Jim Thorpe PA

“Only God can make a tree- That’s because its so hard to put the bark on” –Woody Allen

I am really impressed with my new computer system.  Not just because my i-mac runs Windows and OSX at the same time, or that it runs on grape juice (just kidding) but with the design- the shear genius of the concept.  It has no “box” It’s just this giant screen with everything built in.  Just one button to turn it on and off.  Simplicity in form and construct yet one of the most complex of man’s creations  - Wow. (I think I going to cry)  If you haven’t heard yet we have moved out of the “Information Age” and into the “Conceptual Age” (officially as of 3:31 PM on June 11^th 2005) We, as the greatest society the word has ever known, (being the smartest, the most generous, the most productive most caring the… well- that’s a subject for another blurt) are shifting the focus upon the right brain.  Is this part of our evolution?  Perhaps.  I see evidence of this everywhere- in the big things like my stadium-sized monitor, the Cadillac Escalade and the small things- like my I-pod (another Apple Product- no wonder the stock went from $100. to $200. in the last year)  Now the I-pod is not the best mp3 player – that is a fact that any super nerd, quasi-nerd or even a neo-nerd will be able to articulate.  Why then do they outsell all other mp3 gizmos?  It’s the concept.  The simplicity of form and design.  It just “feels” more intuitive – one button is used to play, change volume, select menus etc.  In fact the most modern iteration of this device is “simpler” than its predecessor.  It’s about the concept.  What has this to do with Jim Thorpe? (I’m glad you asked) This is becoming a right-brained town.  It has an evolving “feel” a “vibe” a “je ne sais quois”(and a parking problem) .  You can’t really put your finger on it.  And it gets more so every day. (the vibe part not the parking)  You can see it creeping into some of the galleries, the shops the websites, the restaurants. The conversation that is Jim Thorpe is changing.  We do have our share of petty- small minded, ignorant, self-centered, yadda yadda yaddas- but what town doesn’t?  We have a growing number of more spiritual right brainers who just think differently. Not better necessarily. Just with a different perspective.   I will endeavor to share some of their insights or “concepts”, if you will, at another time.  Being a left brainer from birth- most of what is left of my right brain is in a state of atrophy.  But I am trying.  Maybe its because that I have become to realize that most of my life is behind me and not in front of me. (sob)  Or perhaps its just gas…. Anyway I would like to give this “sumpthin sumpthin” a chance.  Who wants a hug?  (not you –you stupid tree you know me better)     I apologize for my frequent use of  ( ) .  (not that there’s anything wrong with that – it’s just my style. –It adds to my “Je ne sais quois”  -It’s a conceptual thing. 

Well… Here we go. Welcome to my Jim Thorpe PA Blog. Here I will be posting my semi lucid rants and perhaps some didactic diatribes that you may find mildly entertaining, if not enlightening. I will try to work in some useful information about the town of Jim Thorpe and the surrounding area as this is why you’re here. Sooooo I guess that I will start this show with a little information on me so you get some context and perspective on why I am blurting stuff that I blurt, and what stuff I like to blurt about. I have to confess that I am not a blurter by fashion. I am endeavoring to be a newbie blurter with the encouragement of my wife Dorie. Oh yea.. I forgot– My name is Steve Perdie. Together with my wife Dorie I own a small restaurant called Through the Looking Glass in Jim Thorpe and I have various other endeavors online as well as working for benefits at T-Mobile in Allentown. I will be your host. I wanted to start with a song, but I haven’t figured out how to do that yet. (you may sing amongst yourselves if you wish) Raise your hands if you want to hear about how I came to be in Jim Thorpe (I am assuming that everyone is raising their hands so the blurting shall commence) I was working in New York City in the IT industry. One of the projects that I was working on was a point to multi-point LMDS ultra high speed wireless Internet Service being deployed in the City by my company. I was commuting from Long Island daily which was turning into a 2 hour schlep daily. When the Shoreham Nuclear Reactor was shut down the Taxes and Utilities began a meteoric assent. As our cost of living skyrocketed, we began to look into the possibility of relocating. Being an Internet junkie, I began a search which landed on Richard DeFeo’s webpage which described a picturesque town out of a Norman Rockwell Painting. (This is getting to be alot longer than I planned so if you did not get down this far, I understand - I will try to make my Blurting more succinct) Anyway, we planned a biking trip to Jim Thorpe and as we rolled into town (by the courthouse) the sun was setting on the mountains, the bell tower started to ring– Dorie looked out the window and said “I have to go to the bathroom!” —-I couldn’t resist– she really said “This is where we are going to live” and the rest as we say, is history. (People live and die, Pinkerton does not return)