The computer has been on long enough. The NHK videotaping is still burning in my mind and the story is coming along. I need a break.
Build number: 98P-4
Date: 1998 March 14
Location: Venice Breakwater, south side
Start: afternoon, building time roughly 30 minutes
Height: 2.5 feet
Base: 2.5 feet wide, 1 foot deep
Photography: none, no camera

The main idea was just to let the ocean breeze blow some of the indoor air out of me. I found Terry building pyramids so stopped to chat. He was finishing up.

We noticed a group gathering on the isthmus behind the breakwater. Walking over there, we found Tim, another beach regular, with a group of people reading poetry. It was a little cold for this sort of thing; I was dressed for walking, not sitting.

Still, I stayed. Terry went home. The poetry was desultory. One man was from Oxford and when Tim introduced me as a sand sculptor, he asked for an example. Well, that's all it takes sometimes.

The result was a simple, elegant arch done entirely by hand. People were more interested in staying warm than in watching, so they huddled on the sand. I polished the arch, then rejoined them.

The Oxfordian asked me for a poem about the sculpture. I thought for a bit, then gave a highly condensed version of its origin, adding something about what I get from it. This was acclaimed as the day's best poem. I guess the day was too chilly to have high standards.

Cold finally got to me near sunset. I bid them adieu and walked north, briskly, trying to get warm.

Library Human Touch Museum
Catalog Access: 1998 1997 1996 1995

Original: 98 October 31 (direct to HTML)
HTML editing: December 31 (subdirectory and HTML 4.0)

All contents copyright 1998 by Larry Nelson
lord_chaos@compuserve.com

98p04rpt.htm 98-December-31