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April, 2000
Mighty pleased to see you again, gracious visitor. You will notice
that I am freshly bathed and the place has been straightened
up a bit. It has been a while since anybody new has come calling and at
first I worried if it was something I had said. You see, I haven't been
myself lately and then most people are just so darn commonplace that I
can't usually seem to find anything nice to say about 'em at all and then
all of a sudden it is like I am standing there on the dance floor with
tomorrow's breath already and my friends are scattering like cats before
strangers. But I know how hard I have been working on being nice lately
so I then decided maybe the rest of you were probably deficient in some way.
And that may well be but finally, I realized it was far simpler than all that.
So, I showered and tidied the place and lookeee, here! you're back! Now you
simply must try the rhubarb compote and Sara Belle has a new arrangement on
the fiddle that she is near bustin' to play out loud. Let me get those
shirts out of your way. And you should put your arse right... I mean bury those
hinders... uh, sit yourself down.
Ah, back in the vast bosom of things Southern. From Minneapolis to Richmond, Virginia.
It is good to be near my family again after having been gone eleven years or so.
My son and I are enjoying the contact and support and everything that goes with
having one's people around. Yet, Richmond remains dense and moist with a lot
of the things I didn't miss much while I was gone. Race issues are still alive
and unwell here, as elsewhere, and that remains troubling. I have guilt and
growing pains both about this place where I am from and now return to. This is
a predominately conservative place politically, socially, and most otherwise
having to do with accents and traditions. However, in general, I am happy to
find that plenty has changed, not least of which me, and the community has provided
me some new friends to go with the old ones. New this, old that. And, now I
resolve to be patient, more accepting and to figure out when I should speak up
and when I should shut up. Now if we could bring more indepedent films to town
and step up the music scene we'll be getting somwhere.
Happy, yeah, I'm happy. Yet, it strikes me that I need to explain a myself again.
It's like this, Eye Caramba #4, like all of its siblings was a little late in getting
out there. I wish I could say that all of that extra time was taken up with terrific
preparations for a better magazine. It wouldn't be true. Mostly I am just pulling
myself together after a major relocation. I have been here four months now and, all
things considered, life is treating me pretty well. Hello to all in Minnesota. It
was great living there and I decided to hang onto the ice skates but had to get rid
of the snow blower or people would have made fun of me. Since I have begun to feel
settled, Eye Caramba, this magazine, has been roiling around on my 'to do' list like
a fish loose upon a rare book. It is demanding my attention, struggling for its very
life, yet I become distracted trying to blot the slime from the antique pages so the
ink doesn't run and the sacred message become lost. There is a trace of conflict.
I remain dedicated to the magazine, actually, but the thing that eats at me a little
is that this issue, the fourth issue, resembles the first designwise and I would really
enjoy a complete redesign. The problem is each issue already takes a long enough to
put together even when simply using the previous issue as template. A new look is out
there on the horizon, somewhere.
And finally, I am again inviting writers to submit their work and will make a better
effort for the next issue to enlist written contributions. The submissions for photography
have been varied and there has been a lot of interest but ultimately I want to see the
magazine balance out in terms of the material submitted. And then I want to introduce
some new merchandise. My first thought was an Eye Caramba Pill Reminder which
would would have an important utility symbolic of the vital function Eye Caramba provides
in maintaining its readers intellectual vitality. However, I am having trouble with the
engineers in Research and Development because a dispute has arisen as to capacity versus
compaction. Isn't it always the case? So, the pill reminder remains shelved in design
phase and I am casting about for other ideas as my supplies of shirts and hats begin to
peter out. Please write with any ideas and yes, we have already thought of a different
t-shirt and may well resort to such addle-brained complacence if none of you have anything
better to suggest. Another possible thought is an Eye Caramba produced instructional
video workshop in Passive Aggressive Motivational Techniques and we have had a little
interest in this one. Also a tonic is in the works for those suffering from 'gender
problems'. All for now.
You are free to go.,
Gordon Stettinius
Snail mail should be addressed to:
Eye Caramba
901 West 30th Street
Richmond, VA 23225
USA
Telephone# 804.231.2868
Fax# 804.231.1825
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