From: John Grigg (starman2100@lycos.com)
Date: Mon Oct 07 2002 - 12:45:22 MDT
Hello everyone,
I just realized the url I provided is not working, so I decided to simply post the text here. Anyone who wants to can look up The Society for Venturism on a search engine and quickly find the actual pdf document on our website. In fact, I would recommend doing that because of the other excellent articles there.
We recently got our sign! I don't think anyone driving by is going to miss spotting it. lol! Getting it up was quite a job.
Sixteen trees of various types now grace the front of the resort. I look forward to seeing them grow to their full-size over the next decade or two. : )
David Pizer has good reason to think of Creekside as his pride and joy. And we are just in the first phase of things!
Again, I wish to invite everyone to our cryonics bash which will be Sunday, October 26th. Dr. Jerry Lemler will be the honored speaker and he can be fun. If we loosen him up enough he may even sing for us! At one time he considered a career as a professional musician, but medicine won out.
I hope my article below helps convince some of you to come by. For Ventureville to become a reality, we will need the support of the Extropian community.
very best wishes,
John Grigg
My adventure in Arizona so far!
Roughly a month ago I ventured forth from the cooling down climes
of Anchorage, Alaska to start off on my Arizona adventure! When
an extremely warm, dry breeze first hit me, I sensed I was in another
world. And when I saw the first cactus which was taller than me, I had no doubt! lol
At the Phoenix airport I awaited David Pizer. I was looking for
the David with the old Testament prophet beard, and was amazed to
find it much shortened up! It was very cool to finally be meeting
the man I had only known online and by phone. And very soon after
I got to meet his wonderful life's companion, Trudy. Albert, their
much loved great dane, must not be forgotten either. He is like
having a small horse underfoot!
David immediately took me over to the Alcor facility, which was
a gigantic thrill for me. I had so often poured over their website,
and looked closely at the pictures they provided. And now, I was
actually there! Mike Perry was very kind in giving me the grand
tour. Things were in a state of mild disarray, but only with the
purpose of evolving to the next level. I was allowed to peek at
the suspension room, and even enter the inner sanctum of Alcor,
the patient storage room! Sort of like Picard in "First Contact"
when he touched humanity's first starship, it was a thrill for me
to actually touch something I revered as an amazing piece of technology which will transform lives.
Later, Mike told me how he had been born in Alaska at a remote island
there! I caught him up on the latest about his birthplace. Dr. Perry is a real gentleman.
Dr. Lemler showed up and he welcomed to me to Arizona. I could
tell he has been a very busy man since the Ted Williams case has
happened! lol! This was my second time speaking with him, the first
being at Extro-5. I feel Alcor could not be in better hands.
>From the start I was very taken with David's vision(current and
future) for the Creekside Preserve resort, and Ventureville, which
will come to be as time goes by. To put it succinctly, the place
has beautiful buildings set in a very beautiful place.
The resort has a neo-western theme, with an impressive main building
which is somewhat away from the highway. Within it is a fireplace
at the end of the atrium, and an extremely eyecatching woodlog railing
which follows the stairs upward. We will have a restuarant with
traditional western fare(and probably some vegetarian too!, lol).
Guests will even get to eat out on a roofed terrace which encircles
the building! Eating dinner while taking in such a fine view will
be a real treat, I guarantee. Dave found such a great spot of earth to build on!
On the lower level will be a gymnasium for those wanting to stay
fit and trim. But hey, I will be working out there, so that is
proof anyone should show up to work out there and not be self-conscious! lol
On the same level will be the conference room!! The future site
of extropian/cryonicist/transhumanist/life extensionist meetings(and
probably Shriner's too, lol)! It will be able to fit about eighty
people. So if you are planning a conference, please come on down! : )
Behind the main building are fifteen fantastic cabins. Half of
them are Santa Fe style, and the other half old west. These cabins
are NICE. You get a big, comfortable king sized bed, a gas fireplace,
dimmer lights, and in most cabins a bright red, heart-shaped jacuzzi
hot tub! To top it off, each one has a spacious porch to kick back
on and take in the beauty of the land. So, you may want to bring
that special person along with you for a romantic evening! : )
There is a creekbed which runs right in front of the cabins! When
it rains more around here, you will be getting a creek with water
in it! The place is still very, very nice.
This resort will be a haven for astronomy buffs. We have our very
own observatory atop a hill right behind us! Within it is a powerful
Meade telescope with a user friendly computer interface which will
take you to the subject you wish to scrutinize. I have a feeling
Venturists will be spending some time there!
This is the American west, and so we have a barn-shaped building
not too far from the main area which has stables for the horses
of our guests! So if you own a horse, you will be able to take
your trusty steed along. We will not currently be renting horses due to liability issues.
Even without a horse, there are still trails crisscrossing around
the Creekside Preserve property and beyond. Behind us are public
lands, so you could explore for miles if you wanted to. There are
still the remains of mines and buildings back there which date to
the last century. Looking over these relics made me feel very grateful
to be living in our time period. Before things like air conditioning,
modern medicine, cars and planes, Arizona was a harsh place to live
in, or especially travel through. Technology has truly opened it up to humanity.
I suppose working here will prepare me to manage at the future Venturist
community on Mars! lol Actually, my Alaskan constitution has adapted
rather quickly to conditions here, which really surprised me. My
two years a decade ago in Louisiana seems to have toughened me up
more then I realized. The dry heat here is so pleasant compared
to the dreaded humid heat there.
At night the Creekside Resort takes on a magical feeling with it's
combination of beautiful architecture, hills, trees, rocks, animal
life, and carefully laid lighting. And to go along with this, we
have a big firepit!! We will be having many nights of guests gathered
around it and enjoying conversation as the flames illuminate the
darkness. I think cryonicists may be having more thought-provoking
conversations there than even the conference room. Humanity has
a long history of gathering around fires, and we will continue in that time honored tradition.
The Creekside Preserve is wonderful, but this is only the first
part of David's vision for the place. As time goes on and it proves
profitable, many more cabins will be built. And perhaps other forms of housing, too.
It is within the city limits of Mayer, a charming little town which
has been around for over a century now. Though it only has a 1,500
population, all the basic necessities of life are here. lol! They
have a post office, a judge, a Circle K, a locally owned small grocery
store with gas pumps, a sheriff's station, an auto repair place,
a library, a Community First bank, and even several antique shops!
Smitty's Antiques is gargantuan, and well worth the walk down memory
lane. And an upscale gated community is currently being built.
I want to make clear this is even a place for people who don't like
extremely hot weather. The reason I state this is because on average
Mayer is a whole TWENTY degrees cooler than Phoenix! We are at
a much higher elevation, and that really makes a difference. And
also winter temperatures will be very pleasant for those people from the cooler climes.
I learned to really appreciate the difference between the two locations
after a day toiling with Dave out in the hot Phoenix sun. Dave
was impressed enough by my fortitude that he told me I had earned
the right to be called a true Arizonian! : )
Ultimately, the goal of this venture is to have cryonicists come here to relax and
stay a few days, while becoming very familiar with the place, and
learning to really enjoy it. They will have fond memories of it,
and think of it hopefully as a home away from home. When retirement
time comes, we hope to have them either choose to rent a property
we will have built, or even purchase/build their own place out here.
Ventureville will take form in this way. But long before that,
informal cryonicist gatherings and formal conferences will have
paved the way. David wants Ventureville to be a cryonicist haven
where among other tasks we will get the word out about cryonics!
It will be the first major cryonics community, and the world will
certainly be curious over time. With the Creekside Preserve resort
clients steadily coming and going, we will get plenty of opportunities
to do "missionary work" with non-cryonicist guests.
A museum of Arizona past, present and future is a brainstorm of
David's. A person will first learn about the history of Arizona,
with a focus on technology and how it has made life so much better.
At a certain point they will enter the second section of the museum
which is about the FUTURE of Arizona. With a foundation in place
of how technology has already transformed life, the person will
be shown what the next fifty years or more will bring! Dave's idea
is a terrific way to get people seeing the big picture. Of course,
there will be pamphlets, books, tapes, etc. for them to take home
with them(for just a nominal fee). It will take a lot of work,
but will pay some huge dividends. And I bet we will be on the Discovery Channel in no time! lol
I am extremely excited about being a part of all this. As David's
management trainee, I hope to master what he intends to teach me,
so I can deliver the best service I can to those who come here.
If you enjoy your stay so much you want to come back, I have succeeded!
As the Creekside Preserve proves itself financially viable, the
groundwork for Ventureville will be laid.
I want to take this time to thank David and Trudy for this opportunity,
and the great kindness they have shown me since arriving. I could
not have asked for more nice employers! So many in cryonics and
transhumanism seem to be just talkers, but Dave is a man of action.
The exodus of Alcor from California to Arizona, and now the upcoming
creation of Ventureville are proof of this. I look forward to working
much more with David when the resort opens in probably mid October.
I will be in a sense the first person saved by Ventureville. Though
I am a cryonicist in spirit, I have not actually signed up yet with
Alcor. And as a I realize, a real cryonicist is someone who IS
signed up. Financial concerns to a limited extent impeded me, but
external social/religious pressures were really the challenge as I look back.
I am convinced I would have signed up eventually, but still am very
grateful to be in a place where my cryonicist views will be supported,
and even more so as Ventureville takes form. I have already had
the chance to explain about cryonics to several people who knew
about Dave's involvement and were curious.
As seen by Dave, Ventureville will be a haven where a cryonicist
can be among others like him and be protected should his/her health
take a turn for the worse. Should the "vultures" descend to change
the cryonicist's mind about suspension when he is in a very vulnerable
state of mind, we will be there to protect him. And if they push
it too much, Dave just may say in his own special way, "get the
!!#@%!!! out of here, right now!!" : )
This is going to be a great adventure for me. I sure have a lot
to learn! The next decade and beyond are going to hopefully show
a great deal of growth both in John Grigg and the Creekside Resort/Ventureville community.
I look forward to getting to know you all!
very best wishes,
John
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