Velociworld

Rode Wet And Put Up Hard

We spent the weekend with the girls at George L Smith State Park. I do love a state park. Georgia's are some of the best. A 2-bedroom cabin with fireplace, no intertubes, no election bullshit. We hiked, played games, generally goofed off.

Going and coming I drove by the Iron Horse hard by the Oconee River:

The Iron Hossie, you will recall, is an abstract sculpture made by the artist in residence at the University of Georgia in 1954, in the toddler days of metal sculpture following WWII. The school's first mistake was commissioning it. Its second mistake was placing it in front of Reed Hall. Within hours hay had been stuffed in its mouth, and a mattress set ablaze underneath it. UGA wasn't exactly a hotbed of the avant-garde in the '50's.

After being placed in hiding for four years a horticultural professor offered to place the sculpture in a field on his farm in Greene County, about 20 miles south of Athens. There it has stood for 50 years, visible for a mile on a graceful curve of Highway 15. In 1990 the university made efforts to return it to campus, but the professor's son basically said

Fuck you. You abdicated your responsibility 50 years ago. It belongs here now.

And the school grudgingly gave up the fight.

I used to see the Iron Hossie as a child, traveling to the mountains. It was exciting stuff. Almost as cool as seeing the Goatman. Seeing both in one trip could trigger (heh) a spontaneous orgasm.

Anyway, there the horse still stands. Mute, inscrutable. But you know how it is with horses. They're just like women. They have to be broke in before you can ride 'em properly, eh what? See what I mean below the fold.

Giddyupping the Beast

There now. Don't it look tamer? More contented? I daresay it's been craving a master all along.