The Key of E

A 13 year old kid tries out a walkman for the first time. Wow. This took a while to process. I fondly remember my Walkman as a kid…sure the discman was out but it was too expensive for my family at the time. Not to mention I had a plethora of cassettes my brother had left me in addition to my parents own collection. They even had “portable” bags to carry around your collection in which resembled a small cooler. He was right about one thing, the battery life definitely sucked. My carrying case contained a zippered compartment that held four more batteries which were a necessity on those long bus rides…It seemed at times half the trip was spent rewinding and fast-forwarding trying to find your one song. It was almost easier to just listen to the album straight through. Was that why the singles were strategically placed throughout the album? *shrugs* To me it seems like a recent past but when I was using that equipment the kid in the article wasn’t born.

Who can forget painstakingly fixing a cassette that had been eaten–probably due to me rewinding and fast-forwarding so much. Hoping against hope that the reel hadn’t been damaged. Of course, today we have to worry about a hard drive failure which can destroy an entire collection vs one album we can pick up with the next paycheck–or in my case allowance.

I was probably in 7th grade before I had purchased my first CD. I grew up on vinyl, it was what my parents listened to and they had a MASSIVE collection. Their line of thinking was–why do I want to go buy new equipment just to buy the same songs I have now? Vinyl and cassette are well buried and gone. CD I believe is going in the same direction. I do miss “release days” though. Hitting up the record store to be first in line for your favorite bands new single or release…Now one simply can open iTunes: click on “purchase,” wait 5 minutes (or less) for everything they want.

whew.

Tthe City of Owensboro finalized the purchase of the former Executive Inn and is now engaging in a liquidation sale to eliminate everything on the grounds that is not nailed to the ground and well…if you can pry it up easily you can probably buy it also! Over the years, the E has provided a brief respite from long summer nights, walking and talking by the river, and also a getaway after countless hours at the Royce before I could drive.

My friend Erin made a surprise from trip Cleveland so we both decided to tour the E one last time. I loved her quote, “Creating art from destruction.”  It was fun, every single door was open…Nothing was off limits. Well, except for the area blocked off by the fire marshall a couple of years ago.  While one might be against calling our voyage urban exploration in its truest sense I believe we upheld its intent by traversing each and every room searching for the lost history behind it.

The main lobby and large majority of the public areas were relatively clean. It lacked the reflection of such an abrupt shutdown that I so wanted to capture. Although, seeing the dead trees and fallen leaves over the tables and waiter stations was close.  It was the backoffice areas that I loved exploring the most. A fryer filled with oil left in a dark corner right beside bottles of ketchup, creamer, syrup etc. Have you ever smelled year old grease and oil? Getting that shot required a couple of deep breaths…

What surprised me the most was the green room right behind the main stage seemed to be the only thing completely untouched. The mini fridge was there (with food) the coffee pot, creamer, couch…even some clothes hanging from the rack.

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Urban Exploration has always been a great interest of mine. Literally walking through the past. Trying to imagine what the place was like in its prime and examining all the small (and large) items left behind and wondering why it wasn’t cleaned out.

That brings us to my dream…My friend and his girlfriend somehow managed to get a master key to all of the roomsin the Executive Inn. The Big E was about ready to be demolished probably sometime in the next month or so and myself and a group of friends thought it should have one last hurrah. We picked the West Wing of rooms figuring if there were any security roaming around they wouldn’t check this area. they didn’t and it was a pretty fun party. For some reason they still had minimal power and running water. The next day, rather than leave and bask in our good luck we got froggy and wanted to explore the main building. He did have a master key after all. Our run started off pretty well. The fireburned walls by the indoor pool, a half broken galaga machine in the game room, gutted offices with paperwork scattered all over the place…

My friend and his girlfriend took a random room and decided to spend the night while I decided I was going to enjoy my last night at the E in the top suite. The place was almost entirely pitch black save for a few emergency lights by the door (and yes we checked the Timeout…they cleared the booze) making my way to the top floor my keycard worked…Except for the fact I ran into some mafia activity (I don’t really know what it was…just it was tied to the mafia) because there was a 10 digit keypad inside the room waiting for a code. I didn’t deliver it in time and a klaxon screamed across the hotel. Running through the hallways the E was now pitch black. Managing to avoid capture I darted down the stairs and went into a random room. Using my cellphone to call the front desk so they couldn’t trace the room I said we had friends outside waiting to call the cops unless they let us go unharmed. The place had pretty much been cleared of anything incriminating (I suppose) because they let us go… My last memory before waking was walking through the front door in front of their goons with a satisifed smirk on my face.

Was CNN bought out by The Entertainment Network while I was sleeping?  Letterman/Palin, Cheeseburger in a can, and sexting rule the headlines. It’s only after intense complaining have they picked up coverage about the Iranian election–Something NPR and The Economist have covered even before the situation fully developed.

The Iranian situation is something that the US has to tread lightly on. Any attempts at interference would further Anti-American sentiment which could damage relations further when this situation is resolved. It sickens me how the government has silenced text, cell phones and internet service in an attempt to quell dissent. The Ayatollah has launched an investigation into these matters but he is the “Supreme Leader” also responsible for government backlash against these protesters. Of course, North Korea has sent a message of support. *sigh* The Iranian government has lost legitimacy after this sham of an election and is using the old methods of subduing dissenters in an attempt to stabilize itself. History has shown us when citizens of a nation no longer believe the government has legitimacy a change is inevitable.

Let’s look at the world

• North Korea has made public their intent to develop nuclear weapons and has revoked its armistice with South Korea
• The long held relationship between Israel and America is deteriorating to appease the Arab world–although this might wind up being a good thing
• Iran is in political turmoil
• America is still in the midst of a horrid recession despite minor growth
• Africa– Do I need to go there?

Am I missing anything? Hm…What about China? While economic growth has declined they are still growing and have expressed “concerns” about our economic situation. Given that they allow us to buy on credit that’s generally not a good sign.

Ah, the lasher party was incredible

There is myself with the lovely Jen Lasher. She put on quite a set, as did my friends who spun there also.

There’s the majority of people that came down there with us…

Can’t wait for the next one!