This Sunday, the greeting time after worship turned into a debrief session on the article in the Spokesman Review. Over and over again I heard people say; "What you guys are doing, that's how we used to live." The farmers explained, "Back then all of our practices were sustainable and organic." Some of the older women told me about how they used to go on root cellar tours in the Fall, admiring each other's bounty of canned goods and root crops. One of our outdoorsmen invited me to go hunting for Turkey. The season opens on Tuesday. I've never been aware of opening day for turkey, nor have I ever fired a gun, but I just might take him up on his offer. It doesn't get much more local than that.
One comment from a parishioner really grabbed my attention. As we stood outside the church soaking up the sun, I commented on all the snow on Mica Peak, and he said, "You know, you used to see lantern lights up on Mica Peak at night." Curious, I asked for more information and he explained, "It was the moonshiners. In the 1920s people used to have their distilleries up there." I guess they call it moonshine because they did their work by the light of the moon.
There is something compelling to me about the image of a Valley filled with darkness and distant flickering flames working there way up the trails of Mica Peak. It's an image of resourcefulness. That's the image that stands out to me in the midst of all these conversations. We have a strong legacy of resourcefulness. When the conditions of life demanded it, our grandparents and great grandparents rose to the occasion and figured out a way.
The owner of Northwest Seed and Pet summed up for me a question I have about this legacy of resourcefulness. I asked him over the weekend how he thinks the economy will effect business and he explained that in past years a down economy was good for his business of selling seeds, plant starts, and gardening supplies. People were compelled to grow their own vegetables, instead of buying them in the grocery store. But he wondered aloud, "The older generation is passing on and I don't know if the new generations have the skills to do that?"
That's a great question. Is this kind of resourcefulness, finding our way together in the midst of shared challenges, a lost capacity in our communities, or is it just dormant, waiting for conditions to arise that demand a creative and collective response? Do we have the ability to rise to the occasion, or are we a fragmented to the point of no return. I have my suspicions, but I wonder what you think.
Interesting, Kim *just* said, "Kovi, let's get your choo-choo-train box and empty it so we can take it outside to use it for a sink."
I came to the computer really down. I ripped out a rotted kitchen over the weekend, along with the kitchen sink. I had suggested using the kiddie pool.
I think instead of going on about this, I oughtta go out and help with the dishes.
Posted by: Keith | April 14, 2008 at 03:47 PM
Can we return to a lifestyle of resourcefulness? Absolutely!! If the conditions grew desperate enough, I have no doubt we would learn or re-learn to take care of ourselves and our community. What is the other option? As a member of the younger generation (if 36 is considered young) I have faith we will learn to do the right thing. The challenge is to learn before we have to. As an avid gardener myself, I know gardeners love to share their passion and knowledge to anyone eager to learn. Seek out those people in the older generations and ask questions. Be proactive towards learning about resourceful and sustainable living. Thank you so much, Goodwin family, for bringing these issues to our attention. I am so excited about the knowledge I am gleaning from your experiment.
Posted by: Mia Simonsen | April 14, 2008 at 04:21 PM
Okay... back from the wersh tub. Think I'll go to Larry's and see if he has any of that mustang grape wine. Bart and Debbie just said that we could have a tomater party, if they grow good. Yee haw.
Posted by: Keith | April 14, 2008 at 04:30 PM
Actually, I have some serious doubts. I'm afraid people wouldn't pull together, but rather, at least initially, grab from one another in a frenzy.
Sometimes I get the feeling nobody, or very few, have any idea at all how to do anything. I have this mix of insecurity and shame over how we use others and assume that we personally did the work. It's kind of ignorant arrogance.
Posted by: Keith | April 15, 2008 at 04:56 AM
Sorry for this multi-post. We are going to try and go back to the moon. After that we plan to go to mars. There is a transfer of Apollo-era knowledge coming through.
The same issues exist in this microcosm (or would this be a macrocosm or just cosm!)
There is an inversion in priority, or definition, of what it means to be resourceful. Resourceful has come to mean - one knows how to obtain/maintain/organize resources.
The problem is that if you don't know how to create or problem solve with limited tools; you won't be good at choosing the right resources, maintaining what you have... You might be good at organizing and reorganizing... thinking that will fix something. Yeah, lots of shuffling the box hoping something will turn up, and calling it "vision".
Posted by: Keith | April 15, 2008 at 05:28 AM
This knowledge isn't lost. It's at the county extension office. Have you visited them yet?
Posted by: Nikki | April 18, 2008 at 02:16 PM