This year has been full of opportunities to discover people that are inspirational, eloquent and knowledgeable in their dealings with the American food system.
I've been fortunate enough to be part of small audiences listening to speakers such as Marion Nestle, Howard McGee, Michael Pollan and Alice Waters; I've met and cooked with Annie Somerville, Jessica Prentice and Bryant Terry; I've met farmers and food purveryors from all over the Bay Area...and on Friday night, I was fortunate enough to see one of my favorite authors speak to a group of us as we sat on haybales, listening intently, cozied up to one another as the chilly Point Reyes fog settled in and drifted through the cracks in the wood siding of Toby's Feedbarn.
Wendell Berry and a group of his peers from Kentuckians for the Commonwealth came out to Marin County ($$) from Eastern Kentucky. The entire discussion was interesting, but the highlight for me, I think, was just listening to Mr. Berry talk and observing the way he fielded questions and effortlessly and humbly responded with meaningful answers. This is not a man who in any way is searching for recognition or stardom; this is a man who feels from his gut the pain of an environment mistreated and who has an eloquent way of subtly breaking this pain down into terms that the layman can understand.
I've edited the rest of this post down to the essentials: the next day, I ate a lot of great food, tasted a lot of great wine and spent quality time with quality friends (Holly and Petey). I tasted my first morel...watched vultures circling on the thermals as the sun set...then watched a harvest moon rise over the Eastern hills of the Napa Valley...and had my palm read by Holly: apparently I've got a long life ahead of me; I'm headed in a direction that is truly right for me in terms of consciousness; I've got a strong connection to family and friends and loves, but a distinct independence from all of that that allows me to pursue what is most meangingful to me..and what most surprised her was the great amount of creativity that I've cultivated as well as the confluence of my head and heart lines...meaning, I suppose, that I will find it necessary to integrate my passions in creative, educational work with my passions of the heart. Not surprised :)
I've been fortunate enough to be part of small audiences listening to speakers such as Marion Nestle, Howard McGee, Michael Pollan and Alice Waters; I've met and cooked with Annie Somerville, Jessica Prentice and Bryant Terry; I've met farmers and food purveryors from all over the Bay Area...and on Friday night, I was fortunate enough to see one of my favorite authors speak to a group of us as we sat on haybales, listening intently, cozied up to one another as the chilly Point Reyes fog settled in and drifted through the cracks in the wood siding of Toby's Feedbarn.
Wendell Berry and a group of his peers from Kentuckians for the Commonwealth came out to Marin County ($$) from Eastern Kentucky. The entire discussion was interesting, but the highlight for me, I think, was just listening to Mr. Berry talk and observing the way he fielded questions and effortlessly and humbly responded with meaningful answers. This is not a man who in any way is searching for recognition or stardom; this is a man who feels from his gut the pain of an environment mistreated and who has an eloquent way of subtly breaking this pain down into terms that the layman can understand.
I've edited the rest of this post down to the essentials: the next day, I ate a lot of great food, tasted a lot of great wine and spent quality time with quality friends (Holly and Petey). I tasted my first morel...watched vultures circling on the thermals as the sun set...then watched a harvest moon rise over the Eastern hills of the Napa Valley...and had my palm read by Holly: apparently I've got a long life ahead of me; I'm headed in a direction that is truly right for me in terms of consciousness; I've got a strong connection to family and friends and loves, but a distinct independence from all of that that allows me to pursue what is most meangingful to me..and what most surprised her was the great amount of creativity that I've cultivated as well as the confluence of my head and heart lines...meaning, I suppose, that I will find it necessary to integrate my passions in creative, educational work with my passions of the heart. Not surprised :)
No comments:
Post a Comment