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(What is the Barn?)

For those of you not familiar with the Barn, it was more than just a house--it was a way of life. It played host to a weekly movie series that ran for nearly two full years, regular volleyball games on the lawn, a weekly gaming night, and several social gatherings such as The Marvelous Fubbcah, Barn-B-Q's I, II and III, and the All-Night Movie Marathon and Jamboree. It also succumbed to the presence of so many computer scientists--there (eventually) was a dedicated phone line providing 24-hour Internet access, and the BarnNet grew from three machines to connect up to eight computers at any one time.

THE GOOD ...
Not only was it a gathering place for numerous activities; it also overflowed with character. The ten-foot ceilings and massive rustic hearth were just the beginning. The Tower rises skyward at the southeast corner, and the climbing rope still hangs from a beam as an alternative method for getting upstairs. The massive restaurant-style stove made cooking huge meals de rigueur, while the bidet in the Bug Room brought a European feel to one tiny corner of the structure. The Doorway to Infinity was a risk to any unobservant souls who might happen to walk through it, and the deer that frequented the lawn were a pleasant sight on many a morning.

However, not all of the Barn's character was positive--in fact, there were quite a few things that made living in the Barn... well, a challenge.

THE BAD ...
Rather than explain, a list will suffice: squirrels running around in the walls and even inside the house; randomly dimming lights; the annual spring infestation of flying carpenter ants in the Bug Room at the bottom of The Tower; the dozens of drip buckets permanently placed in lieu of reshingling the roof; pipes that freeze on cold nights; the fountain of water behind the refrigerator which flooded the kitchen floor whenever someone did laundry--all of these things were typical. But wait, there's more! The flooding basement during rainstorms; one tiny hot-water heater for six people; abundant mouse droppings; seasonal swarms of yellow jackets pouring out of the walls; the wood stove with holes in it; the collapsing floor of the wood room....

AND THE DRIVEWAY ...
Of all that's imperfect about living at the Barn, however, there's one thing that takes the cake. The driveway is perhaps the one thing that those who have visited the Barn (especially in the winter) will remember the most. The narrow, quarter-mile-long dirt road has two big hills; it is rarely graded, and always full of surprises. In the winter, The Ice Swamp--formed by overflow from the nearby pond--dares vehicles to try to drive through it. Many a snowy day has left us stranded at home. Not that we didn't try to get out--dozens of cars have done unintentional 180s back down the big hill, and nearly everyone who lived there has been towed out of trouble at one time or another. In the spring, the clay and mud pits are daunting. In the summer and fall, the road is as bumpy and full of potholes as any we've ever seen. There are ponds and ditches to avoid on either side, as well as the occasional pedestrian, deer, or pair of geese.

The Barn wasn't for everyone--some people moved in and moved out again within weeks (the record is 15 days). But there were so many good things about the Barn that most of us had little trouble dealing with its more stressful features, and had a great time while we were there.