I did not realize how much time I spend behind my MAC screen until I got on the phone with Derek in San Francisco 3 hours before our event. I felt the anti-social melting as we connected long distance over a project that attempts to rekindle the old orator traditions of communication. I always considered myself an earthy traditionalist. but it gets so easy to just hit the return key and dowse your thoughts across others screens by the hundreds...no thinking no feeling---little breathing. I work for an Alternative Weekly Newspaper with an average of 150,000 readers. I rarely even see who the people are that read my stories. Once we started talking about that- it stuck with me for the rest of the night.

I could see a lot of faces there were influenced by the same cyber-woes. Each one of us were there in genuine spirits-looking to listen and exchange. By the end of the night you couldn't tear us apart- and my imagination was ignited with more stories I could get out of my system! A writing group may spring from all of this- folks mentioned they'd like to do it year round.

(Next time I am bringing an urn of coffee) We were provided with a bottle of Pinot and Diet Pepsi---nah!

Thank you to everyone who attended and ARTSPACE for having us. We're infected! you've passed the FRAY BUG to us and we're glad for it! It was our first FRAY and we had 20 plus folks on hand - which is pretty good attendance for a town that is currenlty apathetic in support of it's local arts events. So we were a happy twenty! AND WE'LL DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR!