Fools Rush In by Bill Carter

So, it's been a while since I've written anything and there are two reasons for that: 1. I've been busy as hell. 2. Everything I've wanted to write about has been the sort of thing that requires sit-down-and-really-think time, which I haven't had much of. Why is it that December is always crazy? It irks me. It's like even though you've finished all your gift-getting early so that you can relax and enjoy your christmas tree that has only lights and no ornaments, when you have to go to the store for toilet paper while everyone there is in panic mode and buying soo much shit, the toxic poison of our obsession with all things bright and shiny seeps into your body and puts you in a foul mood. I'm just sayin.

Anywho, on to the post. I've been reading a new book that my dear friend Mallory sent me called Fools Rush In by Bill Carter. It's a sort of memoir about his journey into war-torn Bosnia during the 1990s. He struggles with the idea that he might in fact be a "war tourist," the term locals give to foreigners who come into the heart of a war that isn't theirs to "find themselves" or whatever. Mostly, Bill Carter (an American) talks about how peoples' everyday lives become so full when they know they may not see another sunrise. These people are dodging bullets on their way to retrieve water or check on a friend. Their night skies are full of explosions and fire. And yet, what he sees in their faces, much more prominently than fear, are laughter, love, joy. They play music and have secret art shows while buildings and streets crumble around them. They are living in the present, enjoying every moment because they know it could all end any second. Bill mentions several times that he gets completely overwhelmed by the constant wonderful feeling of living in the present moment. Here is a conversation he has with one of the locals in Sarajevo...starting with the local:

"You are in the center of the cosmos. Outside, in London and New York, they believe their lives are real. Feed the dog, say nice things to the neighbor, act like they understand everything. That is not real. They think they are real, but nothing is more real than what is happening here."
"So they are surreal?"
"No. They are unreal, the non-real," he said...."Non-real people are people who watch other people die on television and then turn it off to go eat dinner."

And another:

"Yeah, but what can I or Graeme or anybody really do?" He leaned in and for the first time looked directly into my eyes.
"...Tell me. Everyone in your home city is sleeping in their large beds with the alarm set to wake them in time to go to a job they hate. But you are here, yes? They are the ones that are truly dead."

Bill Carter never seems to be under the impression that we should all run off to the war-torn places of the world and save everyone. He does, however, make it clear that he believes we should do all in our power to make our lives meaningful. That we should seek love, live simply, and find joy with friends. We should live in such a way that when the shit hits the fan, we are not lost and we are not wondering who we are or what we ever stood for.

Here's one last passage from the book when Bill is reflecting on what in the hell he's really doing in Bosnia, after all:

"As much as I would like to say I began this journey with an agenda in mind, a fixed purpose I was working toward, I cannot. The truth is, up until this point, I had never thought very far ahead. It was in my training as a traveler: live in short spurts until the next portal opens up.
Yet there would be no turning back. Not now. Not after meeting the people I had met and seeing what I had seen. It would be like hearing a woman scream rape and going for a drink just to get out of earshot. No. It was too late for people like Graeme and me, suckers who believe that if we give a little more it will all turn round for the better. It wasn't that I thought I could save the world. At this point I would have settled for erasing my memory. Once memory gets hardwired into your brain it gets more difficult to erase your sense of responsibility. Why else do we have that cancer called television? Why are we inundated wit sound-bite news, and infantile politicians making promises they never intend to keep? Low ball, baby. Keep it simple and stupid. Keep the masses doped up on false expectations of lower taxes, second mortgages and entry into the country club and you've got yourself a happy society ready, willing and able to ignore those cries of rape. No one can hear them--the TV is too loud."

I've been making a mental note of things I've learned since I discovered I have control over my life and my happiness. I was going to put them in another post, but I feel compelled to put them here. Feel free to add to it. These are in no particular order.

1. Eat dinner with your family or spouse or whoever. At the table. With the TV off.
2. Turn off the TV.
3. Be careful not to find yourself "living for the weekend"
4. Actually cook your food.
5. Food made in a factory is bad for you.
6. Know your kids. Talk to your kids. Play with your kids.
7. Never hold on to any set of beliefs so tightly that you become blind.
8. If your job makes you miserable, leave.
9. Don't let other people's ideas about plans and the "future" keep you from doing what you need to do to be happy.
10. Thinking too much about the future is bad for you.
11. Love people without condition or agenda.
12. Don't buy too much shit. It will clutter your soul and your mind.
13. Try new things and go to new places.
14. Engage in meaningful conversation on a daily basis. Even if only on your blog.
15. Read.


Okay, I'm out of coffee and out of brain juice. Til next time, people.

Best Lunch Ever.

This is my favorite thing to make for lunch on days when I'm at home. It's just an everything bagel (the kind with dried onions and such inside), with cream cheese (1/3 less fat, of course), Classico Pesto sauce and fresh tomatoes. Put it in the oven for a few minutes and yay! Yummy lunch. It's not local, except for the tomatoes. But, it sure beats the hell out of Lean Cuisine. Right?

Food, Part 2: The Vegetannual

Here's a little guide from Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It will help you become more aware of what's in season in your area.























































Also, Doug and I made this yummy dinner from farmers' market foods:

Jasmine rice grown in Fairhope, AL
Hickory Smoked Pork Sausage from Chickasaw, AL
Baldwin Co. bell peppers and onion

And Dessert:
Homemade pecan squares from Heavenly Creations in Fairhope, AL

Food

We went to see Food, Inc. this weekend. It was gross. Food, Inc. is a documentary about the American food industry...how our food is grown, processed, and distributed. This is a topic I've been reading and learning about since I first read Fast Food Nation about six years ago. Most of the startling info in the movie was not news to me, but seeing all the footage from inside factories and "farms" was really disturbing: moo cows standing knee deep in their own waste, chickens bred to grow so fat they can't stand up, ground beef soaked in ammonia. Ew. Even our produce is genetically altered to withstand traveling hundreds of miles and to resist common pests. And beyond these obvious issues of health and sanitation, you get into major issues of giant multi-national corporations controlling the food supply. Animals are mistreated (to say the least), workers are mistreated and underpaid, consumers are kept in the dark about what's in their food, and profit is the number one priority.....make more money, whatever the cost. Anywho, I could on for days here. Just wanted to tell everyone they should either watch Food, Inc. or read some books...or both, of course.
Some food books:

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
This one will gross you out, but is very informative and interesting. It will change the way you eat for sure. They made a movie from this book, but I haven't seen it.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
This one is a very pleasant, easy read. She's a novelist, so it reads much like a novel, which is nice. She and her family left their home in Arizona and moved to a New England farm where they vowed to eat only food that they had grown themselves (or that close neighbors had grown) for an entire year. Lots of good info in this one.

What to Eat by Marion Nestle
Marion Nestle is a nutrition professor at NYU (I think) and she realized people who learn all this information about the food industry and where food comes from and then don't know what they should actually be eating. This is her guide for buying food. I'm reading it now. Good so far.

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
These are both on my need to read list. They're both well-recognized as very important reads for anything food/food industry related.

Let me know if you decide to read one or see the movie. In the meantime, shop at your local farmer's market. If you don't have a farmer's market close by, buy organic.

Home Decor.....it's better homemade.

This time of year, I always get into Martha Stewart mode. The weather is getting cooler, Halloween is coming soon (my favorite), and I start sprucing up the house and searching for pretty decor. This year, since we're in our first ever fall season in our new house, I wanted to get a nice wreath for the door. I used to think wreaths were only for grannies, but I have seen some pretty ones around, so I began looking for a nice natural-looking wreath for the front door. Well, I was in for a rude awakening about the price of wreaths. The cheapest ones I found were around $35 at Target. And they didn't look very nice...nor did they look like they would last more than one season. The nice looking ones that I came across in craft stores and home decorating stores were anywhere from $65 to $100. That's ridiculous!! I know... if you buy a good one that will last and last....blah, blah. What if next year you're tired of that wreath and want a new one? Doug and I could eat for at least a week on what it would cost us to buy a stupid-ass wreath. So, of course, I decided to make my own. Hobby Lobby had their fake flowers on sale 50% off, and grape-vine wreath forms are only $3.99 (regular price). Had there not been a sale, I would have bought some cheap berry garland for about $8 and wrapped it around the wreath form. But I got some nice things and made myself a wreath for $19, including tax. Hooray! And, I didn't use any glue...only wire. So, next year, if I've decided it's ugly, I can reuse the form. Ta-da!

Playtime

I've been making things lately, since I have some extra time on my hands. I recorded myself singing a song after listening to entirely too much Judy Garland: Myself singing a song

And, I drew a guy with a hat on!






















It's so nice (and good for my health and sanity levels) to have playtime. More people should have it.

Where is Bob Dylan?

So, we've been listening to lots of Bob Dylan lately. As I listen, a couple of things enter my mind: 1. I really like this music. 2. Why don't people make music like this anymore? People have told me before that I have the musical taste of a fifty year old man. What I listen to most while I'm alone is music that was made quite a long time ago: Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, etc. And the new music that I do listen to sounds like old music: Norah Jones, Nickel Creek, Mason Jennings, The Black Keys, Ryan Adams. What's going on here? People do tell me that I'm an old soul, so maybe that's it. Maybe it's because my parents grew up during the fifties and sixties, and that's the music I grew up listening to. But it's kind of strange, right? Anywho, while I was listening to Bob Dylan I was thinking about how musicians nowadays rarely write lyrics that broadcast their deeply held opinions about what's going on in the world. I mean, Bob Dylan just comes right out and tells us he thinks war is stupid and that all the people up in Washington are responsible and should rot in hell. Gee, Bob, tell us what you really think. And he wasn't talking about war in general, either. Everyone knew he was talking about Vietnam, and he was so popular and well known, and if any bureaucrat every tried to tell him he had to keep his mouth shut, there would have been some kind of uprising. Nowadays, people just keep their mouths shut, even without being told to do so. Why? Do we just not care? Do we think no one else feels the same way we do? Are we afraid of being shut up by some far off Man in charge? When even our musicians and artists and writers aren't speaking up, you know it's bad. Obviously, there are people here and there who are talking about tough issues and raising questions. But it seems like even those people are doing so in a very general, "big-picture" sort of way. Do you know what I mean? People don't just say what they think anymore. Part of it is that people aren't thinking. Our education system and our technology-driven, money hungry culture have trained us very well in how to follow orders blindly and keep our freethinking to a minimum. But there are those who have survived the education system with their thinking parts in tact. What about them? Many have been convinced that they can do nothing, change nothing, that speaking up is pointless and a waste of time. The issues are too big, too complicated, too abstract. There's so much going on that we don't know about. This is how they want us to feel...like we're too small to do anything about it. And they're doing a very good job. So, I guess what I'm saying is....where is Bob Dylan? We need to speak up, speak out.....even if at first no one listens but a handful of friends and family. We need to share our thoughts and opinions, even when it means offending a neighbor or making a coworker feel very uncomfortable. We could all use a little more discomfort, if you ask me. Because when it comes down to it, what's the point of life if you're just a cog in the wheel. Don't you want to do something that matters? that means something, if only to you? Don't you want to look back and know that you lived a full life and that you swam upstream because you stood for something? Don't you want to raise children who care about ideals, values, principles? instead of money and power? I do. Let's talk more. And play more music.

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul