fide Inexpensive Eco-Opportunity in New England’:
You guys should move to Northern California. New England has lost the Back to the Land flair it had in the 1970’s-80’s. Wild crafting with your dog, that screams Bay Area!
Its a great image Lloyd and it looks like a beautiful spot.
It brings back memories for me of walking in Ireland with my cousin, on a quiet path high on a wooded hillside we found a stream and a deep pool among pine trees, being young and somewhat impulsive we threw ourselves in. Cold was an understatement! but it was great fun. Its one of those fond memories that has stuck with me over the years.
I hope the mountain spirits and the fresh energy there continues to treat you well.
***
I’ve always loved being in the water. Yesterday it was really hot and at day’s end I -— heh-heh — snuck into a tule-lined irrigation pond on a nearby ranch, slipped in through the tules, and swam in the cool water. Changed my metabolism, energy level, and attitude. Exquisite end to tough day.
Here’s a family story that may explain some of this attitude: When we were kids, my family would go camping at a remote lake in the Sierras where my Dad and his trout-fishing buddies had built a cabin. We slept on a deck under the stars, took a boat across the lake to fill up a milk jug with cold spring water, picked gooseberries, saw bear tracks, and played in the lake. One day when I was 4, the story goes, I slipped off the dock and fell in the lake. My Dad was nearby and reached down and grabbed me by my overalls and pulled me up. I remember to this day looking around in wonder at the underwater world; I wasn’t afraid. My Dad asked, “What were you thinking when you were under water.” I said, ” I was going to turn on my putt-putt (my word for outboard motor) and come up.” This story got told many times over the years.
My son Evan discovered what’s going to be the most unique tiny house in our book. Pentagonal in plan, immaculately built, unique in dozens of highly crafted features, this world-class snowboarder’s wilderness cabin is a stunner. I mean, Louis Frazier (Home Work) and Lloyd House (Builders of the Pacific Coast) will love this place. We went up to the Sierras to shoot photos and do an interview, and on the way back spotted this truck in Colfax, with these two young backroads spirits. Click on pic to get bigger size.
I arrived a few hours early for my presentation at Gravel and Gold in San Francisco’s Mission District. I had a problem: my new MacBook Pro laptop wouldn’t accept the plug-in from my Epson projector. I’d been to the Apple store on the way over, and couldn’t find the right connector. The three owners of the store, Cassie, Lisa, and Nile weren’t dismayed. We tried all kinds of variations, but nothing seemed to be working. Lisa kept saying, “Don’t worry we’ll figure it out.” I wasn’t so sure. Finally she took off in her car and came back with a borrowed projector. We transferred the data to one of their laptops, then couldn’t get the projector going. We tried various combinations, with me having my doubts, but Lisa saying, “We’ll get it working.”
Finally one of their friends came in and knew just what to do, and 10 minutes before starting time we were in business. I started by talking a little bit about the first Whole Earth Catalog, and how it and the Dome Cookbook by Steve Baer were my inspiration for getting into the publishing business. Then I showed slides from the three main builders featured in Builders of the Pacific Coast. Finally I showed some slides of tiny houses, the subject of my next book. (Actually, in retrospect, these were photos I grabbed at the last minute and they weren’t really representative of the great material I have for this book.)
For me it was a pretty wonderful evening. The store is unique, with eclectic clothing, art, jewelry, crafts, and items you’d never think of until you see them there. Good vibes. The median age in the audience was, I’d say, 30. It’s great to be connecting with this generation. Someone asked what I thought of Dwell magazine. I said I couldn’t figure out who lives in those houses, but there seems to be no warmth or soul (or funk) evident in the Dwell style. Further, that people like us are interested in shelter that is full of life and warmth and the touch of the human hand.
Gravel and Gold has been mentioned in the New York Times and Vogue magazine and seems to be catching on. It’s at 3266 21st St., between Mission and Valencia in San Francisco. Website here. Blog here.
It’s fleet week in NYC and there are white-clad sailors all over the city. On Thursday, from the cab on the way to the convention at the Javits Center), I saw the USS Iwo Jima coming up the Hudson, looking huge, with sailors lined up-side-by-side along the starboard and bow of the ship. Pretty spectacular.
Quiz: this photo could be from the ’40s, World War II-time, except for what item?
I was at my Mom’s rest home a few weeks ago and walked in on a little lady sitting at the piano playing for the old folks. (This is in the wing for elderly and challenged residents.) It was ragtime music and great. I learned who she was and called her up. Did she want me with my bass and my brother with his banjo to sit in with her? “Oh, yes, that would be great!”
This is the 2nd time we’ve played together. Lew taped this last Tuesday, and the joint was rockin’. (We haven’t even practiced together yet.) These are songs that I used to play with my quartet in high school, a lot of them from the ’20s, so I was right at home.
I’m working at my bass playing and Bob is pretty good on the banjo. Phoebe is actually thrilled. I told her we’re just enhancing her. I’m calling us the Phoebe Babo trio. She says when she was a girl, she played the drums. She started on the piano later on in life, and she’s just got it. She is a grand lady. The 80-90-year-olds love us. On Tuesday, as soon as we started playing, people came in from all over. The caregiver women were dancing, my mom’s caregiver Clara was shakin’ it. A lady named Jane knows the words to every song. Peggy was 88 that day and celebrating with wolf whistles at the end of each song.
