rod

Last week Hoss (day 49) called the house and said he wanted to talk to me. I wasn’t home and so Terry relayed the message. I decided to return the call in person and when I got to the garage just after lunch today Hoss looked at me from across the desk and asked if I was ready to meet some real characters. For the next hour or so Hoss called one person after the other who he thought might be interesting for my project and put me on the phone with them after a brief introduction.

Thirty minutes after hanging up with Rod I was parked in the driveway to his workshop. I stood next the car for a moment to take in the details of a sight I have driven past countless times but never stopped to take a closer look.

Rod does not dream at night. By day he is a metal working, welding, sculpting, mineral hunting, art making, horseshoe throwing, race car building, backwoods dwelling creative genius. He began mineral hunting at the age of nine and currently is the number one seed in the state of Maine for horseshoe throwing: “I wouldn’t bet the house against me.” Many of the machines that Rod uses to refine gem stones he built himself and his knowledge of the land around him is rooted in a lifetime of exploration. Rod’s workshop is a beautiful display of talent, hard work, and focus over a great deal of time. The sheer energy and time Rod has dedicated to his various passions over the years is impressive by most standards and left a big impression on me. Every Saturday Rod ventures into the woods and mountains searching for stones and other natural materials to create with. On Sundays Rod drives all around creation to compete in horseshoe throwing competitions. After a downright mystical visit his parting words to me were “drive slow and drink milk, that’s all you need to do.”

[54] July 5, 2021