Cast of Characters

Polestar is a communal living experience, which means every one living and visiting Polestar lives in the same general area. Right now there is an anomaly due to the fact that there are many more people here than they normally have visiting at one time and it's all very random. There are ten of us who are visiting and throw in the ones who live here year round and our number is fifteen! Normally at any other time there may be only three to four people visiting. About half of the visitors are staying for a month and the rest of us for two weeks. Also, no one new is coming for about two weeks, so the group of people that are here is a unique preserved group, getting to experience each other on a much fuller level.

Not only do we live in close quarters, but we also eat every meal together and most mornings we work on a group project together. For example, this morning we worked on riding the land of some invasive plant life that is taking over the wooded area. There is also a rotating schedule of who cooks meals and cleans up after meals. All of these experiences will be good practice for my upcoming year of living in community.

At Polestar you can choose to sleep inside, there are two private rooms and one larger room that has four beds, or outside in covered tent rows. Katherine and I started inside, but we have now moved out to a large tent. I think we both wanted to mix in a little camp feeling to our stay. I am glad we moved out, it's a little more peaceful.

Here is a run down of just a few of the personalities here (names have been with-held):

The Renaissance Man: Call him "Captain" as he prefers, this man has done it all! We here at Polestar are trying to get him to tell us enough stories so we can write his biography. So far I've heard the story where he delivers his daughter's third child, waged war on the open sea as a captain of a ship and at one point worked as a fully licenced and practiced masseuse! I am sure there is much more to learn from his life. The Captain resides in his motor home wherever it takes him which is currently Phoenix.

The Pregnant Couple: This couple wins the award for most adorable, not only are they British, but they are also expecting. She is quite the cook and has made lunch for us twice so far (today was butternut squash soup) and he wears the best hats and has the greatest facial expressions. They both bring a light to the house and a giving nature that is beautiful to behold.

Medicine Man: He is our wise food health man, letting us know the benefits of eating whole foods and drinking water, which we all need to be reminded of on a daily basis. Macrobiotics is his game and let me tell you the night he cooked for us was amazing, a feast in fact. He works at a macrobiotic food clinic and is working towards starting his own health and food counseling business. In a former life he owned a few salons and did hair styling himself.

The Couple Who is Not Pregnant and is VERY Smart: He will be starting on his PhD at MIT (wow) and she just finished her Masters in Library Science. They are also a very cute and well-suited couple. I hope all the best for them as they start a new life outside of Boston, moving from Allentown, PA.

Book Cover: Do not judge him by his cover. At first you may not think he is the outdoors type, but you would be wrong. Traveling alone, he is a pioneer and now a machete welding fool, watch out! Just like the rest of us, he's chosen an a-typical way to take a break from normal life. He is the deep sea swimmer and has no fear when it comes to picking up things from the bottom of the ocean, such as a HUGE sea slug.

The Residents: What a band of individuals who call this place home...there is the Russian who is bubbly and has a deep love for flowing lava. She is here until she can figure out what she wants to do in life, which so far has almost been a year. Then there is the studious agriculturist, who I feel practically runs the place. He's putting down roots by starting community college here in two weeks. He also loves to cut the grass. One of the more long time residents reminds me of a nature loving Mary Poppins, guiding us along. She is also the master gardener here and a midwife. She helps to weave all of us together in harmony.

That is just a run down of a few of the people here and some of the things I have learned about them. I am sure there are more stories to come. With a crew like this how could there not be?