Nobody's #1

In regards to being an Apple... One of the things that has really helped me get through the past several months of my wife's battle with cancer has been this thing called "The Orchard." When days were exhausting, when I wasn't sure how to get my next boost of energy, or when I just needed a moment to get away from the space-time continuum that is cancer, I would go to the Orchard. But, going to the Orchard was only part of the escape. I really go to the Orchard for the Apples. To spend time with them. To learn about them. To build friendships and relationships with them. To be energized. To empathize. And sometimes, to just sit, silently, and wait. I'm an Apple, by the way.

Okay. Some explanation? Apples are just people. More specifically, people who are a part of The Orchard--an online community of individuals brought together, initially, by their shared love of the band Over the Rhine. But, spend some time there, and it becomes quickly noticeable that there is much more than a shared love of a band that draws us together. We're family. In a weird, wild, and wonderful way.

What draws us all together? I was talking with my wife about it the other day, trying to explain that I think it has to do with our shared love of all things artistic. It is amazing to learn the artistic talents that are embodied within the Apples (the "forbidden fruit" as Karin calls us.) There are lovers of all things music (even Duran Duran,) all things photography, all things literary...and the list goes on. Not only that, but it seems nearly everyone has a talent or two that drives them. Writing poetry. Singing. Painting. Playing an instrument (or two, or three, or...) I was trying to explain to my wife that I think it's the "creative" connection that has attracted me to the Orchard...that, and the hundreds of interesting stories that come out of it.

I was relating the Orchard community to her much like the Highlands neighborhood of my hometown of Louisville. If you live in or around Louisville, you know what the Highlands are, and what the social atmosphere is like. I love it down there, and could easily find myself living in that part of town (I know of at least one Apple that does live in the Highlands, in fact.) There's a lot of creativity churning on the streets, in the shops and along the sidewalks of Bardstown Road. And, like the Orchard, there are a million stories to tell.

My wife's response?

"So basically, you're all freaks?"

Yep. That about sums it up.

Shout Out! to Ear X-tacy ! Paste Magazine is naming them one of the top 17 coolest music stores in the country. Nice to see Louisville getting some music recognition lately. This month's Paste features hometown favorites My Morning Jacket as the cover story.