ENTRY ARCHIVE

Sunday, July 25, 2010

MINICONCEPTDOC #48: KALEIDOSCOPE

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In my mission to compile a complete MINICONCEPTDOC alphabet, Dave Damm (Pictured right) stepped up to provide today's word: Kaleidoscope.

Thank you!

At first, I thought I would make something completely poetical. I thought this would be a good opportunity to be experimental, non-narrative. Instead, today's doc is a short history that turned into a small polemic.

As I approach the final MCD's, I am becoming more and more nostalgic and reflective. I think, subconsciously, the kernel for this film came from a favorite place to play as a kid.

Close to my home in Woodlynne there was a small strip of wooded land behind a roofing company and adjacent to the baseball field. We called them, the Manachi Woods. I have absolutely no clue where the name came from. I'm not sure if that's how it's even spelled...

It always felt right to make it a possesive, as if it were someone named Manachi's woods, so we often did.

Example: "Hey! Wanna hang out in the Manachi's, build a fort?"

I don't remember where I even learned the name, or who told it to me. They were just always the Manachi's.

We would climb trees back there, build forts, hang out. I saw Pat's head get split open by a flying roof shingle back there once. I kissed a girl in there. I hid from my mom. I got hurt in there. I revealed secrets. I fought with friends, bonded, and conjured up possible futures in those small woods.

There was a massive boulder at the entrance. It was a favorite to sit on.

I'm sure now it would all seem so much smaller, insignificant. I don't want to go back to them and have the image in my mind changed by the what they may "actually" be, so I have visited them in a long time.

Though, I wouldn't be surprised if they've been razed since then.

Anyway... sometimes, people would pollute those woods. They would come, secretly in the night, and dump their garbage, spoiling our refuge. It was infuriating.

I'm not sure how or why, but as far back as I can remember, I always knew that throwing one's trash on the ground, from a candy wrapper to old tires, was despicable. I just didn't do it. I wouldn't let friends do, and when I saw it, it made me nauseous. LITTERING IS BAD. I still see people do it all the time.

Flashback:

I distinctly recall seeing two boys walking through the Ferry Ave. Speedline Station parking lot, eating from the old Styrofoam McDonald's containers. They passed the old Fotomat Booth (much like the one pictured {which isn't the actual booth, but used to set the mood}) which had a trashcan right outside of it, and threw the empty containers on the ground. It made me feel sick to my stomach. Not figuratively sick, but literally, nauseous in my gut.

I was too scared to say anything for fear they might beat me up. I got so scared I just ran away. Why I didn't wait until they got far away and then threw out the containers myself, I don't know. When you're a kid you do weird things.

A very special thanks this week goes to Kyle Costill (Pictured left). When I was in need of a specific piece of music I could hear in my head, I knew Kyle was the perfect person for the job. I called him and in an instant he was over, ready to record. In fifteen minutes we had a finished track. Thanks!

Getting back to the Manachi's... This MCD is dedicated to them and all the memories they gave to the kids in the neighborhood. 



LARGER VERSION AVAILABLE AT MINICONCEPTDOCS CHANNEL, HERE
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