We are accepting helpers to come stay with us and help us with our remodeling project. This might include just about anyone since there are all kinds of stuff that needs doing. Want to build furniture? Make stained glass? Lay tile? Cook? Sweep? Paint? Garden? Sew curtains? Build walls? Plaster?
Well, we are mostly vegetarian (though we are not opposed to meat-eating and will even cook meat for our helpers if they like). We would really prefer it if we only had non-smoking guests for health and fire-hazard reasons. Absolutely no recreational drugs are allowed and only moderate alcohol consumption would be acceptible. I've been known to pour guests liquor bottles down the toilet! Yikes!! It is an hours drive over bad roads to a store so you have to be kind of self sufficient, willing to get by on what there is. We stock mostly bulk foods from the Tucson Warehouse Cooperative. There is no television reception, though we do have one. Mail comes 3 times a week, UPS and Federal Express don't deliver to the area. No place to call out for pizza. We listen to a really great pubic radio station, KSUT, out of Ignacio, Colorado.
It is pretty quiet up here. A good place to do artwork, write, read, hike, journal, etc. in your spare time. If you come to help, you will probably be working on the school for about 4 hours a day and then you will have the rest of the time to do whatever you like. Some of our guests have done water color paintings of the canyon, others have used the time and space to write essays or read books. I do require volunteers to have their own personal projects.
Largo School is a good place to learn to do something new. There is a very large library, tools, computers, etc that you could arrange to use. The library holdings are particularly strong in botany, math, astrology, synchronicity, philosophy, 1940's cookbooks and art. We are both kind of jacks-of-all-trades and would enjoy the opportunity to help you learn something new whether it is building a webpage, welding, cooking Mexican food, basic woodworking, car repair, truck-driving, or how to identify grasses. We will even help you learn English, if it is not your native language, if you will help us learn your language. The internet is available through our satellite connection and you can get email here.. This is a great place to study the stars as the night sky has only the moon, planets and stars to brighten it.
The other thing you need to be aware of is that I kind of collect life stories. I am going to be very interested in who you are and what motivates you. This isn't some kind of impersonal place where you can be really isolated because there I am with a million questions. You and I will probably sit down and look at your astrological chart and use it as a starting point for you to tell me your story. If you have a lot to hide, you are probably not going to like me very much.
We have four dogs and three cats. You better like animals. The yard is not fenced. You could bring your dog if it is not dangerous to our dogs, our cats, our neigbors livestock, or our guests. Please do not bring an unneutered male cat. If you bring a pet, be aware that there are really big oilfield trucks going by all the time. Your animal could easily be run over if it is running around on the road. It is an hour and twenty-minute drive to the veterinarians.
It is also an hour and twenty-minutes down a bad road to medical facilities, so it's a really bad place to have a heart attack or any kind of medical emergency that requires immediate treatment. It's really important to pay strict attention to being safe here. The firetruck is never going to come, if you called 911 they wouldn't even know what law enforcement agency has jurisdiction out here. Nope, we are on our own! We have to take personal responsibility for ourselves and not think that there is any kind of safety net under us. For some people that is a very frightening idea and for some people it is just not safe for them to come this far out of town. If you have mental problems or are taking any kind of medications for depression, paranoia, or other medical condition, this experience would push you over the edge. Stay safe, stay in civilization.
One last thing...the way things happen here is that we brainstorm solutions. I value my helpers opinions and I really resent know-it-all kinds that think the only way to do something is the way they would do it. If you are the type that thinks that everyone else is a fool, hey, we really won't have much fun together. Better stay where your all around expertise will be appreciated.
Well, if none of that deters you and you still want to come, we'll provide you with room and board, treat you nice, and turn you into a member of the family.