I went to visit the Orange Show for the first time this past weekend. I'm not sure what I was expecting...possibly a little bit of sculpture and some kitschy knick-knacks glued to the walls, but I was completely overwhelmed by the scale of it all. This entire structure was a testament to one mans love of a fruit.

So great was his love and devotion that he hand-built this shrine to his favorite citrus. It makes me wonder if he was passionate about something in a way that few people are, or simply slightly crazy.

It was said that he expected the Orange Show to recieve in excess of 30,000 visitors per year, but the actual number is MUCH MUCH fewer than that. I'm guessing the fact that it gets ANY vistors at all should be enough to make him happy, his work wasn't in vain. For now, it lives on as an oddity of a dying breed: people obsessing over something that goes beyond the normal "liking" of it.

But then again, what is normal anyway? Is it normal to have extreme passions, or none at all?

More importantly, does it even matter?

After being somewhat involved in the making of a documentary revolving around a small group of devoted fans of a defunct robot band, I wonder if the ability to have an obsession like that is something that I will ever experience. (Besides an obsession with ciggarrettes, but I hardly count an addiction as an obsession, and even though I quit doesn't mean I don't still think about it every day.)

Does this mean that I am obsessed with obsessions?
I'm entering dangerous territory with that one...


From the Orange Show Website:

The Orange Show Monument

The Orange Show is a folk-art environment - a monumental work of handmade architecture - in Houston's east end. It was built single handedly from 1956 until its completion in 1979, by the late Jefferson Davis McKissack, Houston postal worker. The outdoor 3,000 square foot monument is maze like in design and includes an oasis, a wishing well, a pond, a stage, a museum, a gift shop, and several upper decks. It is constructed of concrete, brick, steel and found objects including gears, tiles, wagon wheels, mannequins, tractor seats and statuettes.

Jeff McKissack's creation extols the virtues of his favorite fruit and encourages visitors of all ages to follow his theories relating health and longevity to good nutrition, hard work and eating oranges. The Orange Show is one of the most important folk art environments in the United States.