Years ago... As an inventor and archeologist, The Scientist owned his very own library - minimal 500 books. On that day I was to sort out his possesions, I remembered thinking this is his legacy. I sat alone in his study full of dust and web, as the others could not understand why I wished to have the books. They could not possibly understand that all these manuscripts, old and new, were knowledge. It was quite a task set out in front of me, but at the same time it was getting to know the man himself better than I could of imagined.
The book shelves were white washed cinder blocks, with green painted planks to hold the weight. Additionally, the green carried over into vines that were painted in his very own robust strokes, which incompassed the stark white of the blocks. I would of taken the shelves, but the blocks are weight, yet the idea lingers to create such shelving once again.
Nearly a month had passed, and I had kept all the books that I wished. The others were sold or donated. Amongst the books, I was able to decide on other objects I wished to keep. Ah, there... on the top shelf of the stack closest to the paperwork excuse of a desk. Another hand painted item, a canvas of a lighthouse, oil possibly. I picked it up with both hands and gazed at its stark robust coloration. This is the way he saw things... as this was his creation by eye and hand. I turned it over to read any inscription and found that it was actually dedicated to me! The year being that which I had been born - 78, yet 6 months later. How interesting, that I had not known this or seen this picture before now.
The shelf below contained gadgetry and inventions, chocked full of lights and prototypes. But the very top shelf was stuffed full of spiral notebooks and notepads. I started to take a few out and scan them to see what the content was. They were stories of science, data, diagrams, fantasy, even submersible information. I was tickled to find his own handwriting on these projects. I thought that maybe one day I could publish something he had completed in honor. When i had pulled all the paper out and packed it away for shipping, I found one lone piece of paper, scribbled in his doctors script hand. It read, "Out of everything I have accomplished, how does one define the impossible? ". Beneath it and well hidden was that dusty leatherback. Possibly a compiled work of fiction, yet the diagrams and scientific background based on physics were staring me in the face - and as for the rest of it, I surely wished to find out.
I was so intrigued by this piece of work, whereas all the other items were just thrown together and in common writing devices, and most of his scientific lighting work was in one of his four computers. When I had gone through everything and prepared for my return with all of my momentos in tote or by post, I had not let that journal out of site. I even had it on the long plane flight back, where I could not keep my eyes off of its pages. Some places were clearly designated, locale and degree. I looked at all the derivatives of such information to see if any were close to my current home. Well, well, what do we have here at the very end of the journal... 78 degrees north. Further than the Arctic Circle, but just a short flight.
The diagrams were of a building with geometric sharps and then other diagrams of lighting devices, which obviously would support the building structure, no doubt. Then as I moved my vision to the pages previous, I realized that an archeological site was involved as well. Surely the lighted building was not to house a dig project, was it?
When I arrived at my current residence, I looked into the location and what could possible be at this site. To my amazement, the Global Seed Vault resided there. And the pictures were that of the rough drafts in the journal. The vault was constructed in 1983 to house every imaginable variety of seed and legume on the entire planet. In preparation for a planetary disaster and/or to ensure survival of all our greens, not to mention us as a human species.
I booked the next available flight to the Arctic island of Svalbard. In my transit, I thoroughly studied the leatherback journal in regards to the information depicted about the area. The journal noted that the year this had been written was 1978, yet the facility itself was not opened until 1983... 5 years later. I closed my eyes and awaited touchdown, thoughts filled my head about what I might encounter or if I was just on a dreamer's wild goose chase... And for what, to know more about the man I looked up to and had lost.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaCRT-uq8d0
(Take A Picture - Filter Hybrid Remix)
The book shelves were white washed cinder blocks, with green painted planks to hold the weight. Additionally, the green carried over into vines that were painted in his very own robust strokes, which incompassed the stark white of the blocks. I would of taken the shelves, but the blocks are weight, yet the idea lingers to create such shelving once again.
Nearly a month had passed, and I had kept all the books that I wished. The others were sold or donated. Amongst the books, I was able to decide on other objects I wished to keep. Ah, there... on the top shelf of the stack closest to the paperwork excuse of a desk. Another hand painted item, a canvas of a lighthouse, oil possibly. I picked it up with both hands and gazed at its stark robust coloration. This is the way he saw things... as this was his creation by eye and hand. I turned it over to read any inscription and found that it was actually dedicated to me! The year being that which I had been born - 78, yet 6 months later. How interesting, that I had not known this or seen this picture before now.
The shelf below contained gadgetry and inventions, chocked full of lights and prototypes. But the very top shelf was stuffed full of spiral notebooks and notepads. I started to take a few out and scan them to see what the content was. They were stories of science, data, diagrams, fantasy, even submersible information. I was tickled to find his own handwriting on these projects. I thought that maybe one day I could publish something he had completed in honor. When i had pulled all the paper out and packed it away for shipping, I found one lone piece of paper, scribbled in his doctors script hand. It read, "Out of everything I have accomplished, how does one define the impossible? ". Beneath it and well hidden was that dusty leatherback. Possibly a compiled work of fiction, yet the diagrams and scientific background based on physics were staring me in the face - and as for the rest of it, I surely wished to find out.
I was so intrigued by this piece of work, whereas all the other items were just thrown together and in common writing devices, and most of his scientific lighting work was in one of his four computers. When I had gone through everything and prepared for my return with all of my momentos in tote or by post, I had not let that journal out of site. I even had it on the long plane flight back, where I could not keep my eyes off of its pages. Some places were clearly designated, locale and degree. I looked at all the derivatives of such information to see if any were close to my current home. Well, well, what do we have here at the very end of the journal... 78 degrees north. Further than the Arctic Circle, but just a short flight.
The diagrams were of a building with geometric sharps and then other diagrams of lighting devices, which obviously would support the building structure, no doubt. Then as I moved my vision to the pages previous, I realized that an archeological site was involved as well. Surely the lighted building was not to house a dig project, was it?
When I arrived at my current residence, I looked into the location and what could possible be at this site. To my amazement, the Global Seed Vault resided there. And the pictures were that of the rough drafts in the journal. The vault was constructed in 1983 to house every imaginable variety of seed and legume on the entire planet. In preparation for a planetary disaster and/or to ensure survival of all our greens, not to mention us as a human species.
I booked the next available flight to the Arctic island of Svalbard. In my transit, I thoroughly studied the leatherback journal in regards to the information depicted about the area. The journal noted that the year this had been written was 1978, yet the facility itself was not opened until 1983... 5 years later. I closed my eyes and awaited touchdown, thoughts filled my head about what I might encounter or if I was just on a dreamer's wild goose chase... And for what, to know more about the man I looked up to and had lost.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaCRT-uq8d0
(Take A Picture - Filter Hybrid Remix)
No comments:
Post a Comment