Beltane \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Beltane Moon<\/p>\n
Working on tours today. \u00a0Discovered a sculpture by Henry Moore that I inhabited once, long ago, the year 1969. \u00a0Just south of Kenwood Avenue my then wife’s brother, Bob Merritt, lived in a large flat with other undergraduates attending the University of Chicago.<\/p>\n
Kenwood marked the dividing line between Hyde Park, the upper middle class enclave gathered around the University and the South Side. \u00a0The South Side, known for gangs and poverty and community organizers began at their building. \u00a0So much so that one evening a gang of thieves with shotguns held all the students while they robbed the apartment. \u00a0Didn’t get much. \u00a0University students? \u00a0Geez.<\/p>\n
As a guest, I joined in a big weekend party that had plenty of drugs, sex and rock and roll. \u00a0No sex for me. \u00a0Married. \u00a0But drugs? \u00a0Oh, yes, please. \u00a0Mescaline, cut at the time with strychnine for a faster rush. \u00a0We sat around on mattresses on the floor, classic college student high decor. \u00a0At one point I leaned against a bare wire and got an electric shock.<\/p>\n
Oh. Boy. \u00a0That lit me up inside and out.<\/p>\n
Later on we decided to get something to eat and went for a stroll around campus, near Billings Hospital. \u00a0 Alonzo Stagg stadium where Enrico Fermi first split the atom. \u00a0Used to be right there. \u00a0Fermi and others under stadium. \u00a0Playing with an energy source known only to Shiva at that time. \u00a0In a container enclosed with regular bricks, if I recall correctly.<\/p>\n
There, on the site of Fermi’s experiment sat this sculpture by Henry Moore. \u00a0Taken by the explanation of its purpose, I crawled up inside and sat there, mind altered by the mescaline molecules, imagining the splitting of the atom, down to a very fine detail. \u00a0I inhabited the split, a part of it, riding the cascading protons and neutrons and electrons. \u00a0I forgot about the food, about the evening. \u00a0I sat there for quite a while, back in Alonzo Stagg stadium, as Fermi worked his magic.<\/p>\n
Later on I walked back to the flat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Beltane \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Beltane Moon Working on tours today. \u00a0Discovered a sculpture by Henry Moore that I inhabited once, long ago, the year 1969. \u00a0Just … Continue reading Alonzo Stagg Stadium 1969<\/span>