Falameezar
Doesn’t every Castle have a fire-breathing dragon protecting it? Well it should.
Although Brian Jacques' “Redwall” series does not have a Dragon, the Castle motif and feeling for the house seemed to cry out for something unusual, and when we saw the bush alcove, we knew it needed something. There had been a derelict snowmobile parked in the middle, and the bushes were not happy about the petroleum spills, but some care, fertilizer and a tow truck fixed that.
But why a Dragon? The short answer is that I wanted one. The longer answer is that the spirit of the house told me somehow that it wanted a Dragon, and proceeded to help us find a sculptor that would build what it wanted.
Doug McGiffin, a well-known sculptor in Frederick MD, had been building odd things out of metal for quite some time. We had seen his “tractor part” dinosaur outside an art gallery but had not gone inside to see more. After buying Redwall, we were drawn to go into the gallery, and were impressed with what we saw; enough to invite the artist to pay us a visit.
When Doug came by the house, he exuded such energy that we
knew he was right. He walked around the house
and immediately started outlining ideas for artwork. His first project
was “Sword in the Stone” (pictured at right) which started as a mailbox post, but quickly became
the sword in the stone that you see. Yes,
that's a real sword! It
has had to be ‘rejuvenated” a few times after being vandalized, but I
won’t give in to the ugliness of the world and move it away from the street
where it would be “safe” but out of sight.
Next came the foot… When we first saw the foot, we were awestruck. It looked ‘real’ not tractor-part’ish. We knew then we had picked the right artist, or that the house had. The leg was even accepted as an entry in a juried art show! A few months later, we had an arm as well, and with the help of a ladder, we did some ‘test-fits.’
Doug
re-worked the leg to change the scale and angles a bit, and then began the long
process of the head. Apparently,
there were several interim heads that we never saw, but the final head was
perfect.
Falameezar was unveiled at our second open house, and has been a fixture of the house ever since. Once people meet him, and get beyond the shock of a two-story fire-breathing dragon, he fits. He fits the house, he fits in our family, and he fits, and guards, the spirit of this very special place called Redwall.
Falameezar has suffered a few indignities in his three years. He has had a “Starling in the Intake” (apologies to Shoe), had ants in his pants, and been struck by lightning. Each time he has had a short recuperation period and visits by specialists, but he has always pulled though. Finding specialists has been hard, as it doesn’t work to call up a new plumber and say “My Dragon’s flame isn’t working, I think he has a Starling in the Intake” Finding upgrades has also not been easy, as how do you train a dragon to “Speak” on command (and only on your command)? Well, that remains between me and Falameezar (and Home Depot). Falameezar continues to surprise people, even people who know him, when he “speaks” unexpectedly.
Falameezar also protects the house well, and provides comfort. Rain, snow, fog or just a difficult day, there is something reaffirming to look out the front door and see him coming out of the bushes, an occasional wink from his eyes. A ‘word’ from him reminds me that life is not about what we do, but the choices we make along the way and the fun we have. It is very very hard to take life so seriously when you have a Sword in the Stone by your mailbox and a two-story fire breathing Dragon guarding your front door.