All posts tagged: Brownview Forge

9:45:00 GMT

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Andrew wrote the following essay for an English class and it was accepted for the literary magazine at his high school.  So – from today’s guest blogger Andrew Brown – I’m proud to present 9:45:00 GMT. * * * * * Today’s society uses time as its matrix. Everything we do commences at time x and concludes at time y. Every person who wants to live in our urban environment needs some way to tell time if they wish to function properly in our world, whether by wristwatch, cell phone, or computer. We use time as the basis for everything we do. My day begins at 5:45 every morning, classes begin at 8:00; lunch is at 1:30 p.m., and sports begin at 3:30; I arrive at home anywhere from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., depending on what I do after school. I eat dinner, finish my homework, and go to bed any time from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. This schedule has become more than a routine: now it’s more a state of existence. I first …

Home to Tennessee

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One of the great things about going home has always been the chance to get together with my brother Joe and play a little music.  So last week when the children and I were in Tennessee, I eagerly looked forward to heading out to Joe and Kerry’s house with my guitar and mandolin in tow. Joe (with a beard grown for a play at the Arts Center of Cannon County) had told me that his oldest children had begun to pick up the banjo, guitar, mandolin, and fiddle.  And sure enough, as we pulled out our instruments my nephew Joseph joined in with some clawhamer banjo.   It was great fun to play along with the next generation of pickers. Joe is an ornamental blacksmith and we had a good time checking out his new wares as well as his expanded shop.  Joe and Kerry essentially built their house by themselves, and it was great to see the new stairway they designed and constructed to open up the living room.  Joe’s shop is usually on the annual studio …

Beauty in Metal

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About 15 years ago, my younger brother Joe left his corporate job to work full time as a blacksmith artist.  It was a gutsy move, but he’s loving life and never looked back.  Over that time, he’s matured as an artist and has received increasing publicity.  So I was pleased but not surprised when I was looking online and found this Nashville Public Television blog for the Tennessee Crossroads  program where my brother’s work was featured. For those in the Nashville area, the show airs on October 9th and 12th, but anyone can see the clip by watching the video at the NPT website.  It is a good piece, but any short television feature isn’t going to capture the fundamental niceness that’s at the core of Joe’s being.  He’s simply among the nicest people on the planet and he’d give you the shirt off his back.  I’m looking forward to seeing Joe and his family next month when I’m in Tennessee.  Maybe it will be warm enough to sit on that wonderful front porch of his and pick some …