Thanks again to Steve Bossert, who invited us to join him in his continuing project to walk every street in Minneapolis. The photo above is from Milwaukee Avenue, a historic street of matched brick houses, originally occupied by railroad workers. We also saw the last vestiges of a 333 year old oak tree-the oldest tree in Minneapolis along the Mississippi River, that just died and is commemorated with a plaque. We learned about former neighborhood grocery stores and railway and street car patterns--and clues to how one can read streets that once held streetcar lines - even though the rails have been removed.
Steve shared with us the story of the rickshaw accident in Cambodia that shattered his femur and made walking an important part of his recovery program. I asked Steve about what walking has meant to him over the last couple years, and he said that it provides an opportunity for unplugging from technology and for reflection as he typically walks solo. He said that he has occasionally endeavored to solve or address some specific issue while walking - but after a block or two that focus fades and instead when ideas or solutions come - they come in unexpectedly. I asked him about about any moments of joy or pain along his walks. He said that on one walk, he heard several gun shots, but kept walking...
We found ourselves talking about the Situationists, psychogeography, the Surrealists, and the idea of "Derive".
Here are some links pertinent to our talk:
We will join Steve Bossert as he walks the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis.
Sunday, December 18 at 12:00 noon. Meet @ the 2nd Moon Coffee Cafe / 2225 East Franklin Avenue.
Steve was featured in a Star Tribune article of November 6:
"He's not a casual stroller. He researches each area before he goes there, enabling him to comment on everything from the architectural styles to the names of famous people who have lived in the neighborhood.... He started walking two years ago. There are 1,068 miles of city streets; despite a mileage total that would indicate that he's nearing 70 percent completion, he's actually only 48 percent of the way to his goal. 'I don't lay out my walks based on efficiency,' he admitted. "' I go by whim, and, as a result, I end up overlapping a lot.'" Steve also takes photos, and tracks his routes via GPS and maps.
At the "Ghost Tour" we were all handed a kit containing dowsers and an EMF meter (or EMF detector) is a scientific instrument for measuring electromagnetic fields (EMF). Detectors at ghost tours are said to be calibrated to ignore the extremely subtle EMF emissions surrounding the human body, yet are still sensitive enough to detect the small, distinct, erratic EMF energy fluctuations frequently found at reputed haunted locations. An interesting device was the Ovilus, an electronic speech synthesis device which utters words depending on electromagnetic waves in the air by using an EMF meter. Paranormal aficionados claim the device is a conduit to allow communication with spirits. We did not have any EMF or other communication suggesting "ghosts" or "spirits" as we wandered a few unused areas and lower levels of the St. Anthony Main complex. The tour starts with a history lesson, but no stories of sightings of ghosts or spirits were tied to any specific buildings. I can't say I really recommend this tour, but it's always good to seek to break the everyday routine.
In honor of Halloween, the October Visitation will join the Minneapolis Ghost Tour on Saturday night, October 22 at 9 PM.
This walking tour is focused on the Minneapolis Riverfront that other "Visitations" have also explored from different points of view.
Thanks again to Alferian Gwydion MacLir, Head Druid and master wand maker who met with a few of us at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis yesterday.
Alferain shared with us a historical timeline of how the term Druid is understood - but at the most fundamental level - a Druid is one who does magic. A Druid's connection to their tools, such as their wand is essential. A tree's spirit resides in all the trees' leaves and branches, therefore a wand (even from a tree no longer alive physically) is imbued with the tree's spirit. Druid magic works on the subtle planes of existence, and training is necessary to work magic. A connection to nature, especially trees figures prominently in the Druid worldview. In the photo above, Alferian's hand is on an oak tree as he described how trees can serve as a gateway to other realms of seeing and knowing.
When asked how and why he became a Druid, Alferian said that it was more descriptive to say that when he found out about the Druid world view - it resonated with his experiences, knowledge, and beliefs. In closing, what struck me was both the level of scholarship Alferian has done in this area, and also the "simple" beauty of his statement, "The essence of being a Druid is to be attentive, and to be grateful. " I'll refer you to Alferian's website for much more information on all of these issues, with this link focusing on trees: http://www.bardwood.com/woods.htm
September Visitation with a Druid Master - and wandmaker - Dr. Alferian Gwydion MacLir. Alferian has a new book out, shown above. See his website for more info: TIME: 3 pm. Saturday, September 10th. Meet at Dunn Bros. coffeeshop at 43rd and Upton in Linden Hills. We will meet there and then walk a short ways to Lake Harriet for our "visitation". I'm really looking forward to this and hope you can join us for an insight into a new worldview...
The Segway tour was an enjoyable way to experiment with an unusual mode of transit. It was interesting that the tour guides did not speak about the native peoples relationship to the Mississippi River. I asked them about Spirit Island (that I had learned about in the April Visitation with Patrick Nunally), but they had no knowledge of it. Spirit Island was an island sacred to the Dakota people that sat just below the Stone Arch Bridge - as seen in the photo above. It was blown up by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in order to ease the flow of boats and barges going south on the Mississippi. At one time, there were (at least) 5 islands that sat between North Minneapolis and the current site of the University of Minnesota. There are now 2 remaining (Boom and Nicollet).
In the spirit of August being vacation month, how about a tour of the Minneapolis riverfront and its history via Segway?
Tuesday at 9:30 AM - from SE Main Street in MPLS. Make a reservation beforehand, see: http://www.humanonastick.com/
Yes, it costs money, but haven't you secretly been curious what it's like to ride one of these things? And it will be interesting to compare the different versions of MPLS history from previous visitations along the river.
Fort Snelling was a militaryfortification located at the confluence of the Minnesota River and Mississippi River; this confluence (Bdote) was and is a place sacred to the indigenous Dakota people. See http://www.bdotememorymap.org/ Fort Snelling became a concentration camp where over a thousand Dakota were imprisoned and over 300 died. These images show Fort Snelling as tourist setting, including children being invited to march with the costumed soldiers who set off rounds of gunfire. If one looks deeper-one may learn of the concentration camp.
Note: This visitation was rather spontaneous and not announced with an exact date on this blog. I will plan and promote August visitation with more lead time.
The park is currently closed due to the State of Minnesota government shutdown, but I am hoping that will be resolved soon and will schedule our visit as soon as that happens. Fort Snelling is a very loaded/contested/tragic place in Minnesota's history, with most Minnesotans not knowing the full story.
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