Boone, North Carolina

 

       This is not the first time I’ve visited, Boone and I doubt it will be the last. To be honest, I do love this town. There are several great restaurants on King Street downtown, and great shopping. But let’s face it, your town has that too. What makes Boone a great destination isn’t what’s on the street, but who.

      This gem can be found riding high on the Bible Belt of the United States. But in spite of that, it’s one of the most progressive populations around. It’s probably due to the amazing college here, that ignorance is so far less rampant than in some of the surrounding areas.  Asheville has long touted such sentiments as ‘Keep Asheville Weird’ but Boone? May just surpass it shortly. Almost none of the bathrooms downtown are gender specific. The only prerequisite to using them is the ability to flush.
     Nestled in the hills of western North Carolina, Boone is home to some pretty amazing characters. The kind of folks that decide, ‘my restaurant will serve food to anyone regardless of what they can afford!’, as Farm Cafe does. I suppose the best way to verbalize it, is that Boone is a place with great humanity.

     I can’t tell you, from my perspective, about all the places I never went inside of. I can tell you that you can get lost inside Timely Treasures antique store for hours if you don’t watch the time. I’m pretty sure it’s in a perrigren loop of its own. That the Mast General Store has nostalgia on tap, and the Dancing Moon has whatever your spirit desires. The Boone Mini Mall has several can’t miss shops as well. Our Daily Bread and Farm Cafe are musts for lunch.

    This town is just friendlier than many of its neighbors here bordering the south. It’s easy to forget entirely about the political climate outside of this place. Recently welcoming an Escape Room, Boone just keeps getting cooler with more to do.

 

Woodstock, New York: an Unique Destination

     Woodstock is a time capsule of a place locked in its loop by its own iconisism. Its not as though nothing has changed, but everything that HAS changed, hadn't done much to affect the overall feel of the village as a whole.
      Half of the people you meet here are mind torn kiosks, with stories of a hipper time on repeat for anyone who'll care to listen. You want to hear about rock stars? Hear it from those who's psyched are so far gone that the same thing that makes them unreliable sources also serves as a proven credential, after all, no one who lived it and remembers could possibly be ALL there....
     And yet, not all of them are crazies, and there are many lucid accounts of historical events. Unwritten books in the bible of a subculture.
     Being here as a hippie is strange in that you're an unsigned attraction. An anticipated anomaly in this, of all towns, complere with bare feet and bells. This is a town built and run by art, and at its heart beats the subculture strong as ever.

How Had I Forgotten?

     The road is not always the kindest of mistresses. Sometimes she's a cold hearted lying cheat. For the most part, however, it is at her breast where I find my home. My peace is here, where anything can happen. There is a limitlessness to this ocean of people.
     I'm forever asked where I'm going, with little more than a shrug for an honest answer, "onward." Where am I going? The man with the plan is the only one with a clue. He's driving this ship, in just along for the ride. You want answers, that's who you gotta ask. I'm not pressing for answers much these days. I'm perfectly content to live on faith. Its just who I am when I'm traveling.
     How had I forgotten? Note to self: Never again remove yourself so fully from who you know you are.

Another Turn of the Wheel

     As I circle around the sun, my learning comes in spiral layers, venturing ever deeper as does my understanding. Lessons from long ago resurface, to be reapplied in new ways. I'm given new uses for old tools....
      Being on the road reminds me of why my soul suffered so while I lived inside, shut away from the world. I crave adventure, and excitement, while simultaneously having an overwhelming need for stability. Maybe I need my own bus, full of art supplies. But I KNOW I need balance. And honesty with myself in order to find and maintain such a thing.
      I'm still not sure what it is that makes me happy. I've visited that place, but I'm not sure I've ever lived there, although I've convinced myself otherwise many times.... How do I define what happiness is? What constitutes such a thing? I need to be part of my community. I need to serve an active role for the benefit of others. I need to have a livelihood to the benefit of myself so I'm not a drain. I need excitement, adventure, and stability.... Highly conflicting things, it would appear. I need a lot more music. To create. To love. To dance. To be free of abuse. I need room to grow. And I want to come home more than to have one. I'll figure it out. If I learn to know myself, I'll recognize the answer when it comes.
    And although I rarely speak of it, I want to serve God in whatever ways I'm called to. But more and more, when I hear the calling, I'm just called to be myself. To forgive myself for what I am, because its what I'm meant to be. To allow myself to be moved to action for His will.  I believe in many things, that can be defined in many ways..... I am a child of the universe.....
       How are we walking each other home when none of us know the way? Pretty amazing, I think. Just follow your feet and trust your faith.