Dispatch from (outside of) the Box: The Final Hours

Alright. I’m home. I just ate and took what might have been the most satisfying shower of my young life. The Sox are on TV. I’m glad to be here. Frankly, I was getting pretty sick of the box.

Even though we’re out, the box-based publicity continues: FoxNews came by again today to interview us for another spot that will probably run tonight after the World Series (hopefully it will be over tonight!). And another article was published in Herald Journal this morning, which you can read here.

After my last update outside of Cafe Ishi yesterday, I hurried back to the box to get ready for our afternoon activity - a pickup game of community charades. At first Arielle and I were a little worried that no one was going to show up, but we were soon joined by friends and strangers alike for an hour of gesturing, guessing and laughing.

We started the game inside, but soon realized that people couldn’t shout their guesses loud enough to make it through the glass, so we moved outdoors.

Also, probably the cutest thing that happened while I was in the box (at least the cutest thing that wasn’t a canine), was when two little girls who were too young for charades found their way over to the sidewalk chalk, drew themselves and island to sit on, and proceeded to sit on it for the rest of the game.

After charades were over, Arielle and I enjoyed the calm of a quiet afternoon. After all of the activity we had had during the week, it was nice to just sit and relax for a few hours. Mark and Will, two new acquaintances we made by way of the box, brought us a strobe light for our dance party, and Davies and Ora showed up, Ora being en route to a Halloween party. She was dressed as a punk.

Look out Ora, I might steal that shirt!

After they left, I took my second nap en plein air, or at least I tried. Maybe Arielle and I should have slept in the box for the whole five days, since that seemed to be the activity that interested people the most. It was impossible to get any rest when all I could hear was people outside remarking that I was “sleeping in there” which was both “cool” and “really weird.”

Nicholas stopped by on his bike a little later and kept me company, chatting and laughing with me in my box-bedroom for a little while. Not having been under the same roof for four days, I realized how much I missed him. That’s right, I said it. I missed Nicholas. With a little prodding, he admitted that he had missed Arielle and I too (though mostly this was because without Arielle and I around, he said he felt like he and Derya were basically dating). I mean they did go to dinner, a movie, and look at baby animals together at the fiber fair. . . the teasing has pretty much been non-stop.

Really though, it scared me a little bit to realize how much I missed Derya and Nicholas after only a few days. Not because I’m afraid of becoming too attached to people in general, but because I know that after our time here is done we will almost inevitably heading to separate places. I have so many people I already miss in my life, I’m not sure I can handle missing three more.

Around 10 P.M. we got our dance party started in the box. At first it was just me and Arielle getting a little crazy.

But soon Brad and Sara showed up in Halloween gear -
dressed as a grandma and grandpa in drag.

(In case you haven’t received the memo, 2007 is apparently the year of the meta-costume -dressing as something dressed like something else.)

Soon, our #1 box-fan (no pun intended), Janice, came by with a few friends on their way back from a wedding reception and cut a rug with us.

Janice, you’re the best.

After the dancing wound down, Arielle and I took our second break of the day at Delaney’s, where Mark and Will bought us a drink just before last call. I know that I always joke about how I don’t have any friends here in Spartanburg, and I know that its not really true, considering the number of people we’ve met through our coworkers and connections over at Hub-Bub. But I think that another thing I’ve learned from my time in the box is that there’s something to be said for relationships that haven’t been handed to you - for friendships that you manage to forge on your own.

After a full night, Arielle and I slept in until about 10:30. Derya brought us take-out pancakes from The Skillet and afterwards we started packing up all of the bedding, clothing, books and art supplies we’d brought from home. Our activity for the afternoon was to give away some of the things we’ve made during our stay, wrapped in paper and tied up with ribbons. We left a bunch of presents out on the sidewalk and by 5 PM they were all gone.

We also got a few more nice gifts in our dropbox before the day was done. Martha Tinder made Arielle and I matching origami stars and two high-school age girls left us a nice note: “What we need is art. Thank you.”

Though I’ve been doing my best to keep the blog updated as to what’s been going on, it’s hard for me to summarize all the ways that this experience has affected me. As I was sitting in my empty bedroom box this afternoon, I marveled a bit watching Arielle describe our experience in the box to a sixty-year old couple. She looked a little tired and she looked a little dirty, but the candor and comfort with which she spoke to these two strangers was almost unbelievable.This has been a positive experience for me and, I think, for Arielle as well.

If it hasn’t already become obvious through our blog entries (by the way, you can all get Arielle’s take on this whole experience here) and to passers-by who have witnessed our close quarters first-hand, the past five days have been a pretty big bonding experience for Arielle and I. We’ve gotten along amazingly well, and I imagine we could manage to stay in here for another five days without tearing out each other’s hair. But I also think we’ve both agreed that its time to be done with the box, and its probably time for us to take a little break from one another, as we’ve started completing each other’s sentences, saying the same things at the same time (including the word “um”) and just generally sharing the same thoughts.

In conclusion, I want to sincerely thank everyone who helped this project metamorphose from an idea into a reality: Tim Satterfield, for graciously allowing us to live in the windows of this building.

Me, Arielle, and Tim with his son Burd:

Thanks to Derya and Nicholas for helping us move and bringing us food and (less tangibly) for their moral support, to everyone over at Hub-Bub (especially organizer-extraordinaire, Alix Refshauge) for all of their help, to Cate Ryba for helping us get this cleared with city officials, to Sara Hamilton for taking photos and for general enthusiasm, and to Palmetto Sound for providing audio equipment. You’ve all been wonderful.

I also want to emphatically thank everyone who took the time to stop by and introduce themselves to Arielle and I while we were here. You’ve made us feel very welcome.

Now, I’m ready to go for a run. I’m ready to take yet another shower. I’m ready to sleep in my own bed. And most importantly, I’m ready to get back to work. I’m calling it the November Initiative and it’s going to be writing, writing, and more writing . . .