Friday, August 24, 2007

Sacred Places

My concert this morning is at the Old Courthouse Museum which is a very impressive building downtown Sioux Falls.

This time a year they have it in the courtyard outside and an hour before the show people start gathering.

It is nice and I have a good crowd that loves what I do. I feel somehow crappy and my stomach is aching badly - no idea what is going on but I have to really concentrate to get through the gig with a smile. Here is a goodbye shot with Marty Davidson, the organizer.

My mood gets worse when I think about the next show at the Ginkgo Coffeehouse in St. Paul. Despite multiple emails and phone calls I cannot figure out if I play or not. I’m not listed on the website and none of the barristas has a clue what’s going on. I was looking forward to that one despite the fact that it is a tip jar, which I usually don’t do anymore but now I feel pretty crappy about it - they don’t seem to give a sh.. at all. The feeling that I’m about to throw up doesn’t help. I have the rest of the day off and a phone call with my friend James gets me a little back on track. I decide not to decide anything quite yet and start driving North. I want to go to a Sacred place called Pipestone, where Indians from all over the country came to quarry pipestone, a soft reddish looking petrified clay that was crafted into peace pipes. It’s a little community in Minnesota, just 30 miles North East of Sioux Falls. When I get there I visit the local museum and get oriented. After I sign into a little motel down the road I visit the National Monument, the Pipestone quarries. Walking around this sacred place quiets me down a little. In the distance i can see a decorated tree that has a part in the “Sun Dance” ceremony.

It is very quiet and I can feel that this place is special.

I sit down close to a waterfall and let the water wash away all dark thoughts and worries.

Then I ask the oracle ...

When I drive back to the motel I take a little tour through downtown.

Despite the great energy I experienced all afternoon I’m still a little beside me. I hope that SciFi channel and a couple of beers take care of that.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mr Hans, I enjoyed your blog. I like your honest simplicity. I myself are am a self-proclaimed new-age hippie who is always looking for peace, love of life, and the eternal pursuit of happiness. I have been to the coasts but my family comes from the Black Hills area. Your photographs are my first introduction of the region. I am 25 and always on the search for another grande adventure. From what I interpreted, you are an artist, musician, realist, natualist, and spontaneous. I aspire to be similar. I look forward to aquiring a mentor who is true. In truth, Courtney.