My First Police Encounter

It's been a while since the rock sculpture at City Ave. and Conshohocken State Road was knocked down.  I'd actually become comfortable that it would stand the trials of time and location forever.  Ah, foolish me.  Today I went by on my way to my mother's place and was shocked to find it knocked over.  After seeing Mom, I returned to the scene of the crime to re-build the sculpture.  I had it almost complete and was making slight improvements when I looked up and saw a Lower Merion police car with an officer staring at me. 

How much trouble could I be in?  (I mean these are MY rocks!)  Yet, the property they're on belongs to someone else.  I casually stroll over to the officer's window and try to explain what I was doing.  (Like what the hell am I doing?)  Why I'm gardening!  I have on my gardening gloves and I'm weeding and cleaning out the small island in which I've built the rock sculpture. 

It's all good with officer Frank.  And since I'm a citizen of Lower Merion, we have a nice discussion about everything except politics and trespassing.  Frank is really a decent guy (and probably a better than decent cop).  He warns me to be careful as the neighborhood isn't quite as nice as where I live.  He shakes my hand and heads off to find more credible criminals.  (I have really lousy cred in the 'hood.)

I, also, went back to Media Lima Dental to re-build the sculpture there.  It ended up with fewer rocks, but being more stable.  I'm working on better stability, so I don't end up re-building over and over... 

Which is why I've thrown in a couple of pictures of the sculpture at Ardmore Ave. and Lancaster Ave.  The same person/people knock it down every night.  And I re-build it every morning.  I'm meeting a lot of people who like my sculptures, since I'm right there every morning re-building this one.  (Isn't the definition of crazy "doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result")?  Well, there I go.

Rosh Hashanah 5772

Veys mir!  Everyone is going to synagogue and I'm out re-building rock sculptures.  I'll never get my name inscribed into the Book of Life this way.  Maybe I can get it inscribed into the Book of Stone.  (As in "You're gonna sink like a stone all the way to Hell.")  Alas, my fate, is written in stone.  It used to be written in composite resin, and before that it was in amalgam.  Such is the progression of life - always improving.
Anyway, I went to Ardmore Ave. and, to my surprise, the sculpture was still standing.  Is it possible the miscreants that knock it down have gotten tired of doing so?  Or is this a Rosh Hashanah gift?  A couple small stones had fallen off from yesterday's heavy rain.  I replaced them.  Nothing worth a photograph.

I went back to The Oakhill Condos and re-made a couple of sculptures.  How do you think they stack up?  (That's a rock sculpture joke.)  Hey, I didn't say it was a funny joke!  Unfortunately, it's one of my better jokes.  The rock sculptures are similar to the joke.  Just OK, but nothing to write home about.  So, I'm done writing. 

Ardmore Train Station (And Ardmore Ave. - Again)

It's been a while since I've visited my site near the Ardmore Train Station, so I returned to it only to find almost all the stones knocked back into the planted area.  No big surprise there.  This is another location that gets destroyed regularly.  It's a secluded spot, perfect for surreptitious (yes, I looked this word up in the dictionary.  So what?)  building of rock sculptures, as well as under-aged drinking and drug use.  I use the area for all three activities.  Shh, don't tell.
Since the rocks were still present, I re-built the sculpture.  You'd think that it would look the same as the original sculpture, but it doesn't.  I'd forgotten what it looked like originally.  I already forgot what I did yesterday, so there's no way I'd remember the original look of this sculpture.  Hope it stays up for a while.  I like the way it presents.  The spike adds some pizazz (don't see that word very often) to the piece.

And, of course, I re-built the Ardmore Ave. sculpture.  It took quite some time.  People stopped in cars, on bikes and on foot to talk to me about the rocks.  Even Mike, the owner of the car wash and this lot, came over to talk.  He told me that a mother and her young son stopped and built a small sculpture near mine.  It makes me happy to hear that my efforts have produced a creative learning experience, rather than an opportunity to destroy someone's artistic creation. 

A bike riding philosopher stopped by to comment on the plight of humanity, especially in this country, where it seems, we're going to hell in a hand basket quite rapidly.  All this because kids knock over my rock sculptures.  He suggested I plant a camera to catch the low-life culprits.  Right, then I could confront them and get the shit knocked out of me.  No thanks.  I'll stick with the Metamucil.

Ardmore Avenue Revisited (Often)

As predicted, the rock sculpture at Lancaster Ave. and Ardmore Ave. has been knocked down nightly.  The person(s) goes to great lengths to completely knock down even the heaviest rocks.  (I do so admire a diligent worker.)  Fortunately, I get my coffee at the Wawa in Ardmore West, so I stop every morning to re-build the rock sculpture (like I have nothing better to do with my time - which I, sadly, really don't). 
But it does give me time to refine the sculpture, and get many people giving me a thumbs up as they drive by.  I had a call from another writer for the Main Line Times who had seen the sculpture, and wanted to confirm that I had built it.  So, people do notice my works, though they have no idea what they mean.  (As if I do.) 
However, someone must have similar urges to create like me because I found the sculpture re-built a couple of times by another's hand.  (Or is that hands?)  I re-did the sculpture to my liking, thinking, "Yo, these are my rocks, my spot and my gig.  Go somewhere else and come up with your own idea."  Yet, I'm happy that this person constructs, rather than destructs.

I took photos of the sculpture yesterday and today.  To be honest, I was into it more yesterday, and more interested in getting my coffee this morning.  I really, really need my morning coffee! 

Labored on Labor Day Weekend

Finally, I found a place for a new rock sculpture.  This location is on the corner of Lancaster Avenue and Ardmore Avenue.  It's right near the I-Hop and across from the Mickey D's in the large, empty lot that was made available especially for my rock sculpture.

Oh sure, you chuckle.  A location reserved just for me.  Well, it so happens that the lot's owner, who also owns the car wash, saw me building the rock sculpture.  He came over to me and (surprise) asked what the hell I was doing.  I explained about the rock sculptures and how they were highly valued by the local citizens.  He was so pleased that he gave me the "OK" to leave it on his property.  Though he recognized right away that the likelihood of the area kids leaving it alone was quite low.  No problem, I said, as I live nearby, and will be back often to re-build it.  (Only too true.)

You have no idea the sacrifices I make to do these sculptures.  Today, I sacrificed my Muhlenberg College T-shirt, the rear fender of the car and multiple parts of my body while getting one of the large granite blocks into the trunk.  The intercostal muscles (look it up, you should know what they are) on my left side are big-time sore, as are my elbows and knee.  And, of course, the hole in my driveway, where I dropped the rock, is going to be a long-time reminder of this day. 

After building the sculpture I had a nice gentleman pull into the lot who asked what I was doing.  Again I explained about the rock sculptures, and he asked if I would build him one.  I (regrettably) declined, saying that they were street art, meant for the public, and I wasn't doing private works (that would fall down in a week or so).  I gave him one of my cards (well, yes, I have cards) so he could read the blog. 

So now I've used up all the large, base rocks I had.  Even if I see a good spot for a rock sculpture, I'd need to visit one of my sources of granite rocks.  I really don't have the back strength to lift them, but when has that ever stopped me?  My tombstone will say "Great dentist and decent rock star, who doesn't know his own strength".

Hurricane Irene

Well, the rock sculptures can withstand an earthquake very nicely, but not a hurricane.  Yes, I know you're stunned to learn that.  Never the less, it's true.  I rocked my world and  knocked it to the ground.  I've only started to re-build, but it is a start.  Of course, I began at the Wynnewood Train Station.  Then I went to The Hamper Shop - which held up rather better than anywhere else.  And ended the day at The Oak Hill Condos, where I met a very nice couple out walking their dog, Cocoa, while admiring my art work.  Some folks have such good taste in art.

It's remarkably easy for these things to fall down than it is to build them.  Gravity is such a bummer.  Eventually, I'll have to use real cement if I want to make them more permanent.  I'm thinking that this will happen sooner, rather than later, since most of my time is spent re-building and not new building.  I have picked out a nice spot in Ardmore for a new sculpture.  It's right near the police administration building, so if you don't see my blog for a while (like 5 to 10 years), you'll know it wasn't a good decision to build a rock sculpture there.

Earthquake !!

Just what a builder of rock sculptures doesn't want to hear.  A 5.8 earthquake originating near Richmond, VA (Go Spiders), shook the ground for 30 seconds.  It also shook the TV, the bed and the house.  The dogs couldn't have cared less.  I wasn't sure that I had felt an earthquake (it was my first), so I tried MSN & Yahoo to see if they reported on it.  Nothing on either.  Had to go to the Twittersphere to get the up-to-the-minute news. 
So, I figure I'd check out the ruins of my rock sculptures this morning.  But, to my surprise, they were intact (yeah, that is one word).  Not a stone had dislodged.  Are these the same rock sculptures that I find knocked down periodically - sometimes daily - on a normal day?  Difficult to believe, but there it is.  My efforts shall live on way beyond my life.  Gaining in value and appreciated by millions (OK, maybe two or three more people and ten more dogs).

I did re-make the sculpture at Media Lima Dental in Media (that location, coincidence, I think not).  And rebuilt the sculpture at the Cambian Salon, by the exit of Rte. 352.  This was prior to the earthquake, so I don't know yet how they fared.  I'll check them out next week after hurricane Irene passes through.