So I don’t write here much.  Life’s pretty sumin’ at this point.  I just finished gobbling up Barbra Kingsolver’s book Prodigal Summer.  Best book every.

I want to be those two women.  It’s a great book.  One thing it totally made me think about was the fact that as humans we don’t think about personal responsibility.  This goes WAY beyond nature.  there’s the whole cause and effect thing and life cycles are DEPENDENT on each other.

It’s crazy how as humans we’ve separated ourselves from this.  I argue that technology is really something that has a big hand in this.  I was thinking about technology really gives us as humans the opportunity to be individual and do tasks individually.  We have to rely less and less on other people, other people’s skills and subsequently (however indirectly) less on the earth.  I mean if you go to a grocery store - you’re not really connected to the food as in where it came from, what was used on it as far as pesticides, how long it had; as a crop; grown in that field, what the condition of the soil was let alone the condition of the farmer, the farmer’s life, the farmer’s house, his finances and his opportunities.   We’re completely separated from that.  And we also don’t know what that single farm is doing to the ecosystem around it.  I’m a vegetarian.  I’ve heard people say (and i think it’s really cool) that if you’re going to eat the meat, you should at least be comfortable with where it came from and that whole process.

But this part of the book really sums it up for me.  “Her body moved with the frankness that comes from solitary habits.  But solitude is only a human presumption.  Every quiet step is thunder to beetle life underfoot, a tug of impalpable thread on the web pulling mate to mate and predator to prey, a beginning or an end.  Every choice is a world made new for the chosen.  All secrets are witnessed.”  (adapted from the first and last page of the book.)  Every life has an effect on an entire chain of life cycles and ecosystems.  I thought of this when I killed a fruit fly on my parents counter.   I wondered what predator was absent that made fruit flies so prevalent.   Now, that’s a ridiculous case.  But it’s true - if you kill off the predators with the prey, the prey will out number the predators.

But on a completely other note - there’s women in this book.  and this women blow my mind.  They exude the strong solid quite grounded woman that I COMPLETELY fail to see very much in Christianity.   There are the soft plush women that make great mothers and great christians.  But i don’t see the solid grounded women that can stand in any wind and make great christians.  I can think of 1.  (i thought of 2 but then was reminded of the odd patriarchy that enforced a severe courting ritual with their daughters for the second one.)  This is the cool woman that just exudes confidence, joy, peace and approachability.  Someone that’s not a control freak but is utterly in control of everything around them.  Someone with drive, with ideas, with passions but has the peace about her that her existence doesn’t depend on these ideas.  Someone that is competent and strong, who can do any task that a man can do - and she does it silently, unconsciously, and beautifully.   No one draws attention to it, its as if you don’t even notice it as odd, it just happens.   This is the old woman with the long beautiful grey hair.  it’s not but that’s what I think.

I want to be her.

where are the christian women role models who are like Barbra Kingsolver, Joan Gussow, and the characters in Prodigal Summer?  Are we meant to become the soft squishy women that will open their arms to all the orphans and love them?  or can we be the solid confident women that stand in the face of injustice and fight for better, even if it’s silently.

So… I’ve been hanging out, listening, engaging, watching, remembering, thinking and intaking. you bet i’m pretty busy and attentive… well no. It’s all been by accident and on the sly.

Actually, so i’ve met some really cool people. And they’re connected to really cool people, and things, and knowledge. I won’t bore you with the details, it’s an interesting chain of connections but, they are all real neat, environmental etc. people.
Through them, I’ve found out that Rochester actually has a housing co-op. Ant-hill co-op. It’s real new and young, but really cool that we have one in Rochester. Apparently Madison, Wisconson has a ton of co-ops. One of the people I met is from Wisconson and is connected with Ant Hill.. that’s how i know.
*now personally, co-op -the word- reminds me of RIT’s version of internships, or my mom told me of how some neighborhoods or groups of people would grocery shop all together and then split it up….*
My first naive connection, in my brain, when i heard of this co-op was to think/associate it with the idea of a commune, also another really old word. But it’s all the same general idea… a bunch of people living in community with eachother, sharing groceries, taking care of a garden and other various “quasi-public” events. Which is really cool.
This is really chopy. Anyways, it’s really interesting to me, the whole concept of simple living. This, I believe, comes largely from the environmental side and sustainable living stuff. It’s very cool. It actually connects with the New Urbanism indirectly but it makes sense in my head. But it’s interesting and cool that a bunch of people will get together and choose to share food, shop somewhat organically, live simply, share in the chores of a house, take care of a garden try to do a lot of stuff with the garden, bike places instead of drive and create this community/culture by living together. Soo cool, really neat. I hope it works and lasts.

But another thing that happened was, while hanging out with these really cool, inspiring people, that we were hanging out in the South Wegde in Rochester NY. What’s really really cool is that in the south wedge, they’ve been working for a long time to get an organic, whole foods market in that area. Like a locally owned grocery store. Because when you think about it, the closest grocery stores to the south wedge is either in henrietta, Gates, way east on East ave or Abundance up on Monroe Ave.

I mentioned the grocery store that’s happening over in Syracuse, in the city proper… I almost peed my pants with joy when i found out about this new one in Rochester… I think the sign said it was South Wedge Grocery… maybe. and I never knew about Abundance, so that makes it really neat that there are 2 cool grocery stores in the city of Rochester. They may not meet the needs of all diet types, but it’s really cool.

I don’t know how long any of this is going to last. Who will survive the torment of the ciy, wegmans sure pulled out of Rochester, excpet their East Ave store right on the east edge of the ciy. (dont’ get me wrong, i worshipped wegmans while apart from the northeast at college) We just need to have more faith in the city. Another thing, there’s another coffee shop (yay, whoopy) but that means that it’s better than some lower end fashion shop, bad bars (i’ve not been, can’t really pass judgement) and low end convinent stores. it’s a coffee shop!! a place for the neighborhood, for the community to hang out, a place to go. a destination. A destination. a destination for community. that’s all we ever want.

*bows* thanks for enduring this rambling, disjointed, hopeful joy.

As I’ve been house sitting this last week, I’ve also been controling/fixing my own meals.  As a vegetarian, this is fun for me.  I bought lots of fresh veggies and fruit.  Granted, that in and of itself probably supports 12,000 mile supply chains and the use of pesticides and all that.  But that’s beside the point at this point.

All to say, I’ve really enjoy eating fresh snap peas when i come home, or cutting up some strawberries as a snack.  It just feels more wholesome.  And i met up with some buddies for a silent movie in the city, it was cool.  The three of them bike all over Rochester (however friendly or unfriendly the roads and drivers are)  They biked up from the south side somewhere to the city and then were heading over to the west side when I left them, In my car no less.  But it made me smile.  I admired them, and HOpe someday I too will forgo my car 97% of the time and use the bike.

There’s something wholesome and hopefull about these activities.  Being informed and concious.  Being aware and compassionate.  I like it.  I like it alot.  Once i move out of what I came from (i’m living with my ‘rents)  I do hope I embrace it fully.

It’s rough in my mind sometimes, because i’m all about compassion and ecology and people and everything.  But i will not lie and deny where i came from, an upper middle class suburban family.  private school, dance lessons, music lessons, family vacations (tent camping in the Adiorandacks) etc.  the busy life of a busy family.  And so there are luxuries that support things, or condone things, or condem things that are comfortable to me.  Sometimes I wish i could strip it all down and Fully release the suburban livestyle i was raised in and fully embrace this new thought process/pattern I’m experiencing.  But it’s where i came from, it’s what i know.  and some how, a little bit, it will always be with me.

But soon for the wholesome fuzzy feelings.  I’m slowly getting there.  one snap pea at a time.