dagblog - Comments for "Shared Housing"

Boston: Thank you for your

wwstaebler — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 05:36:01 +0000

Boston:
Thank you for your personal reply, which I yearn for more people on TPM to feel free to enjoy. And thank you, too, for your empathy re: dream conversion projects, etc..
I suspect we are kindred spirits: thinking outside the societally-prescribed matron box, loving our children and our animals... bearing the honor, but also the burden of being the family idea person.
I was particularly struck, btw, by your reference to "our gorgeous girl, recently widowed by the death of a proud and bossy racehorse." As you may have noted in reading through the dark and stormy night thread yesterday (or today, referenced in DickDay's daily Arthurian fractured fairy tale) I am entirely anxious about the prospective fate of the 17+ hand, white gelding, former national champion hunter/jumper I know and love as Everest. He is 20, and was given to the school where I teach three years ago when his owner/eventer, an alum of this school, went off to the American Olympic training program, for which Everest was too old.
Nonetheless, Everest is truly magnificent -- the mayor of the barn whose first instinct when let out is to go from stall to stall to rub necks with his friends. That is because he is unbearably lonely, as he spent most of his career in showbarns, socializing between events. Here, he is isolated, separated from his mare friend of choice, Gemstone, by four stalls (why?) He is not allowed into the common pastures because the fences only have two rails, not three, and to him, they look like easy jumps. The result is that he is in his stall all the time, in fair weather or foul, and they are going to auction him in May... which I know, and you probably know, is the thin edge of the wedge leading, sooner rather than later, to the knacker.
I have spent much of my limited free time in the past few months trying to find a retirement farm for him. The requirements are not stringent -- he only needs to go to a farm where the paddocks have three rails... as most of them do. He is free to a good home, and I will pay the transportation to get him to the right place.
Think about it, please, although our acquaintance is new. Might Everest be the second chance at love for your widow?
You can reach me, personally, at "wwstaebler@gmail.com."

Just saw your comment,

wwstaebler — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:37:51 +0000

In reply to Shared Housing

Just saw your comment, Boston, and promise I will get back to you this evening, after work.

Maybe that is all that's

moat — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:48:20 +0000

In reply to Shared Housing

Maybe that is all that's there, maybe not. But there is an important element that should be stressed in the call to arms you gave on your blog when you said:

What we should do, however, is be brief and direct in taking them apart, then leaving them to whither.

For me, this means to challenge what is to be challenged and refrain from labeling people and delivering insults to them.

Now I have read a lot what this poster has written and have noticed that he (or she) has kept his sword in the sheath, declining to fight when challenged on particular points. Until there is an actual struggle, the intentions and mettle of the person are hidden from view.

I can't even tell if the poster is writing parodies or not.

wwstaebler, I think like

Boston1775 — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:24:01 +0000

In reply to Shared Housing

wwstaebler,
I think like this and wonder how to make it happen, first on my own small property.

But my eighty year old father is not ready to leave a modestly sized four bedroom, two bath home with his beloved workshop in the basement.

And my twenty year old son, who travels over an hour each way to get to evening classes in Cambridge, still needs the attentions of invested parents. He'd overwhelm his beloved grandfather who lives much closer to town so we forgo an opportunity for them to be together.

My husband, I, our daughter the cocker spaniel, our cat who is really in charge, and our grey and white spotted pony need to stay together ten miles further outside of town than my father.

What to do?

I look for family compounds that would appeal to all. My siblings and their children have stayed in the area around Boston and I dream of ways to share the care for our extraordinary father and his future great grandchildren. I search for the most clever ways to educate and care for those I love. I'm the idea person.

You have inspired me to look at buildings I hadn't considered. A failed assisted living home with a commercial kitchen and shared dining and living rooms as well as the extra baths might serve the purpose. It might have grounds big enough for our gorgeous girl, recently widowed by the death of a proud and bossy racehorse.

If there were a separate entrance for the private comings and goings of a college student and friends, so much the better.

You may not want to be kindred spirits with me, but I sure as hell feel it for you. And don't give up on that northern part of the world. I have friends who are builders residing here whose families and hearts are there. They are looking for ways to build a small community by the sea. The last one fell through, but there will be a next.

Hope this makes you feel good to be an inspiration to others.

Well, I wish my link had been

moat — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:33:19 +0000

In reply to Shared Housing

Well, I wish my link had been more tangible than decades of keen interest. There was a time in my twenties when I tried to get involved with the Arizona project but it didn't work out. If only I could make a resume of things I almost did...

Soleri directly confronts the "geometry" of development like no other but his ideas are in tension with other thinkers I find compelling. Christopher Alexander, for example, comes at the problem of Ugliness from completely different perspective.

It is my son-in-law and his

SleepinJeezus — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:38:34 +0000

In reply to Shared Housing

It is my son-in-law and his partners who own the project, which was proposed for construction in Madison, WI. He has since moved to Montana. I will see if he (they) will release the business plan for your benefit. I will then get back to you at the e-mail address provided.

Not to mention that the

GregorZap — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:35:46 +0000

In reply to Shared Housing

Not to mention that the generations past can often share stories of things they experienced that can prevent things from recurring. There are not many people who have heard from "survivors" what living during the Depression was like, or how it was the government that brought the country out of the Depression by putting people to work. That the jobs created were all about developing infrastructure, so the investments in these jobs paid the nation back by building longstanding edifices still in use today. The best example here in Oregon is Timberline Lodge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timberline_Lodge

Why are there not Democrats exolling all the projects that were undertaken at that time. They are pervasive and have shown themselves to be extremely durable. peopel just need to know what was accomplished by that generation.

Children raised by villages

GregorZap — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:29:54 +0000

In reply to Shared Housing

Children raised by villages are usually happier. In this age of one or two kids, we would do well to encourage as much interaction as possible, and not in only some competitive sport. It's been shown that people who grew up with nore siblings are better able to get along with others. It's those who grew up isolated that are intolerant or oblivious to the plights of others.

It really does not matter

GregorZap — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:24:53 +0000

In reply to Shared Housing

It really does not matter what is written as spriche creates his own text after reading just the first couple of words. It goes with the programming being provided by Fox and Fiends.

"Business plan for combined

aerocenter — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:30:40 +0000

In reply to Shared Housing

"Business plan for combined housing project"

I have been interested in just this kind of project. Are you willing to share details?

Karen
Please reply to

ksslampwork at gmail dot com