Thanksgiving...Thank$taking?

     Oh my, I'm getting grumpy and cynical as I age. Or, the world really is changing.
     It's bad enough that Christmas arrives in stores before all the new school supplies have been snapped up by eager students and their harried parents. Then Black Friday proved such a success that it bled into Thanksgiving itself.  Is shopping really that important? Are the sales really that good? What "stuff" is so valuable that a holiday is ruined for employees and their families and has become a headache for employers?  According to some intrepid reporters, some prices actually go up on these sale days. How many eager shoppers notice that?
     What does it say about us as humans that on the one day of the year set aside for us to pause and take stock of all we have to be grateful for, we are encouraged to buy, buy, buy. (More to be grateful for!)
     What does it say about our country that a growing number are, out of pride-stomping necessity, on the receiving side of free community meals (and not just on Thanksgiving).  Some probably go there when they get off work since their pay barely covers rent and utilities. While the rich get richer and the working poor get left cashiering all those valuable bargains, the rest are blessed with the opportunity to feel good about donating or serving food to the hungry. It's a noble thing to do, but far nobler is to do so in January or February when folks are really desperate and fresh food is more scarce. Newspapers aren't there to photograph those warm-and-fuzzy scenes. We all need to spend equal effort on electing people who truly care and can't be bought by the vested interests who ever so quietly make sure the rules and regulations tilt in their favor.
     You could say the real turkeys weren't on Thanksgiving tables, they're in board rooms and back rooms every day where decisions are made about where to produce goods, wages and benefits, healthcare costs and, in essence, who gets a shot at a decent life and opportunities for their families.
     Here's to all the businesses who shuttered their doors on Thanksgiving and allowed their employees a well-deserved day off. A paid holiday, just like those at the top. That would be showing true gratitude to those who make wealth possible, albeit for fewer and fewer among us.

Vintage? Already?

     A piece of history hangs on our kitchen wall, and still serves us daily. It's not a cooking utensil, though modern versions of it are used to find recipes, definitions and substitutions for ingredients or how-to instructions for certain culinary techniques.

      Yes, I'm talking about a phone. “Smart” phone being the latter, where you can call up any information you need in the kitchen, including photos of what a dish should look like.

     

Our not-so-smart (but extremely dependable) phone is a wall-mounted rotary dial model that has been there since we built the house, about 35 years. How did it become “vintage” so soon? It harbors no recipes. Those are in books on my kitchen counters You can tell my favorites by the condition of its cover, or the splattered pages within and notes scribbled in the margins telling when it was first prepared, our impressions and suggestions for improvements. (Bet you can't do that on your smarty-pants phone.) If the phone is used during cooking it's to call a neighbor to ask to borrow a missing ingredient, or the fire department if things get out of hand.

Living in a Bowl

      Because we live in a “bowl” surrounded by forested hills, cell phone reception is extremely spotty. I've never gotten reception on my little flip-open cell phone (another borderline vintage item), so it's used just when away from our house. Visitors with more sophisticated phones rarely get reception here either. To get it you must climb one of the surrounding hills and find a clearing – not impossible, but enough trouble to thwart spontaneity.

      Phones in our house are used for just one thing: talking to another person. No camera or photos, no recording, no maps, movies, music or Wikipedia. No Pinterest or FaceBook. Just one-on-one conversations. (Well, unless you call the customer “service” department of some company and get put on terminal hold, usually with horrible music intended to soothe your increasing irritation. But that's another topic..). 

Our phone cooperative had announced it would discontinue rotary-dial service after a given date, but that date has passed and it still works so I hope they've changed their minds. While I sometimes dial with one of our touch-pad phones when I'm in a hurry, then pick up the rotary one to hear better, I will miss the occasional finger-dial when I'm of a mood. There's something calming--almost meditative--about waiting for the dial to settle back in its home position so you can dial the next number. It's akin to taking deep breaths and becoming present in the moment when you stop at a stoplight.   

Privacy

      A home phone is about as close as you can get to a phone booth these days. Remember those? Cell phones wiped them out alarmingly fast. In fact, that's why I had to get a cell phone. I knew where all the pay phones were in town and used them when I needed to get in touch with someone when I was there, but they've all disappeared. The only pay phone remaining is at our public library, but it's had an “Out of Service” sign on it for ages. I'm sure it will disappear any day, as well. Like the Maytag Man, the telephone repair guy must have gotten bored and left town. Where did they go? Is there still a place in the world where things are built to last and to be repaired instead of replaced? If so, I'd like to go there.

      The way some people carry on cell-phone conversations in public, they seem to think they're inside the privacy of the old-fashioned phone booth, or their own homes. They seem as unaware of everyone else as they are their phone constantly tracks their movements. Tracking can be a good thing when you're lost, but unnerving on a routine basis. Does it give people pause who cheat on a spouse or frequent businesses or places they don't want others to know about?

The Good 'ol Simpler Days

      When I was growing up everyone had just three-digit phone numbers, not the ten digits of today. We also had an operator who had to “place” your long-distance calls, or who you dialed in the event of an emergency. It was a small town and the operators knew everyone, of course. They may well have know you had an emergency before you dialed, having smelled the smoke.

      Once, almost a decade after having graduated from high school and moving away, I was making a long-distance call from my grandmother's house in our small town and when I gave the operator the number she said, “Chris, is that you?” She knew it was my grandmother's house and recognized my voice. We had worked together when I was in high school and it was a nice surprise to catch up with her. 

     More recently, when I was with my Mom in that same house and she needed an ambulance early one morning, when I dialed 911 and gave the house number, the emergency operator said, “That's Cathy's house!” She was right and I knew when she said someone would be there immediately, they would be. My Mom had a standing hair appointment later that morning but before I could call to cancel, the hairdresser called me to see what had happened. She'd already heard about the ambulance visit.

      Some of my childhood friends who lived in the country were on party lines where the number of rings determined which house the call was intended for. Naturally, not everyone respected the privacy of others and would sometimes listen in on conversations not intended for them. But then, rare are secrets in a small town anyway.

Homemade Cell Phone

      Being able to use the phone outside can be a problem if you don't have a cell phone, or they don't work

in your area. Spring through fall, we're outside early in the morning, mainly working in the garden. But, there have been times when we also needed to be able to answer calls from businesses my husband contracted with, or people I worked with, especially when coordinating our farmers' market. We had an exterior ringer at one time (as did our nearest neighbor, prompting some confusion) but it had given up the ghost. Our cordless phone didn't work very far from the house, so we fashioned a really long extension cord for our old table-top rotary dial phone and put it inside a metal bowl near the garden fence to ensure we'd hear it ring. It worked like a charm.

Pluses and Minuses

      No question but today's smart phones are handy – sometimes life-saving. For example, they can be more helpful than a paper map when you're traveling and can talk you through a new city or neighborhood and help you find restaurants, hotels and businesses. The ability to take photos or record sounds is truly amazing, as is being able to access important information or trivia in seconds. They also store your most often-used numbers, which makes dialing much easier. You can't do that on a rotary dial phone, but then remembering numbers is a good skill to have, especially when using a phone other than your own.

     A drawback to the proliferation of cell phones and the countless games and apps they hold is fewer people make eye-contact in public. One person--or both--has eyes on the little device. Hence, fewer people converse with each other; they're busy with what or whomever is inside the little device. It can be a comfort for extremely shy people to avoid conversations with strangers at parties by thumbing busily through their phones, but they'll never have a chance for surprisingly memorable conversations that way. Sadly, it's impossible to drive, bike or even walk through a campus, especially between classes, without paying rapt attention since most students are lost into the world of the little screen in their hands. Some step into the street without even looking, trusting someone else is paying attention. Heaven forbid the driver or biker isn't...

Time to Upgrade

     A little research reveals that the rotary dial phone was patented in 1892, though not commonly used until the early 1900s. The touch tone phone was introduced at the 1962 World's Fair. Plastic dials replaced metal ones in the 1950s.

     After over a century, it's time, I guess, for phones to be upgraded, and they are with amazing speed. Soon enough our rotary dial phone will no longer be supported by the phone company - and I'll miss it.

Pantries Instead of Silos

     It's November already. Where did the year go? I know that's the perennial question, but this year, in particular, it felt like much of it was spent worrying about drought and fires, especially living where we're surrounded by forests and tall, dry grassy areas. But now, after some soul-quenching rains, fire season is officially over. Even Smokey Bear has trundled off from his post at the Forest Service's fire danger gauge. Let's hope he has a longer hibernation this winter.

     We squeaked by but many north-westerners weren't so fortunate. Nor were many farmers. Fire wasn't their problem (here, at least), but drought certainly was.
The Year's Biggest Farmers' Market

     That was brought home to me in conversations with farmers at a unique annual event where locals can buy bulk quantities of grains, beans, meats and storage vegetables directly from growers, called Fill Your Pantry. It's a great way for farmers to distribute their crops and not have to store them over the winter, selling them little by little at winter farmers' markets, holiday events or local grocers. The idea originated here among small farmers and food activists and has become a cherished fall tradition for locavores and farmers alike. The idea has been adopted in several other communities, as well. SNAP (food stamp) benefits are accepted here, as well they should be.  I helped organize the first event and a few thereafter and am gratified to see that others have continued the tradition. Grain and bean farmers, especially, depend on it as a major distribution venue shortly after harvest. Silos to store grains are very expensive. For many, the earnings from this event cover the debt incurred to plant those crops. 
A Crop of Lessons

     The first event was pure pandemonium since we had no idea how many would show up and were overwhelmed by the crowd. It was held at a farm and a few die-hards biked from town to collect bulk purchases – proof that we live in a unique community. Most vendors were blind-sided by such response, but customers were forgiving and patient as bags were filled and were weighed out and volunteers hauled garden carts full of purchases to customers' cars. It was exhausting, but invigorating, too. We'd struck a nerve. Buying local wasn't just a fad. People really did want quality food from people they knew and were willing to support it. Valuable lessons were learned by vendors (like having measured amounts already packaged!), customers and organizers.
    The success was a powerful message to young farmers wondering if farming really worth the hard work and marginal pay. Yep, they discovered, it is. At least for those who want to build a strong local food system. 
     Thanks to this and other markets and events, people got to know their farmers. When one suffered an accident while repairing his old tractor, coming a fraction of an inch from losing an eye, customers rallied to help with medical expenses (he and his wife, like most young farmers, had no health insurance. “Obama-Care” was yet to appear.) They're still selling at Fill Your Pantries because it's their best market of the year.
The Stories You Don't Hear

     Conversations with farmers, especially those growing dry-land crops like grains and beans, revealed a starker story than one might expect with all the wonderful food on display. Farmers were hit by more than drought. An excruciatingly long dock-workers strike earlier this year meant products shipped elsewhere sat on the docks or missed the window of opportunity altogether. One farm family, who grows both grass seed for export and organic grains for local markets came very close to losing their farm because of effects the strike and drought. Export crops couldn't get out so contracts were lost, and grain yields were way down for lack of moisture (but the quality was very high, as can happen in stressed plants). Oddly, though, grain farmers across the country are getting very low prices for their crops this year. Huh? Someone in the world food chain has a finger on the scales of availability and prices – another force over which farmers have no control. The best way for farmers and consumers to have control is through local events like FYP. Unfortunately, not every farmer and community can do that in this global market.

     We rarely pay attention to the stories behind our food until the price jumps or plummets, and aren't aware that farmers are often “eating” price differences themselves in order to stay competitive, or just to survive. There are many, many stories out there that we all should hear in order to understand the “plumbing” that is our food system, be it global or local. Even locavores rely on both. Next time you're at a farmers' market or somewhere where you have an opportunity to talk with a farmer, ask some questions, she and he would likely appreciate your interest and you might be surprised at what you learn. Your food will likely taste a bit different after that conversation - probably even better. You'll certainly appreciate it more.