It may be an effect of reading Darwin who knows. I have a strong interest in my ancestors(Welcome to the gothic south.) I would love to hear about collective family histories on e-strip. When I was applying for a residency in Greensboro. NC a couple weeks ago It peaked my interest in my Dad's half of the family. I started looking around on the internet and listened to these interviews. (N.C.)%20--%20Social%20life%20and%20customs.
The people in these interviews are from my Dad's hometown. This was a little mill town called Bynum. The mill closed in the 70's or 80's so now this town is going through gentrification from the research triangle people. My dad's always told stories about bynum. Here is a link to some of his stories that I recorded I've sampled some of the audio from the oral histories and plan to use it in a video. I'll probably shoot and edit tonight.
So...
I sent my Dad a link to those interviews and asked him for the names of my grandparents brotherrrs and sisters. Now my Dad keeps sending me stuff. I've inherited the role of keeper of the family history. This is good because I'm interested in family mythologies more that institutionalized history.
The first thimg I learned was that I have a connection to Greensboro through my paternal Grandma "granny" apparently granny's daddy was from Greensboro. He died early and granny's mother didn't want anything to do with her dead husbands family.
quoting my dad
"They all moved to Bynum just as the great Depression was
starting. After Mother's father died, Mother's Mother told the lawyers
for the Montgomery estate that she wanted no part of hell's half acres.
Mother's father was a Montgomery and his family came to Gilford County
around 1750 from Lancaster, Penn."
and
"The Montgomery Plantation lasted through the revolutionary and civil war.
The Montgomery's lost the final 60 acres in 1974 when the city of
Greensboro took it to build a sewer plant."

apparently if I can track down the sewer plant in Greensboro I can track down "hell's half acres" so... the same thing goes for the brasington plantation but I guess that was sold off much earlier in 1920.
My Granny started working in the mill when she was 14. Once again quoting my dad.
"Lee Montgomery was the first one to move to Bynum when he was about 19. He
went there to get a job after his Father died. Lee got Mother a job in the mill when she was about 14. Then Marion and Clemont moved to Bynum and got a job. They all lived with Lee until Lee got married. Annie May lived with her mother until she got married the first time. Your Granny started dipping snuff when she was about 14 because the old mill hands told her to dip it so she did not breathe in the cotton dust from the machines. They all moved to Bynum just as the great Depression was
starting. "

Today my dad, well I call hin Daddy pronounced "deddy" today he sent me a bunch of old pictures. I think he's really bored since his retirement. So here are the pics he sent.
This is my Dad as a young man. I think it's his high school graduation photo.


These two are my Granny's brothers. (McGee) Montgomery, I heard in one of the audio histories online that Mcgee used to participate in quilting circles. He died around D-day in France, 1944. Hy dad who was born in 1944 is named after McGee who's given name was Marion Moore. The man in the hat is named Clemont. "Clemont is the one who was shot in the head as a teenager and later died. After Clemont was shot, his brain never developed anymore so he acted sorta like a 15 year old boy the rest of his life. Even though his brain never developed, he had total recall and could remember anything he saw or read. He could quote the whole bible from memory. "



This one is of my grandfather (the little boy in black). I never met him. He died when my Dad was 5. He was born in 1907.



so even though I've always associated my dad with Bynum I guess my grandparents moved there to get jobs and actually come from othe parts of north Carolina.

I can still taste vodka. My body is working to digest but it seems to take forever. Park st. had a birthday and I was guilted out to the pink. It was fun... strange but fun. I got around an hour of sleep. Then the lovely korean woman in my bed woke me up and asked for directions home. Then she got lost and kept calling so... I ate a couple soft boiled eggs and some herring. I've been planning for class today. I hate being a walking talking technical manual but that's what my kids want. They've broken my spirit. I've given into their desires.
This research is driving me nutty. It's so many things to put together but I can do it. It's time to become a hermit and get em done. I still need three people to shoot a video of. I think I will ask Julie, Soyeon and Arzu if they will do a sequence. This project seems to be more about relationships than absurdity, unbelievably.

Does anyone have a live cow I could borrow or know where to rent one?
I'm serious.
I need some help here. I know where to get dead cow but a live one...
I've no idea.

I need a boyfriend but one I can send home with ease. It must be spring fever. I know I'm not good with guys but Jesus Christ, everyone needs a lay every now and then. Do I scare men. It's either that or... well, maybe y'all can tell me the problem. Should I put on a faux innocence to be romantic?
Thanks for the cow advice. I wish things were easier. All I want to do is walk a cow around downtown Buffalo but without a truck or money, it just seems infeasible. I really have to get a move on if you know what I mean. It has to do with the changing of times. I hate being commodity dependent for happiness but at the same time, could you imagine killing your own meat?
I hate seeing my sister make up to her daughter for the lack of time she spends with her by buying her shit. I know she has bills but what if she just quit her job and hung out. I mean food and shelter are the biggies. They always have shelter. They could make a garden. What about me though? I buy shit all the time with God Damn loans, usually ephemeral things intended for immediate consumption but not always. I have a media addiction, books, movies and music.


I'm bothered.
I really can be bothered.
I found an old roll of film and had it developed. It's from inside my old apt. at 226 elmwood. I think I cooked mac and cheese for Soy. It was back before she moved to the suburbia and became a housewife.
reason # 2304 not to have a boyfriend
regular sex makes the majority of people lazy and boring (but then some people have always been one or the other), must be a comfort thing.

it was a strange wednesday. i cleaned up my apartment a little bit and rewarded myself by going out to the pink. a few of my crowd showed up but left early. then i ran into aaron miller and talked to him for a while. then i saw my new neighbor and talked to her for a long while until she had to go to work at spot. she seems cool. she was pissed that someone called the landlord to bitch about her dog. i had to reassure her it wasn't me. so after she left some old dude who recognized her started talking to me asked me if we should get breakfast together. i went and hid in the bathroom while the bartenders kicked everyone out. then i sat around while they closed the bar. i talked to dr.know. apparently he has a panty collection and would like to add mine to it. i talked to raul, the guy who comes in to clean up. he wanted my number but i was drunk enough to be reasonable and direct and tell him i didn't want him to call me. then i chris gave me a lift home and told me about his broken heart. guys are pathetic when heartbroken. i makes me want to laugh even though i feel bad. he says "i want her back" reminds me of my old flatmate Albrecht.

Some good news is that I'll be doing a screening at Hallwalls the first week of May. This is good because it will give me some motivation to complete my productions. It looks like I may be able to get out of UB after all.