Just east of Westfield Boulevard and north of Broad Ripple Avenue is the Broad Ripple dam, a wooded area of the White River that’s fenced off and not accessible, just north of the Broad Ripple pumping station. On a sunny summer day a few years back, my friends and I climbed up the painted wall next to Westfield Blvd., shimmied through a hole in the fence, and hiked back through the woods to the dam.
Back in the early nineties, my friend Dennis Williams was a Franciscan friar. We met doing volunteer work, and once we were working on a fundraiser together and we needed folding chairs. Dennis asked the staff of Sacred Heart Church (one of the oldest and the only Franciscan church in Indy) if they would donate the use of some chairs for the fundraiser. Dennis didn’t mention until we were in the church that we were going down into the catacombs beneath to retrieve them.
We took one set of stairs into a basement area, and then another set of stairs further down, into a series of tunnels cut into the rock and dirt that wind around underneath the church. Dennis knew where he was going, but I quickly lost my bearings and would have been in trouble if I didn’t have a guide.
The tunnels were musty and creepy, even more so because tucked into nooks and crannies in the tunnels were statuary from the church, antique furniture, old church pews, and the gaudily painted equipment for their bingo/casino nights. Dennis claimed that there were tombs in the catacombs, but I’m not sure if that was true, or if he was only saying that to creep me out.
We eventually found the cache of wooden folding chairs and made our way out, and none too soon for me. I purposely chose not to volunteer to return the chairs.
PLEASE NOTE: I was in the catacombs with permission, and this was over ten years ago! Since that time the church has had a catastrophic fire and restoration, so it’s possible that the catacombs don’t exist or are empty. Please don’t get it into your head to go and visit.
Starting at 6 this morning, WTTS radio station began playing through their entire catalog of songs alphabetically. Currently they’ve finished all songs beginning with “All.” I fully realize that I will get made fun of for posting this, since three writers on our IndyScribe team are in a alt/punk band, but somebody needed to put something in the “Music” category.
Back in the early nineties, I lived in the Marleigh Apartment building in the 1400 block of Delaware in downtown Indianapolis, which is in Old Northside neighborhood. Across the street was an impressive array of old Victorian houses with all the gingerbread and other bling they put on houses back in the 1800’s. I used to walk down the street and daydream about owning one of them. One day on a walk, I stumbled across something really strange.
I can’t wait for this to come out. I’ll take bets on whether it finds it’s way to Indianapolis, though. It does have an Amazon.com listing so someday it will be out in DVD.
Notice that the chick leading the “rescue party” is Tammy Lynn Michaels, Melissa Etheridge’s wife.
I came across this link on Amazon.com today… a giant 5×7 foot book about the country of Bhutan, published by Friendly Planet, a not-for-profit organization. The giant photographic book is according to Guinness World Records the largest published book in the world. This edition is limited to 500 published copies, and each copy is built expressly for the recipient, is numbered, and can include a personal dedication message. The $15,000 “price” is a donation to Friendly Planet (a publicly supported charitable organization exempt from federal income tax pursuant to IRC 501(c)(3).
Books and big things — two of my favorite things ever in one.
Conservative extremist Michael Savage says we shouldn’t be sending any money to Asia for relief efforts.
Conservative extremist Rush Limbaugh says “these things do tend to get blown out of proportion.”
Brethren Agree to Revive ‘Alternative Service’ Draft Programs — Leaders of the Church of the Brethren say they will follow through on a request from the Selective Service to have “alternative service” programs in place for conscientious objectors if a draft is reinstated. As one of the historic “peace churches” that shun military service, Brethren officials were “cautious” after an unannounced visit by a draft official to a church center in Maryland last October. In follow-up meetings, draft officials urged the church to dust off long-standing “alternative service” programs that allow conscientious objectors to serve in two-year domestic service projects in lieu of military service.”
We went to Shalimar at lunch and grabbed copies of Nuvo to read while we ate…. The article turned out very cool. Dan Rafter is a great writer and did a great job making sense of my answers to his questions.
I have a feeling my girlfriend might have something to say about the headline “A love affair with Mr. Bendo.” Hmmm. I like him, dear, but not that way. I promise.