1. T
here’s something about
seeing your life on paper
that’s a bit of a wake-up
call.
I remember reading a pas-
tor’s sermon in which he chal-
lenged
his con-
gregation
to write
their own
obituaries
— to see,
when read,
whether
they felt
they had
made
serving
the com-
mon good a priority.
My recent epiphany was less
of a spiritual one and more of a
“No one truly lives like this, do
they?” moment.
Let me explain: In the 14
years that I have called the
Funny Farm home, I have had,
now let me count, exactly how
many vacations? Uh ... none.
That’s right, nada. Admit-
tedly, I have left the farm to
perform a couple of times in
Vegas and Lake Tahoe, but if
you think performing for a
week in Vegas is tantamount
to a paid vacation, then I shall
push you on stage for the third
show on a Saturday night in
front of a group of drunks who
just lost their kids’ college fund
at the craps table and whis-
per in your ear, “Don’t worry,
you’ve only got another 40 min-
utes to go. And you’d better be
really funny; otherwise Angelo
By ELIZABETH DAVIS
For the Herald-Journal
Nancy Williamson’s hands
glided smoothly over the mound
of clay that was beginning to
take the shape of a serving bowl.
“Forty years and 15 min-
utes,” she
said when
asked how
long it
takes her
to make a
ceramic
piece such
as this.
Forty
years is
how long
she has
been working with ceramics,
and 15 minutes is about how long
it takes her to craft a nearly per-
fect serving bowl.
Williamson is the member-
ship chairman of the West Main
Artist Cooperative in the old
West Main Baptist Church, 578
W. Main St.
This organization was found-
ed in 2009 when Howard Solo-
mon, a retired Air Force pilot
with two art degrees, including a
Master of Fine Arts, purchased
West Main Baptist Church.
He had always wanted to be
involved with an artist co-op but
was unable to find one to join.
“I was there the first night
Have a story idea? Entertainment Editor: Jose Franco u 864-562-7223 u jose.franco@shj.com
books u home & garden u television
EHerald-Journal
Spartanburg, S.C.
Sunday
July 14,2013
Pam Stone
I’m Just sayin’
Finding a replacement more
tricky than getting time off
Co-op set to throw Pottery Palooza
Elizabeth Davis/For the Herald-Journal
Nancy Williamson begins crafting on a potter’s wheel at the West Main Artist
Co-op. The organization has Pottery Palooza coming up Thursday.
By GARY GLANCY
From Spartanburg Magazine
T
he fog grew thicker
and more ominous
the deeper my Ford
Focus wound its
way through the Smoky
Mountains along Interstate
40, symbolic of the clouded
uncertainty surrounding
my life and the epic jour-
ney ahead. It was barely
5 a.m. on a muggy, sticky
Tuesday in early Septem-
ber, and after a year and
a half counting down the
months, weeks and days,
my six-week solo road trip
across America was finally
underway.
Hours earlier, as the rest of
my hometown of Henderson-
ville, N.C., spent Labor Day
enjoying cookouts, frolicking
poolside to escape the oppres-
sive humidity or soaking up the
final hours of the four-day-long
North Carolina Apple Festival,
I spent the holiday stuffing
my car with armfuls of food,
travel folders and a full arsenal
of clothing to prepare for the
extreme temperature ranges I
would encounter on my trip.
A single, middle-age guy
with no major commitments
other than a mortgage, I had
recently left my full-time
job as a newspaper reporter,
ready for something differ-
ent, and figured an epic trip of
a lifetime would be the ideal
way to launch a new chapter in
my life. Despite living in one
of the most desirable areas in
the U.S., I longed to see some
of our country’s great natural
treasures, from the Colorado
Rockies and Oregon coast to the
Nevada desert and the mighty
Grand Canyon. The sobering
diagnosis the previous year of
a rare, pre-lymphoma medical
condition — something statisti-
cally unlikely to materialize
Photos courtesy of Gary Glancy
ABOVE: Writer Gary Glancy is shown with the oddly shaped rock spires of Bryce Canyon
National Park in Utah. TOP LEFT: The stunning central coastline of Oregon. MIDDLE LEFT: A
geyser in Yellowstone National Park. BOTTOM LEFT: Sand Harbor on Lake Tahoe in Nevada.
Trip of a
lifetime
Former H-J reporter takes risks for
long-dreamed-of journey out west
Want to go?
What: Pottery
Palooza
Where: West Main
Artist Co-Op, 578
W. Main St.
When: 5 p.m.
Thursday
Info: 804-6501
u SEE TRIP Page E2
u SEE POTTERY Page E2 u SEE PAM STONE Page E2