Recent Adventures in Madison, Wisconsin...
June 2, 2000
A Lafayette, Indiana Denny's: I saw Julia Roberts eating there with several kids and maybe her mom. She had a stain on her shirt, and, when she noticed it, she said, "Shit." My traveling companion, Stanley P. Mole III, says she looked nothing like Julia Roberts. (But she did.)
After 11 hours on the road (that includes the 60-mile-long traffic jam due to a toxic waste spill), we finally made it to Madison, Wisconsin where I was scheduled to do a 28-minute-long television interview on the "Bookwatch" show. It will air on Madison's cable access WYOU Channel 4 on a Monday afternoon. Maybe it already has by now?
June 3, 2000
Anyway, the show was taped June 3rd by a nice guy named Rob inside the Frugal Muse bookstore. I expected the host, James Cox, to look very bookish himself--maybe a tiny, balding, soft-spoken man--but I was wrong. Actually, he was robust with his long, gray hair, suspenders, and a very exuberant personality. (I think he thought I was crazy for driving 11 hours to be on a Madison cable access TV show, but it was well worth it.) We hit it off right away, and the interview was so much fun! I may try to air it on other channels in the near future, and I am looking into adding it to this website (but it may take me a while to figure that part out...)
In general, I have to say that Madison was a beautiful town with a very kind population. After I finished my work with The Lost Soul Companion project, Stanley P. and I had some time to bum around before it was time to drive home.
We found ourselves at the Madison courthouse during the "Cows on the Concourse" event. There were cows, fresh fruits, flowers, and lots of cheese everywhere. I felt sorry for the cows because there were sticky-fingered children poking at them and pulling their tails. I guess that's what children do, but still... At least I knew that the cows would get to go home and eat grass soon. Who knows, maybe they liked the change of scenery? OK, maybe not.
Finally, Stanley P. and I drove about an hour west to Spring Green, Wisconsin to visit "The House on the Rock." It was built by Alex Jordan who had a bone to pick with Mr. Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright had told Jordan, "I wouldn't hire you to design a cheese crate or a chicken coop." Not to be discouraged, Jordan perched his house atop a 60-foot column of rock. The "infinity room" is the best--and, for me, the most terrifying--part. Seemingly unsupported, the infinity room juts out incomprehensibly over the forest floor. The end of the very long, narrow room comes to a tiny point. While we were at the very tip, a big man at the opening of the infinity room began jumping up and down. I could feel the entire structure swaying with every jump, but somehow, the whole thing manages to stay up.
I admire Alex Jordan's creative spirit and his determination to realize his visions.
For better or worse, there is much more to The House on the Rock. After exiting the house itself, the tour continues through eight connected buildings full of nonsensical exhibits. There is the "Heritage of the Sea" with its 200-foot-long sea monster. There are the "Transportation Building," the "Organ Room," the "Doll Room," the "Circus Room," the "Weapons Exhibit," the "Oriental Collection," the "Crown Jewel Collection," and the "World's Largest Carousel" among many others. The carousel was, admittedly, very cool. There are 239 carousel creatures, and none of them is a traditional horse. Also, for some reason, lots of half-naked, winged mannequins hung from the ceiling. The whole tour is two and a half miles long. And I did not wear my sensible shoes!
On the way back from our exhausting tour of House on the Rock, Stanley P. convinced me to visit an enormous pumpkin-building on the side of the road. It was a great place to stop and rest. There was a petting zoo too--lots of peacocks and goats and they all seemed well cared for. Before we got back on the road, I left a copy of The Lost Soul Companion inside the Great Pumpkin.