Saturday, April 12, 2008

Being a Pioneer

I love being a pioneer in Belvedere, but as is often the case, mistakes are made with the first one. I find it hard to complain though because I am so happy and hopeful. Bret and I hover over the house to make sure it is being built true to our vision. Actually, Bret hovers over the house. Good thing, too, because some mistakes have been made. Each time, though, Churchill has been gracious. Greg Slater (a.k.a. The Closer or The Luckiest New House Salesman on the Planet) explains, It's because you are pioneers. The mistakes always have silver lining for me. Maybe Bret can shed more light on that.

Storytellers of old were the conscience of the people. The West Africa griots that drew me to Africa over 20 years ago taught me that praise is much more powerful than criticism. Praise singing inspired the people. If you did right, your song was sung, and that is how I operate. If errors were made, storytellers found really positive ways to bring things back into balance. This is what I studied in college and what I try and practice. At the heart of things, I am a storyteller, one who knows the power of the story and its function.

Stonehaus, my story for you is The Jumping Mouse. It is a story of hope, vision, daring, sacrifice, tenacity, and magic. That story is for you Bob Hauser, Frank Stoner, Drew Holzwarth, Chris Schooley, Nate Cunningham, Josh Goldshmidt. You are the Jumping Mouse.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Ms. Kate White.
I am working with Belvedere on a Collaborative Planning project focused on environmental stewardship and was wondering if you could spare a few minutes to speak with me about the Belvedere community.
Becca
rmm8t@virginia.edu

Anonymous said...

Kate,

I took time to read the story of the Jumping Mouse. It's a wonderful story about the benefits of self sacrifice and bravery. I'm not sure any of us at Stonehaus can compare ourselves to the Jumping Mouse but it's gratifying to see our community attracting people with such great spirit and soul. Those are the qualities that will really make Belvedere special.

Frank Stoner