Lawrence M.
Yelp
Greeting To All,
I became a member of The Forest a few years ago .. at which time after renting for a week, I was invited to stay a month to: teach music, repair instruments .. and any other broken thing .. which was pretty much everything. But, I was seen as an upstart who professed that some reasonable level of order and cleanliness were good measures.
Alas, the "dope-smokers club" per the dicta of then manager, Jen, decided I was being TOO helpful and taking up too much room in the work-shed (hidey-hole) ... and I was ejected when I declined to "be hugged" by said mgr., not making peace really .. just ignoring the obvious.
I was an actual Hippie back in the day; I have long been a music instructor and school teacher .. educated in engineering .. giving me a "good mind".
Five years passed .. I kept in touch with the friend, Ed C. who'd introduced me there.
HE is now a big deal there .. and asked me, with my "good mind" to return, stay .. at least three months .. and assist him in attaining new heights in "the lifestyle", so to speak.
*******
It was a heartwarming reunion with my friend/now land mgr.
Yet, disorganization, hoarding kitchen pots, filth, huge roaches and vermin, a plethora of huge spiders (of unrealized genus) were INSIDE, and I could not bring myself even to use a coffee maker ! I saw the same spider dwellings five years earlier .. the kitchen was web-central .. and quite disgusting, literally !
I communed happily for group dinner and universal peace wishes, per usual for a couple of nights.
At 7pm, on the third night, I dined and help with the wash/up .. then just decided to start cleaning and removing the many redundant, unusable pots & pans. Tim, then mgr. (on probation) mocked my efforts, he and two other interns never offering to help.
Fine .. 10 hours later, my "friend", the land foundation's mgr. was as displeased by my efforts as all the lazy young white kids who go there to act like they know something .. despite doing nothing perfunctory and normal in ANY CIVILIZED HUMAN DWELLING !
Tim ignored me that morning .. and summarily resigned ! Wow .. cut n run!
The insults, insinuations .. even "head-injured Robert", who shouted, "You're an angry FUCK" .. the place had thrust itself, by dishonesty, supreme laziness and utter resistance to my "good mind" into complete disarray and contact-anger and blame.
I was told that these dweeeby-baby's felt unsafe .. even by my friend, Ed C. .. and that again, I must GO .. that I am not "with" the (disturbing) spirit of the place ! You're damned right I'm not !
Thus, their broken piano was left disassembled, broken guitars everywhere once again, no one to teach actual music lessons .. and Ed's second Martin guitar destroyed by his neglect !! Talk about not seeing the Forest for the trees ! Unkept walking paths and sitting areas .. not serving the guests !! What ?
HITF is a great land-rescue operation, lovingly conceived and ongoing.
The hostel manager, land mgr. etc, program .. is a total subterfuge.
Today's Twenty-something kids DO NOT have brains sufficiently capable of WORK .. at all, nor the negotiating skills by which to give a shit about someone who came to help to teach by example.
I had done it all as Victoria, the Sweat Lodge officiant would be the more relaxed, spiritually, to prepare with patrons for that beautiful ritual !
Standing with Ed and me, Victoria said, "Thanks for 'helping' clean the kitchen."
J said, no, "I did it alone .. no one offered help .. while they walked around after dark with a jug of wine !"
Ed argued, "Maybe if you hadn't started at midnight ?" THAT's the friend who begged me to return !
I reminded him I'd begun right after dinner .. and nobody included themselves.
Our friendship/brothership ended angrily on my part ... obsequiously on Ed's part .. he preferred, as a "proud" native-American to continue taking shit from white peckerhead kids .. and THEIR parents who also "run the place" .. into disarray .. damn the leaves covering foot paths, the labyrinth .. the broken furniture and unusable sitting areas.
One such obese mom-mgr defended her obese son and another little girl collecting eggs w/o staff present. The kids weren't hurt of course, but every egg they grabbed was broken on the ground a second later, in front of me and the well-meaning obese-mom-manager .. who's sneaky purpose was to inform me that "the staff felt unsafe", my being around.
As a teacher, I know their feeling .. it's called the Fear of Caring and/or being useful .. and, mostly, of learning .. away from their "digitalia".
So, every goodness that may come from such a place is undone by laziness, self-centeredness .. and a special kind of elective STUPIDITY .. I opine selfishly, with my "good mind".
HITH IS DISHONEST CRAP .. but the Forest is lovely .. so they saved THAT.
Lawri
PS: composting commodes, open-air showers .. WONDERFUL .. but anybody can do those things
peace, sincerely