March 1, 2004
Planet Rabbit Hole, California, USA4:05pm. It's a dark gray rainy day. I've been working to find people for The FAR OUT School on Tribe.net-- which is an amazing tool!
I had a great weekend with Moriah: Saturday hiking up the mountain in the back yard to Echo peak, then Sunday hiking to the hot springs at Deep Creak. Hiking up to Echo, I handed out copies of Hooked on the Outdoors magazine and tried to sell subscriptions. Jeff, Hooked CEO, sent me 200 copies and a bunch of sweet premiums to give away with subscriptions, which I was planning to get rid of at the UCSB show, but didn't, so I'm peddling them as I go.
Near the top, sitting on an over-look making a dragonfly, I laid out a few copies near the trail for people to pick up. One guy, George, a funny character, gave me a hard time. However, the people he was hiking with, Diana and Jorge, were the first to buy a subscription. I took photos with them to send the magazine. It was the perfect spot to be selling such a publication. I'm stoked about starting a relationship with them to publish my work and find support for continuing my kayak journey. A one-year's subscription (6 issues), is $15, plus the "premium" free gift. I'm wearing a pair of Hooked socks right now. The other premium options are a Swiss Army knife or a carrying case that could hold a GPS and wallet. Hooked gives me $5 of the $15 for my legwork. It's a good gig cuz I can do it anywhere.
On the way to Deep Creek, a cop pulled me over for crossing the double lines in the car pool and speeding. I thought I was going to miss my exit and needed to get ahead of the other cars to cross four lanes. It wasn't dangerous, so it really pissed me off. He just gave me a ticket for speeding, but I don't know how much it is going to be. It really ruined the day for me. I was in an amazing location, but totally bummed. I'm going to fight it. There should not be laws that make innocent non-violent acts criminal. And the fines are just too much. The system is about money. If you have it, you can pay your way out.
Moving on... I got hooked-up with the LA prison system, doing a free show for domestic violence offenders, which may open doors to paid presentations:
Hi Cory,
My name is Barry Altshule and I am the educational liaison between the Sheriff's Department and the school district that conducts classes in jails in Los Angeles County. I read your e-mail to Director Karen Dalton and checked out your web site as well. Please let me know your availability in March or whenever you will be back in LA. There is a program for domestic violence offenders (approximately 80 men) that is housed at the Century Regional Detention Facility (CRDF) in Lynwood. They receive intensive full time training in anger management and other interventions to help mitigate their violent behaviors towards their wives or girl friends. It is a unique program that uses unorthodox approaches in trying to change these unwanted violent episodes. Perhaps your presentation could help this group of inmates as they go through their recovery from abusiveness. Please let me know.
Thanks,
Barry
Hi Cory,
I just received a call from Barry, informing me that you were cleared to come to Century Regional Detention Facility next week to do a presentation for the domestic violence offenders. Wednesday at 9am will work for us. Please call the school office at CRDF and speak with Annette to get directions. It might be easier to do a map quest from your residence.See you Wednesday,
Liz Curtis
Bridges To Recovery
Program Coordinator
I also got word back from a manager of a high-rise in downtown LA:
Dear Max: It was great talking with you as well. I have reviewed your web site and I am very interested in doing a show here at our building. I do however, need to come up with a venue and get the word out to our clients and see a bit of the presentation myself before I could book you. That will take some time and I am not sure that can be done by March, possibly in April. I will keep you posted. Sincerely, Jacki
Jacqueline A. Wood
Property Manager
Cushman & Wakefield
Thursday I'm meeting my folks in Sedona,AZ, then Friday I'll be at the Star School:
Cory! We'd absolutely love to have you here at the STAR School (www.starschool.com) for a slideshow and dragonfly workshop. Just let me know when you'll arrive, and what supplies we'll need. You're more than welcome to stay in our strawbale guesthouse for as long as you like.
Cool stuff on your website-- if you come here we can get some pics of you for our website too.
Kismet/kate
5:11pm The power of optimistic thinking is huge. I have ups and down like most people, but one thing I do well is project where I want to go-- creating a possible reality, then stepping into it. I'm not smarter than most, but I do believe in myself. It takes a lot of faith to live this dream, not having the regular credentials and doing it on a shoestring. It is what I need to do. MAX dies if I give up. This story I'm telling... I am the one who needs to believe it the most. George, the guy who gave me a hard time on the hike up Echo, he liked me, even wanted to be me, but just couldn't believe I existed. I'm a dragonfly living with a fairy in a rabbit hole.
At age 17, when my head was filled with this dream, I believed that I could gain reader support it if I was transparent, completely open with my progress. If I could be truthful and touch a cord in the reader's soul, maybe then I'd make a connection and I receive the energy I needed. Many people have supported this effort in many ways, some beyond what I imagined, but my hope was that a larger percentage of readers regularly reading my journal would give $5 or $10. I thought... if only I could find the right words... or reach more people. I've become more skeptical, but not quite jaded. It pans out in other ways-- such as the sweet peeps who introduce themselves, so if your not forkin' over some funds, at least say hello and share SoloMAX with friends.
I sent this out to my personal mailing list last week:
My friend you got this invite because I want to spend more time with you... and want to hook you up my friends. I want us to have adventures together---making visions reality. Sadly, some of you, I may never see again, so this is an attempt to lesson the chances.
I'm currently in Pasadena, California with my girl, Moriah. Next week I'll be in Tucson, AZ for quality time with my family. After that, it s an open road, but my favorite option is heading south to Costa Rica for the International Rainbow Gathering.
As you likely know, I'm obsessed with creating an art and adventure center in central Mexico. I was down there again last winter and fulfilled my promise to the Mountain of Death--- spending five days making a trail and leading five boys from Roblito to the summit. Seed, an art teacher from Louisiana, also joined me and you can see photos of us with kids in Roblito on this page: www.solomax.com/mar.2.3.html
This year, I toured the US southwest seeking ideas and people to help manifest my FAR OUT vision, and was fortunate to attend the national Rainbow Gathering in Utah and Burning Man in Nevada s Black Rock desert. These bad-ass summer camp-like events attract very creative, community-minded people and I highly encourage you to check them out if you have not: www.welcomehome.org and www.burningman.com
Recently I lived in Ojai, California on a commune and worked with at-risk youth teaching dragonfly beading workshops (www.solomax.com/dflys.html). These experiences confirmed my desire to live communally and continue this sort of social work that I find personally rewarding.
I'm now prepared to form a non-profit organization and invite you to join me on this quest. The vision is to create a tribe, or collective of people who wish to live sustainably, share knowledge, create opportunities for cultural exchange and encourage personal empowerment. Together, pooling information, skills and resources, we will all benefit.
In Central Mexico, a football field size plot of land in has been provided in a secluded location in the Agua Grande estuary, an hour s drive south of Mazatlan. The property is 4km up the peninsula from Roblito (village of 120) and 10km through the estuary from Palmillas (town of 2000). This map will show you: http://www.solomax.com/images/nayarit-map.jpg
The vision is to create a summer camp during winter months, when it s sunny everyday, but not too hot, and not many bugs. The land is an open field, where we can build housing structures and grow food. It s a short walk from the estuary, where fish are plenty, and we can kayak all the way to Mexcaltitan, where the Aztecs are thought to have built their first civilization in Mexico. It s a neat little island town, with streets in the shape of the Aztec calendar that fill up with water in the flood season, and then the people boat around. They call it the Venice of Mexico.
High up in the trees on the Mountain of Death, I see a cargo-net-hammock-camp. If you ve been in the Gypsy Camp hammock, or an others I've made that need a harness and pulley to get up and zip line to get down, you ll know what I'm talking about. Also on the mountain is a huge boulder, and on top is my favorite campsite. I would love to share that with you. Check out the boulder on the bottom of this page: http://www.solomax.com/mar.19.3.html
The purpose of all this is to have a good time, meet new people, live cheap, make money, learn a lot, and share what you ve learned. I'm open to how it will evolve, but since most of my friends are healers, adventurers, and artists, it may look like something between a health spa, an outfitting company and a circus. We will work with families, school groups, corporate employees and local people.
Your part starts with joining the Action Hero Network, which means creating a profile on Tribe.net and joining The FAR OUT School Tribe.
If this is not of interest, you don t need to do anything... but just a shout out to say where you're at and what's up would be cool.
I'm also fund-raising for my trip south to the Rainbow, so if you'd like to support that, please ask me to make you a dragonfly: http://www.solomax.com/buy-dflys.html or learn how to make one yourself from my site: http://www.solomax.com/step-by-step.html
For more FAR OUT info hit: http://www.solomax.com/farout.html
Here's a few other links that may help with your travels:
http://kindrideshare.net
http://www.couchsurfing.com
http://www.wwoof.org/
http://www.backdoorjobs.com
http://www.outdoornetwork.com/jobnetdb/default.html
http://www.aee.org/memberpages/jchview.php
Luvin You!
Have fun!
-Cory Richardson
www.solomax.com
The return email put a smile on my face:
Hello beautiful brother,
news flash from the North, in the year of 2004;
the PM of Norway- a christian social democrat has just shared with the population his personal view on homosexuality; he ( and speaking for several members of the Christian Peoples Party) is opposed to partnership between gay people and do not believe they have a right to hold clergical positions. When will the folly of man seize?
I'd be delighted to cross paths with you again, C, just need to spend a few moons here in the north and prepare myself. All is well- the mighty Sun has returned and keeps our backs warm and our spirits lofty. Spending time in the woods is essential, so is the art. I am making some jewelry, experimenting with horse hair as necklaces with coarse and rustic pendants. Then I'm due to create something larger..the tiny details are wearing on my patience (interesting how everything seems to be a test of this quality, hah?). Discussions on whether or not to drill for oil up north ( in the archipelago of Lofoten- are you familiar with it? It's just stunning, Cory, a place where islands meet mountains- rugged/jagged ones. Old wooden shacks where the fishermen used to hang in between trips, marine wildlife like you wouldn's believe, fantastic sea kayaking and sublime scuba diving...) are making the headlines and the polytricksters lack of ability or interest in looking past their four year terms is threatening this refuge. Funny how promises of employment (very short term ones) can surpass the environmental preservational concerns..? It upsets me and I want to make a big piece to speak my mind about it. Not sure what it will be yet..
Gotta go, brave one, see you soon! I believe in you, AS
Max,
Hey Brother, it's Jenny from the Brecht Forum. Remember me? You stayed at my place in Manhattan and met my happy cactus friends. Great to hear from you! Sounds like you're cruising right along. Well, covered a bunch of road myslef lately, went back to Peru last year, started a non profit organizatoin to preserve the indigenous Q'ero tribe of the highlands and their textile tradition (check out our website at www.weaversofwisdom.org - it's very much in progress, just don't have the time to beef up the site right now), made a documentary about the project (well, so far just the short version. . .it's ongoing while the project is ongoing), held a bunch of benefit Trance parties last summer that were hugely successful, just got a grant for being a "Lantern Project" which will cover the funds needed to get all the wool and looms to start training the young girls in the art of their ancestors, and I just returned from a month in Mexico!!Mexico is the place man, it was like going home, truly. Such a magical experience I had there. What you're talking about setting up is the SAME as what I want to do. We are ONE, with the earth, the universe, and all sentient and non-sentient beings, so let's work together to expand awareness, connect people back to the earth, and celebrate the beauty and diversity of life.
I'd like to start a dialogue with you, and then take it from there. Check out the website I mentioned, and also www.mysticdetours.com, our other site.
I'm not going to go into too much more right now, I'm heading out to get my groove on, Madeski Martin and Wood are playing with Marc Ribot (great jazz performers) for a benefit show. I'll wait to hear back from you. But suffice it to say I was wondering when I'd be hearing from you again, because we are family and when we come together, we are stronger and can fly higher and longer. I truly appreciated your enthusiasm and beautiful spirit when you were out here in NY, and I knew eventually we'd be joining forces for something or another.
I send you a rainbow, at the end of which is a kiss,
Jennifer
In front of me are business cards are from two energetic guys-- one met by campfire light at Leanne's famous pot luck in Austin and the another from a guy at the Outdoor Retailers show in Utah. They have good ideas and online systems, but no content, so see if you can use what they do: GEARSWAP.COM and thelocalgig.com
Please adopt a dragonfly!
I've worked thousands of hours to create this web site and it is yours free to enjoy. That wasn't a profitable thing for me to do, but it was my calling and it has been very successful at providing inspiration and information to many people all over the world.
If you'd like to see this project continue, I need your help right now. I'm working hard to set up shows in the LA prison system and get a TV deal, but at this time I'm a starving artist.
Dragonfly adoption is $30 plus shipping. Send me an email and we'll work it out. Get one for a friend or lover. I'll send it special delivery. Put it on a hat or house plant-- it is attractive anywhere.
If you'd like to give birth to your own dragonfly, I've made a web page to show you how. They are a simple and relaxing meditation tool, that take approximately two hours.
If you just want to show your support for this project with a few bucks, click this, I'll be stoked!
I'm open to any ideas or suggestions... so talk to me: MAX@solomax.com
