Civics

I've been doing something new. Every morning that I take RTA to work, I stop in front of the Abraham Lincoln statue on Mall A and read the Gettysburg Address. Now that is good oratory. I had to memorize it in 8th grade, but I don't think I really read it until a couple of weeks ago.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
November 19, 1863

Canning is a Snap

One of the perks of volunteering for City Fresh is that I can order bulk produce sometimes. All City Fresh farmers are within 40 miles of Cleveland and the produce is usually picked the same day it is distributed.

I ordered a bushel of green snap beans and spent the day processing about half of them. I'll do the rest tomorrow after work.

Last year, I only canned tomatoes. This summer, I'll put by green beans, corn, tomatoes and maybe some soups. Thirty-six quarts of tomatoes lasted from September-May. So, this year I'll try to can about 45 to get us to July.

Canning is pretty easy. You just have to follow directions, have patience and be willing to devote a day to preserving summer produce so that you can enjoy it in the fall, winter and early spring.

Take me home . . .

Who needs fireworks when you've got this kind of excitement on July 4th?

Take me Home . . . from Jenita McGowan on Vimeo.

My mom, her boyfriend, Jose and her condominium neighbors invited me and my siblings to their potluck and sing-along.

Steve is beet; time for a nap

Storing Produce w/out Plastic

The Berkley Farmers' Market offers some tips for storing fruits and vegetables without plastic.

Why avoid plastic? Here's one good reason.

Slughs

At night, by the light of a headlamp, you can see them in great crowds pulsating all over the compost bin. We've got slugs and they are eating and rotting out my radishes. I'm all for a healthy backyard ecosystem, but I think we're overrun.

Some Magic Hat #9 in a couple cat food tins did in about 8 of them. Perhaps it had too many hops for those slugs that prefer a domestic, macro-brewed pilsner. We'll try something a little more conventional and economical in the future.

I learned a new word today: iatrogenic.

Conventionally used to describe inadvertent, negative effects of medical treatment, author John McKnight uses the word to describe the consequences of professionalizing care--turning citizens into "clients" and care into "service".

It is now clear the economic pressure to professionalize requires an expanding universe of need and the magnification of deficiency.
The Careless Society: Community and its Counterfeits

I recently witnessed a well-intentioned person try to co-opt, professionalize, define and control a movement long-percolating among grassroots groups and volunteers citizens. This person believes "success" requires a leader who will focus efforts and "take it to the next level". Beholding work that has potential is inspiring, but the desire to co-opt a movement dis-empowers enthusiastic people, destroys creativity and stifles agility.

I'm grateful to my friend who gave me the book just before I started my new job. It is helping me to be aware that co-opting, professionalizing and serving can be harmful. I'll do my best to support positive efforts and leave power where it belongs--with citizens.

Bikes in the Motor City

Wishing Cleveland a happy Bicycle Week from here in the Motor City.







I'm attending the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference in Detroit this week. The photos are from the Henry Ford Museum.