Day 31: To be, or.....

I woke up early in the cabin with an epiphany about my future and what this whole bar thing really wants to be. I've been wrestling with what shape the bar should take for what I want is not actually a bar, but a creative space for my hedonistic friends to hang out in and the only way I can figure out how to make that financially viable is to sell booze. When talking with The owner of a former bar called The Odeon in San Francisco which is serving as a bit of inspiration for my bar-to-be I asked him why he decided to close it down. He told me that he was tired of watching his friends turn into alcoholics. This is a real issue for me. I myself have a slight allergy to alcohol, never developed the taste for it and have noticed a shortness of patience with drunks. I like my hedonism to be in the responsible category and I think that a lot of people use Alcohol to numb themselves to life instead of using it to free themselves of their mental barriers to creativity. I want a place that sponsors creativity, not numbs it. How then to open a profitable bar that turns away serious drinkers? I realized in my sleep that what I want is not a bar, but a living and breathing creative think tank that includes amongst other things artist studios, industrial arts space, public performance spaces, event spaces, and, oh yes, a bar that serves as town hall, conference room, and gallery. It's sort of crazy, but it hit me that I was thinking too small about what I want my future to look like and that I needed to harness the energies of my friends looking for something new, take advantage of the economic downturn's effects on the commercial real estate market as well as the spate of closings of some of the better known underground artists spaces in the Bay Area. There is so much more to be said, but I have faith and for now that's all I need.

Okay, back to my trip. The one involving my car, Justine and the road.

Oklahoma City looks so so pretty goes the song Take a Trip on Route 66 and it really is a pretty city. Tired of pounds of pork laced in tangy smoky sauce and the fat stewed vegetables that accompany it, we opted instead for Sushi for lunch. In Oklahoma of all places. The trusted knowledge box found us a great place to satisfy our raw fish craving and we were well satisfied. We then took a dime tour through Oklahoma City and found their botanical garden called the crystal bridge which is an I.M. Pei designed tube shaped building that hovers over a man made river side park

complete with minimalist Shakespearean stage

We wandered around the park for a while and then headed for Amarillo, TX

Day 31: To be, or.....

Oklahoma City, United States