Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Something I think is cool

This really doesn't have anything, directly, to do with work but maybe it does as it's hard to unravel me into little bits and pieces without everything coming apart.
I think history is cool.
I like it all and I like it a lot.
It can be going to Colonial Williamsburg and after the rush of the touristy stuff is over going and talking to the interpreters and really understanding some arcane element of what they are doing and why they do it (note: the majority of these folks that are doing what they are doing are majorly accomplished in their own right; I was stunned to see a guy in the house that contained a piano and harpsichord dealership sit down and actually play the harpsichord   Then he set about explaining (and showing how to make) the quills that they used to pluck the strings to make the sound - this all demonstrated whilst wearing a ponytail and breeches.)
It can also be going to a place where you have some link, some connection - something that ties you in some way to the place.  For us ("us" being myself and my nuclear family), this place is Spain.  Though my parents, as well as my wife's parents. were born in Cuba, our lineage is easily traced to Spain.  I still have family that I was able to track down and connect with in the north (Galicia).  As Cuban as my accent in Spanish is, arriving there and starting to talk to the people (usually over a meal and/or a drink) enables one to enter into what the place is about and understand why that connectedness exists.
On a recent trip, we "discovered" a ruined "palace" that was for sale.  Boy, now we were hitting on all cylinders!  Not only were we talking:

  1. History
  2. History associated with our culture
  3. History associated with our culture AND our faith (there was a nearby chapel [still in periodic use] associated with the palace)
but we were also talking about something that was ruined (see the below picture - this is the actual place) that could be rehabilitated and made functional again.  I guess here is the intersection with my business as I really get a charge out of fixing and turning things around - think diving catches in the end zone but even better.  Taking something moribund and making it even better than it was in it's prime.


Our latest dream - as the palace ended up not being the perfect fit - is to find (are you ready?) the following:
  1. A vineyard (as we decided whatever we get needs to be able to generate an income);
  2. That is ruined or needs a lot of work to be functional again;
  3. That HAS ruins of some sort (preferably Roman in nature):
  4. Is on a specific river in Galicia that was home to a Roman colony of folks that cultivated vineyards and then used the river to transport the wine;
  5. And, if possible, links or is close to the family land holdings.
Dreaming is free, right?