Tell a Story
It's gone...again. I started putting journals on a couple of trails that I use on a daily basis when I walk with my dogs. I ask people who see them to write a story, something that they are thinking about as the use the path in the woods.
I started by putting a notebook with a pen in a plastic bag at the beginning of the trail at Rome Point. Well that didn't last long because like the pamphlets and fliers hanging there for doggy day care and pet grooming services it was gone in a couple of days. I guess the DEM ( Department of Environmental Management) frowns on creative expression on state property which makes sense or we would have every Picasso and Hemingway wanna be "expressing themselves" all over the beaches and trails of Rhode Island. Well I moved the journal to a more secluded location deeper in the woods. It worked. People began leaving stories. Stories about their first dates. Kids would describe seeing the seals and draw pictures and teens would tell stories about how stoned they were went they found this notebook in the woods. The winter came and the bag and its contents where getting a bit worn so I bought a plastic container and changed the pen to a pencil so it wouldn't freeze.
I began looking forward to each days walk just so that I could read what some stranger had written. Then it happened. It was gone. Maybe it fell between the rocks or it was covered by leaves down the path. Nope. It was gone. Somebody had taken it. DEM again? Was it some disgruntled hiker who thought that this had turned his pristine woods into some sort of forest chat room with graffiti scribbled on a pad? The woods where for walking not writing.
Well I replaced it with a new pencil, journal and a plastic container that could with stand anything that mother nature could throw at it. That one lasted a couple of weeks and now its gone again. How many times do I continue this battle? Do I let the thief of our collective creative outlet win? Never. I have an unlimited supply of pads and pencils at hand. The story continues as long as I can get to Staples at least once a week. Stay Tuned!!!!
It's gone...again. I started putting journals on a couple of trails that I use on a daily basis when I walk with my dogs. I ask people who see them to write a story, something that they are thinking about as the use the path in the woods.
I started by putting a notebook with a pen in a plastic bag at the beginning of the trail at Rome Point. Well that didn't last long because like the pamphlets and fliers hanging there for doggy day care and pet grooming services it was gone in a couple of days. I guess the DEM ( Department of Environmental Management) frowns on creative expression on state property which makes sense or we would have every Picasso and Hemingway wanna be "expressing themselves" all over the beaches and trails of Rhode Island. Well I moved the journal to a more secluded location deeper in the woods. It worked. People began leaving stories. Stories about their first dates. Kids would describe seeing the seals and draw pictures and teens would tell stories about how stoned they were went they found this notebook in the woods. The winter came and the bag and its contents where getting a bit worn so I bought a plastic container and changed the pen to a pencil so it wouldn't freeze.
I began looking forward to each days walk just so that I could read what some stranger had written. Then it happened. It was gone. Maybe it fell between the rocks or it was covered by leaves down the path. Nope. It was gone. Somebody had taken it. DEM again? Was it some disgruntled hiker who thought that this had turned his pristine woods into some sort of forest chat room with graffiti scribbled on a pad? The woods where for walking not writing.
Well I replaced it with a new pencil, journal and a plastic container that could with stand anything that mother nature could throw at it. That one lasted a couple of weeks and now its gone again. How many times do I continue this battle? Do I let the thief of our collective creative outlet win? Never. I have an unlimited supply of pads and pencils at hand. The story continues as long as I can get to Staples at least once a week. Stay Tuned!!!!