It Was the
Worst of Times...
It Was the Best of Times
by Jim Kaslik
Jim Kaslik is the proud builder of a beautiful dome home in North Carolina affectionately referred to as Cloud Hidden. The morning fog hangs so low it hides the dome. Jim is a constant contributer on the domebuilders bulletin board.
Inflating an Airform is a peak experience. Anyone who's seen ten thousand square feet of fabric unfurl, billow, and take shape as their future home won't soon forget the experience. Inflating the Airform for Cloud Hidden was made all the more indelible in my mind because it was done under the watchful eyes of an HGTV (Home and Garden Television) audience in an episode of "Dream Builders". No pressure there!
Yet, in our elation at witnessing the beginnings of our dome home, we were blissfully unaware of the trials ahead. Trouble started the next day when someone in the neighborhood went ballistic at the sight of the Airform and the prospect of a dome. I did not matter to them that we had met all the requirements of the development and the county. Nor did it matter that we had all of the necessary approvals. All that mattered was that someone didn't like it and chose to tell us so with insults, invectives and threats.
George Paul was our dome constructor. He's as kind and gentle a man as I have ever met. We arranged a meeting in no-man's land with the antagonist to discuss domes and to explain the series of changes that take place between inflating an Airform and completing the residence. But George's kind mannerisms had no effect, and the threat of community ridicule and legal action was laid upon us.
That afternoon I sat outside the dome documenting the conversation on my Apple Powerbook for my attorney. My wife was on-site as well, taking pictures and video of the dome for posterity. George gave a yell that the tow truck had arrived to haul his mobile workshop up our steep mountain driveway. We stopped what we were doing and went to help.
We watched and helped for the next half hour as the truck struggled to position the rig near the dome. Then, just when we thought we were set, the tow truck swung wide in the wrong direction and ran directly over the new camera, the new video camera, and a tape recorder, crushing them into the mud.
An hour later the rain that had plagued us throughout excavation returned again with a flash thunderstorm. Only after we had been in the shelter of the dome for a half hour did I remember the Powerbook was outside. I raced out to get it, but was too late. It was sitting in a puddle - fried.
Melanie and I sat on a rock outside, assessing our misery and wondering what we had gotten ourselves into - all the while trying not to cry. We had only just begun, the karma was bad and getting worse. At our lowest point, while sitting outside and feeling sorry for ourselves, a beautiful ladybug flew toward us and landed on Melanie's knee. Ladybugs are a symbol of good luck for people trying to adopt children from China. This fortuitous sighting of one ladybug is all that kept us going that day.
The next day we returned to the dome site in late morning, after taking the video camera to the repair shop. As I stepped out of the truck, I saw an envelope stuck to the airlock door with a hunting knife. Fearing all sorts of horrors, I had Melanie stay in the truck while I investigated. Then George wandered over with a smile on his face and said I had received a phone call and the message was on the door under the knife. It read, "Call Joannie." I thought to myself, "Joannie? Who's Joannie?" Then it registered.
Melanie called Joannie at our adoption agency and heard for the first time that we were going to be parents. our seven-month-old daughter was waiting for us in China, and all we needed to do was travel there and meet her!
To see photographs of Cloud Hidden, go to http://www.cloudhidden.org/.
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