I started the Runcible Spoon in 1976 while I was working on a doctorate in
classical archaeology, and sold it in December of 2001. It's still going strong,
and so am I. Selling the Spoon gave me the time to mess about with what has
turned into a major, time-consuming, photographic operation. Both endeavors have
been very consuming, and very satisfying. As you can see, I dabbled with
photography while I had the Spoon (I took all of these pictures except the ones
I'm in). The only reason there aren't more is that some groups of employees
objected more than others to having their pictures taken.
I'm not naturally an early riser, but a sunrise like the
one above makes it
worthwhile, and Alfie the dog loves this time of day - as long as he can avoid
the coyotes. My only excuse for putting it in here is that there were many times
over 25 years when, because of the Spoon, I saw the sunrise whether I wanted to
or not.
For privacy's sake I've only used a few names.
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1976, August. |
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Trying to get open. I stained 96 chairs in the back parking lot. Don Dupont, who was also a doctoral student in classical archaeology, built the tables and the counter for me - then went on to design sailboat interiors. |
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There was a dirt basement, no back door, and the interior was divided into two apartments. |
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Just a normal Hoosier house. |
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By 1982 we had the restaurant downstairs, the Japanese garden out front, but still no back porch. |
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We changed the front yard a bit. |
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This was a wonderful piece of stained glass that I commissioned for the bottom of the stairs. It was the first thing one saw when descending to the restaurant area. Some kid put his foot through it, and none of the area stained glass people could find glass to replace it even tho they looked far afield. |
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D'Arcy doing the payroll. |
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One of several signs that was eventually stolen. |
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Myself, and David Slawson. |
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In Memoriam. Randy Wagner |
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Our son, Ian. |
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He's now a grad student in SPEA. |
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One of the early Tastes of Bloomington. I quickly came to the conclusion that it was a waste of time for us. Maybe useful for places that aren't well known. |
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Starting 1984. D'Arcy is still doing the payroll. |
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And so to 1985. |
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Dave Jones trying to hide his moustache. |
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Proof that occasionally I broke down and smiled. |
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'98 |
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Randy Wagner (In Memoriam), and Vicki Helber |
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Randy Wagner, In Memoriam |
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.jpg "And then, over the years, there were many, many music parties. This one is at the Runcible Ranch (D'Arcy's and my house).")
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And then, over the years, there were many, many music parties. This one is at the Runcible Ranch (D'Arcy's and my house). |
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%20England%20and%20Hawaii%201991.jpg "'91")
.jpg "And then, over the years, there were many, many music parties. This one is at the Runcible Ranch (D'Arcy's and my house).")
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