I first met Barklie in 1992, River Inn, first of a long string of Big Sur Natives Shows. The energy was raw, we were young, I was 17. We were longing for the beat of a soulful drum and larger sense of purpose. Clover invited us down to the show, as she danced, her mother Teresa Bradford-Cole grabbed us out of the crowd to dance, before i knew it the whole place was in a frenzy. Barklie held the deep bass beat in the back while Brock Bradford, Steve Lopes, David Schiffman and a handful of others let loose. We jumped in the river, my life would never be the same. Over the next several years the scene took flight. Every full moon the natives played down at River Inn and hundreds of people would arrive to dance under the redwoods and celebrate the rawness of that music and dance. I worked at the coast gallery cafe, worked the land, then when i became friends with Jayson Fann and John Villa, I started playing music and dancing, I always felt supported by Barklie. I got to know his sons Lauren and Jason and watched Jules Henry spend an entire summer laid up in a cast after he fell from the pine trees. We moved in with Brock and Teresa to learn and grow and help on their land. In 1998 when El Nino hit and the highway was closed for 5 months Barklie asked if I wanted to help him remodel his kitchen. We pulled huge slaps of redwood from the south coast into his living room and went to work with a chainsaw, chisels and grinders, his basement was still a workshop at the time as this was before the barn was finished. As it poured outside we worked away, when I was tiling the floor and would get to a corner it was always a challenge as nothing is square in that house, Barklie re-assurred me that nothing was square in Big Sur and to level the counter by using the horizon of the ocean. He then put me to work on a portable mixing studio that would later live in the barn, then rebuilding the greenhouse. These were his creative building projects, that he kept himself continually busy...like when we used a crane to move a section of the upper Pfiffer ridge house down to the flat after the rest had been buried by a mud slide, of course he operated the crane, and drove the truck...I was always impressed at his attitude and ability, he was an inspiration to say the least. It was a small sliver of time that I got to work by his side, a time I will always hold close to my heart. He offered me his land and barn many many times to hold permaculture workshops and lead yoga classes when I returned from India in 2000. I loved listening to the stories he could tell and hearing of Big Sur the way it was. I tried to not drive through Big Sur to the south further than Salmon Creek for the longest time, for in my mind the coast was endless and I wanted it to remain that way. It was also rugged and awesome, just like Barklie. The last time a I saw Barklie was in August of this year, I was on a trip into the backcountry and spent the night up at the house before hiking into Ventana the next day. Lauren was cooking fish and Barklie offered technical assistance from the living room. Jason and Laurens mothers were both visiting and the night before Jules mother was there as well. The laughter and smiles that were shared were beyond description and how very beautiful it was to witness the love shared with them all. Brock and Teresa offered me so much friendship and parental guidance and Barklie inspired me and supported me as a grandparent would, yet he was timeless and a friend, we will miss you. Had i spoken at his celebration these are some of the words I would have shared, and then introduced my wife Rupa and her song Wishful Thinking which is so fitting to accompany his passing. Here is the song set to images I have taken over the years of Big Sur and some from the collage that Brock put together. For me Big Sur and Barklie are one and the same. May we continue as a community to celebrate life,dance and come together often. Until the next beat brings us together keep the dance alive.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 17:21:36 +0000
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