Last Exit Before Oblivion

SuZi came down a couple of years ago and shot some video that she used in a short film about Venice, called "The End of the Western World." Call it an anthology of fringe people. I'm surprised I made the cut, as most video producers go no farther than the Boardwalk. Sand gets in their shoes, you know, and it's hard work to get out there. And the wind might mess up their expensive hair designs. SuZi did a good job, digging deeper than most. When I decided to do a New Year Day sculpture I sent her an Email saying I'd be out there. She and her husband came down to see what I was working on, and shot some photos as I worked.

You could compare this to a photo of a soldier in a foxhole: it's a wonder I'm still alive. Sand sculpture was the bridge and my shelter through many years. Once God picked me up again He demonstrated to me that it was still OK for me to do sculpture. It is, after all, a gift.

And yet, following 2005-September-24, I just gave it up. When cold rain deterred the New Year sculpture I just sort of quit thinking about it, and those to whom I had sent images seemed not to notice the lack. I didn't either, being more concerned with removing anything from my life that would give rise to any thoughts of me having real needs. A robot in a dark foxhole.

Is creativity a legitimate need? I'm kind of tired of the word "legitimate." How do I know? A better approach might be to say that if I can sculpt, it's not only OK but a real need.

If I can talk to people and make connections, it's not only OK but a real need. See the ramifications of a simple tool on the sand? And yet one leads to the other quite logically and God created logic. The wonder is that my ideas and desires lived through that long self-imposed draught.