Batavia
We spent a day in Batavia. I do not recall visiting Batavia in the past. We decided that we want to live in Batavia, –so what better reason for a visit? Seriously! Not unlike a pioneer family who left what they knew behind for distant California, (a territory they had no experience of) on the basis of recommendations and facts gained from reading, we want to move to Batavia. Therefore we explored the town, and viewed some of the neighborhoods yesterday.
Our first surprise, was by happenstance meeting the Mayor as we stopped in at the town hall to use the rest room. Mayor Jeff Schielke, the 10 term serving mayor of Batavia extended us a warm welcome to his town. We stood with him in the council meeting chambers and listened to some stories about the history of the place. Mayor Schielke is a superb representative for the community.
A highlight of our day was a visit to the Water Street Studios Gallery. This organization occupies a renovated and re-purposed historic manufacturing building along side the Fox River. The building was built in 1886 for US Wind Engine and Pump Company. You might recall paintings with a windmill in a farm scene. That is one of the companies that manufactured those windmills, and for which Batavia was well known. We were given a wonderful tour of the gallery space and talked with an artist as well as an art dealer in two of the studio spaces. If you should be in Batavia the Waterstreet Studios and Gallery is a must see.
For me personally I was delighted to discover the great variety of art, and the many artists working in Batavia. How challenging and fun to be able to write about that! In a few months perhaps if all goes well, our family will make the move.
Perhaps only a language
in which the pure prose of philosophy
would intervene at a certain point
to break apart the verse of the poetic word,
and in which the verse of poetry
would intervene to bend
the prose of philosophy into a ring,
would be the true human language.
–excerpt from Language and Death
By Giorgio Agamben p. 78
