"Mt Haleakala" 30"x40" oil painting by Steve Alpert
Making it up as I go along. This has been my theme song most of my life. But, back in Summer of ‘72 in the hot bowels of the Grand Canyon, sun high, canteen contents low, pack heavy, legs tired…the first thing I did was realize how stupid I was to have just taken off without a map, a diagram, or someone else to go with who knew where to go. Second, it was blazing hot in that canyon and the two mile jaunt to the beginning of the one mile ascent was okay, but it was the thought of trekking up that final vertical mile that was really weighing me down. Third thing, my water supply was low and then the decision became easy. Up and out was what had to happen and in that decision I knew I would rally have to physically pay. And pay I did.
One vertical mile of very steep switchbacks. At about fifty feet per switchback, it amounted to about one hundred of ‘em. In the heat, with the fifty-pound pack with very limited water. All these years later I remember it vividly. I began about 3pm. The first five or six were not so bad, after that I had to stop and take off the pack after every switchback. Chest heaving and gasping for oxygen I would have to rest for a few minutes every fifty feet. Took three or fours hours to get to the top, and then, a four mile haul back to the campsite. Dang.
It was a great lesson. I’ve been often impulsive in my life and jumped into things figuring that my wits and intuition can take me through. It has worked out well, sometimes, and sometimes not. For me, this is precisely the spice of life.
Much like staring at a blank canvas not knowing what it will be. Most of the paintings on my website are unexpected works of improvisation. What can I say? This is who I am in this life.
This is my artist’s journey and when it’s time to go the Big Studio in the sky, I will look back with warm memories and not many regrets at all. One of the best impulses was meeting a woman and realizing a half hour later that I wanted to marry her. Dorothy. I didn’t think it through, I just knew. We didn’t run off and get married, it would be a year and three months after we met. This is the person in my life who gave me the great gift of becoming an artist, offering to pay the bills while I make the transition. It took longer than either of us thought and it has not always been easy.
Another impulsive decision that worked out well in the best sense was meeting a man who became a great friend. We were introduced at a lunch, and Arje Shaw had written a terrific play called, “The Gathering.” Arje produced it as an Off-Broadway production where it did well and now was transitioning to Broadway. I was very taken with this guy who was articulate, brilliant, and possessing a diabolical sense of humor. After the lunch outside the restaurant I told Arje I wanted to invest in the show. You might want to read the script, first, but I said that I was investing in him, and I would read the script, for sure. I read the script, was knocked out by it, and then called Arje and said I didn’t know what I was saying but that I wanted to raise money for the production. I did and earned a producer credit.
The show only lasted a heart-breaking four and half weeks, and then two years later I was one of the producers with another one of Arje’s plays, “Magic Hands Freddie.” Freddie went for four and a half months. Money lost, time invested, but a tremendous life experience. And an enduring friendship that is special to both of us. And as a result of the time energy and cash put into those two projects, a new project is beginning. But this isn’t the trip down Hermit’s Trail this time. This time I am assembling a seasoned team of talented professionals with track records. Building this new project maturely so it has the best chance of living a long, healthy and profitable life. And not oddly enough, the inspiration for this sweeping project begins with a painting I made a few years ago. The project will begin as a play. So much for now on that, it’s a hush-hush thing for now, but more in these pages as time goes on. It all began with the creative impulse that told me to, “Go.”
So, that trip down Hermit’s Trail would be a trip I would take many times in my life. Many of those trails led to what we normally refer to as, success. Who knows what can happen? But I can tell you what will happen if you don’t take a chance. Nothing.
