The Eskimo are said to have many words for snow. It is such a vital part of their life that they have invented words to describe its different states and various natures. You would think that in 10,000 years of gardening, we would have come up with a similar variety of words to describe soil. […]
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Babes (and more) in toyland
Cowboys ride roughshod across blazing desert landscapes. Voluptuous bathing beauties frolic in the sand. On a darker note, a steely-faced Hitler stares into the void, and unnervingly cheerful “blackface” characters grin inanely. What kind of bizarre tableau is this, you ask? Some schizophrenic documentary on the Learning Channel? No. These scenes are part of artist […]
Camelot, interrupted
Obsession. Mental illness. Incest. Murder. As the playbill says, it’s not your ordinary family Thanksgiving — though Wendy MacLeod’s The House of Yes starts out with an innocuous-enough premise: Beloved brother/son returns home, betrothed in tow, to meet the family. Bride-to-be Lesly is nervous, anxious to please. Soon-to-be groom Marty Pascal is nervous, too, apprehensive […]
Free to roam
If I had my way, inns would welcome everyone. But if you’re gay and you want some quality time with your partner in the hotel pool, it might just send Ma and Pa America and their five kids into cardiac arrest. I don’t always feel the need to stay in gay-friendly hotels; my world doesn’t […]
To whine, or not to whine?
With summer in full swing, many of us are eagerly anticipating family vacations. As diverse as our region and residents are, traveling seems to be the universal tonic that allows us all to tolerate the remaining 50 weeks of turmoil. Whether you’re taking a weekend camping trip to the Smokies or embarking on an adventurous, […]
The Practical Gardener
There are subtle hints that allow you to know when a person no longer worries about what others think about him. If you see a man walking casually through the mall wearing a pair of wingtips with white socks, striped Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt — chances are pretty good that he no longer […]
The Wild Gardener
Last week, while perusing the latest issue of The Garden, published by the Royal Horticultural Society, I ran across an article entitled “USA slams the door on imported seed.” This is not new news. You’ve read about it before in Mountain Xpress. But this time around, the news is worse. Like the TP (Thought Police), […]
A Wal-Mart future?
On June 25, the Asheville City Council will decide whether to permit developers to construct a massive retail complex on the site of the old Sayles Bleachery in East Asheville. The proposed development would be anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter and include two additional big-box retailers; assorted other stores and restaurants; and an “urban village” […]
Asheville City Council
City Council meetings are normally sedate affairs: a rezoning here, a commission appointment there — pedestrian tasks that form the backbone of city governance. But the June 11 formal session of the Asheville City Council was anything but typical. In fact, it seemed to be the handiwork of Federico Fellini, directed from the grave. How […]
Notepad
Celebrating African-American heroes Heroes often spring from unimaginable hardship. Some cases in point: Born into slavery, Robert Smalls (1839-1915) stole the steamship “Planter” right out of the Charleston harbor in 1862, aided by nine other slaves. The group escaped to freedom, handing the ship over to the Union army. Smalls eventually became a U.S. congressman, […]
Unity despite diversity
They are doctors, teachers, bus drivers and homemakers — some married, some single, some old, some young. They are diverse, but they are unified — and they sing in harmony. They are Womansong, Asheville’s oldest and largest women’s community chorus. The group was established in 1986 by Linda Metzner, a local teacher and composer, as […]
Instruments of change
The Russians are coming … and they’re ready to play some serious music with their American cohorts in the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra (ARYO). ARYO will play Brevard Music Center’s summer music festival for the first time, compliments of well-connected alumni. “One of our trustees, Joe Robinson, who plays principal oboe with the New […]
The Practical Gardener
Before there were extreme sports, there were only fun brothers. For about six years of my life, beginning part way through college, I was part of a loose network of comrades whose ultimate goal was to spend all available cash on trips to go rock climbing, back-country skiing, fly fishing, ice climbing, bow hunting, kayaking, […]
Midnite finds the light
Throughout music’s constantly morphing genres, the truly powerful statements often wear unassuming masks. Folk, bluegrass or blues is frequently most effective when it is most naked — left alone by additional musical tricks or overproduction to stand unafraid in its own existence. Perhaps in no other form of music is this more evident than in […]
The latest word
Towns Without Rivers by Michael Parker (Perennial, 2001) Michael Parker’s second novel more or less picks up where his first, Hello Down There, left off. The book’s main protagonist, Reka Speight (pronounced Spate), has just been released from prison for killing her lover, Edwin, a heroin addict. Reka’s method of execution in the first book, […]
Forbidden fruit
When we lived in southern New England, we used to grow those big, honking tomatoes people think of when they think “tomato” — classic old-time varieties like Mortgage Lifter, Brandywine and German Pink. The kind you can bring in from the garden, carve a hefty slab off of, lay on a nice slice of bread […]
The Wild Gardener
Being a vegetarian, my wife is one of those imaginative people who are always on the lookout for new fruits to bring to the table. A few years ago, the local food co-op was featuring some ripe mangos, and Jean bought five to use in desserts. The fruits were about 6 inches long with a […]
Tailgaitin’
Hanging out at the North Asheville Tailgate Market feels a little like spending a day in a community garden. The 10-feet-by-10-feet vendors’ booths resemble a patchwork quilt of assorted vegetables, herbs and cut flowers. Visitors resemble bees, as they flit from one booth to another. The smell of fresh-baked goods delicately wafts among the sounds […]
Asheville City Council
Asheville City County meetings commence at 5 p.m. sharp. But savvy citizens know that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and the Council chamber is often packed by 4:30, when the cavernous room fills with a clamorous din. For some of the “wheels” who arrived early to the May 28 formal session, the squeaking paid […]
Goodbye, William
“He was one of those characters like the Fonz … he was, in essence, cool. He was my inspiration.” — author Daniel Wallace, Nealy’s brother-in-law [Editor’s note: William Nealy was an illustrator turned outdoor-sports cult hero who mapped a host of southeastern rivers, including the French Broad, and recorded one of the first — and […]
Business (not) as usual
[Editor’s note: This article is the first installment in what will become a monthly business section. Each month, we’ll do an in-depth story about a local business or business-related situation. Watch for the next business feature on June 26.] Bad for business We have always tried to be open to everybody and that hasn’t changed. […]