Yalaha Road

Posted on by Thor

While online teaching a student, a thunder storm rolled through Yalaha and took out the power. Since I need power to be on the internet, I called the student and suggested we add an hour to the next weeks class.

Suddenly I had time on my hands and I decided to drive to the neighborhood behind the Now abandoned General Store. Stella Arbelaez had given me a diving tour of several neighborhoods including this one, and I am glad she did.

This is a largely black neighborhood. Folks were sitting curb side and gathered as the sun set. There was a definite feeling of community. Maybe my sitting curb side to do the sketch helped me blend in. Two young boys were riding a small motorcycle up and down the street. I could sense they were curious about me since they kept buzzing by. The loud buzzing of the engine was distracting. Finally one boy stopped and asked me if I was taking a picture. I showed him the sketch and joked that I was taking a picture, just with my hands. He seemed to like my explanation and he buzzed off.

I was seated near a light pole. A knot of wires were hanging down from the top of the pole and splayed out on the ground. I considered leaning against the pole but decided I might get electrocuted, so I sat a short distance away from the knotted pile of hanging wires. I was probably sitting on someone’s lawn. A woman cane out to see what I was doing. Herr name was Mia Gandy,and she is an insurance agent. She sells medicare plans, Life insurance , dental and vision plans. She explained that the pick up truck belonged to her father in law who lived directly across the street. The building I was sketching was once a church. The steeple was lying on the ground next to the pick up. Vines covered more than half the front face of the building. the giant live oak had one of it’s branches leaning on the now slightly sagging roof. The church has a red door which is a sign of good luck.

The building right next to the church is a community center. It isn’t a large building in fact it only has one parking spot which my Prius now occupied and one handicap spot. Since there was a sign warning of a $500 fine, I didn’t park in the handicap spot. Mia explained that there was once a early start school where the community center now stood. It resembled the church I was sketching with old wood weathered with time. It was torn down to make room for the center. I explained to Mia that I liked the character of the old places in the neighborhood. She expressed that she hoped the neighborhood could remain the same but developments have been going up at an exponentially fast pace.We both knew that change was inevitable. My hope is that I can catch some of old Florida before it is all gone.

Duke energy had sent out a note saying power might be out until 10:30pm so I had plenty of time to finish the sketch. The sun had set however and it was getting dark. When several mosquitoes buzzed into my ears, I decided the sketch was done. When I got back to the Yalaha studio the lights were back on.

Werther at Sedonie

Posted on by Thor

Orlando Opera presented Werther, with music by Jules Massenet libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet, and Georges Hartmann at  Sydonie Mansion (5538 Sydonie Drive Mount Dora, FL 32757).

This mansion is just a 15 minute ride from the Yalaha Studio. The roads I traveled were the same one I take each day I head down to Orlando. The mansion is down a long dirt road and sits on a beautiful lake. It is such an unexpected beautiful surprise off of winding country roads. I am starting to fall in love with traveling these winding country roads.

There was valet parking in the parking lot and yet when I arrived the valets were off duty. A young assistant at the ticket table gave me the lowdown on how the opera would unfold but as we were speaking the music for the opera began. I jogged out back and found the audience seated as the opera unfolded on the large porch of the gorgeous home. The opera is set in the German town of Wetzlar around 1780.

I was only able to sketch the first act because the next act took place inside the home and I spent that time finishing the sketch I had started.

What I did discover is that Werther, Gabriel Preisser, falls desperately in love with Charlotte, Chelsea Laggan, a woman he could never possibly have. Their affection is mutual, but she was set up in an arranged marriage by her parents to an older man named Albert, Thandolwethu Mamba, that she would never love. The opera explores the themes of impossible love, rebellion, and the consequences of convention. I felt heart broken for Werther because societal norms would keep him from his true love.

By the time I was adding color to the sketch the actors and audience had moved inside. There was another staging area on the far side of the hose staged around a beautiful fountain. As I worked all the chairs that were in front of the porch were moved to a gorgeous sloping lawn behind be that overlooked a lake. There was lighting set up so it is possible that the opera might go until the moment the sun set.

I considered sketching the outdoor scene but the setting was so panoramic that I decided I had my sketch for the moment. It was such a beautiful setting and such a heartbreaking story. I decided my heart was full and I left before the final act. I knew that tragedy would ensure and I preferred to leave with hope in my heart that love might find a way to endure, but being an opera, I ran from what I assumed would be a tragic finale. I came to experience the beauty of the first act and I was satisfied.

Recovery Room

Posted on by Thor

After my operation where I was essentially neutered like a stray dog with a laser shoved up the old flag pole, my sister Pat Thorspecken -Nepalitano came to visit the Yalaha Studio to take care of me in case anything went south in my recovery. Pat felt I would not be able to get up into the Princess and the Pea bed I usually sleep in. That bed involves stepping up on my flat files to jump up onto the mattress which is about 4 feet off the ground since there are 2 mattresses, a box spring, a bed frame and an extra pillow mat. Stella Arbelaez was off at UCF in Orlando where she is renting a place for convenience near classes, as she works towards her masters degree, and she was kind enough to let me use her bed at the Yalaha Studio, which is much lower, during my recovery. I stripped the beds and remade them both before surgery. I made sure to put protective pads on Stella’s bed just in case I might bleed out in the middle of the night. If I was bleeding I would bleed on my own sheets.

I was told, I might be on narcotics for the pain and my sister brought a walker and a cane, thinking I would not be able to get around. However the only pain medication I was given was over the counter Tylenol and I got around just fine. Instead of being convalescent, I ended up playing the part of the host. I made a lasagna so everyone would have something to eat over the course of the week. There was more than enough food since friends of Stella had dropped off some items and Pat brought several bags of groceries with her from Port Charlotte, Florida.

That weekend I hiked with Pat and Just Jeff at Pear Park (26701 US Hwy 27, Leesburg, Fl) as a way to get out into the sunshine and experience natures healing power. I got a decent sketch at the river on that walk. I also cut off roots from a huge root ball in the side yard of the Yalaha Studio, left over from a fallen tree from hurricane Milton with garden sheers. Jeff dug in and cut off several of the larger roots with a reciprocating saw. We had a fire in the fire pit each night which always calms my nerves.

The room pictured above had a calming effect on me. There was a faux Franklin Furnace and I would turn it on at night and watch the faux flames and the lights that would dance on the walls. The effect was mesmerizing and would instantly put me to sleep. Now that my sister has left, it is quiet again in the Yalaha Studio. I have moved back to the Princess and the Pea bed since I have no problem hopping up. Life has started to return to normal although my insides still feel akimbo like they have been scrambled and have to find their way back home. Instead of lying still, I went to see several more homes yesterday, which might make good studios. Since I am now a tumbleweed, it is hard to figure out where I should settle. Home is where the heart is and I am still searching for it.

Committing to Cremation

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Some junk mail arrived at the Yalaha Studio that offered a free Italian meal to attend a seminar hosted by the National Cremation Society.

I arrived a few minuted late and everyone else had ordered. I had expected a crowded room with a large screen Power Point presentation, but instead I found the presenter George and two women from The Villages. George had the 3 audience members across from him, so it wasn’t an ideal situation to sketch everyone. I focused on George. I had just learned about the “Loofah Code” at the Villages and desperately wanted to ask the women about it but the topic was death and ashes, so I held my tongue.

George was pleasant ind informative. He once worked at Meryll Lynch in the twin towers in NYC. A friend of his was supposed to be in the Twin Towers on the day of the terrorist attack. The meeting was held at a nearby building instead and because of that his friend survived.

Did you know that 57% of burials these days are cremations? Cremation is a more affordable option since there are no expensive hearses or large brick and mortar funeral homes, the upkeep is just to keep a furnace running. From the start I was offered a form where I could commit to cremation which would lock in the price and save any loved ones from having to make plans about what to do with my body. If there is no will and no plans in place, then the body becomes the property of the state and is held in cold storage for months before becoming part of a mass cremation. None of this should of course concern me, since I would be dead. I loved that the woman seated next to me referred to herself in the third person as, “the body.”

Also offered was “the freedom to go with confidence.” This plan cost about $600. If I were to die while traveling in a foreign country, my remains would have to be repatriated back to America which could cost $11,000 and would involve lots of red tape for family. The Cremation Society would handle all documentation and diplomatic issues in getting the body back home. Local Cremation services would run about $2,800, and that includes an alternative cardboard container, packaging, and the shipping of ashes!

This was a lot to think about as I ate my ham and cheese hoagie with onion rings. Everyone else had ordered together and they all had salads. They finished well before me since my right hand was busy sketching. They left and I remained behind alone to finish the sketch in progress and half of my sandwich.