Love had led me to a lot of places that I would not have gone otherwise. Mostly, it's been bars. And that sounds pretty terrible and could be the opening to a much more sordid life story than mine. Love of bourbon, love of night life, love of sin, these are the things that might lead one to spend a lot of time in bars. Me, I just love musicians, and I don't know why. Many times, it has occurred to me that it would be easier to love an accountant. I'd get to bed at a reasonable hour, and I wouldn't have to deal with people who drink too much, all the while feeling guilty for judging them for drinking too much. But then I'd have to go to accountant parties, where people tell the same jokes about death and taxes. Love took my mother to lots of Ruritan meetings and fire department dinners, so maybe I shouldn't complain about the bars so much.
I'm in favor of wringing interesting experiences out of life, which is the silver lining I cling to when love takes me down paths I would have passed by otherwise. One recent Sunday afternoon, love took me to Orange, NC, handed me a shovel, and told me to dig. There were lots of other people there, but I think they were brought by love for gardening or Mother Earth or wheelbarrows. One of them asked me if I was interested in farming. It was hard not to tell him that I was just there with my boyfriend, but I thought that would sound shallow. I was supposed to be there for, uh, well, I'm not sure what, but probably something noble.
Here's what I know: there were a bunch of people working in someone's garden. They were mostly crunchy hippie types. Nobody was getting paid. The puppy's name was Sheila. The majority of the people had no idea what was going on and had to rely upon instruction. Everybody was friendly and accepting. It's hard to pull weeds with a puppy around.
Here's what I do not know: Whose garden was it? Who would eat the food that grew in the beds we prepared? Assuming these people were not here because of their boyfriends, why were they there? Why was my boyfriend there?
Crop Mob is where a bunch of people get together and work on a farm. That is seriously all I know. I read articles and websites about it, and they all stress different aspects of it. Some of them talk about the good ole days, when people all broke their backs together as a community because they didn't use machines. Some of them talk about food deserts, where all the food is trucked in from California or Florida. Some talk about decreased nutritional value and the use of chemicals in mass-produced food. And still more talk about how people don't even know how to grow food anymore. And I guess it was all those things, but I can't help but think that their movement would have a lot more traction if it weren't so vague.
Josh loved it. He felt like a man and he smelled like my dad: sweat and North Carolina clay soil. He wants to do it again. He told me that I didn't have to go, but I probably will. It made me tired, and my body ached, but I didn't mind it so much. I would mind it less if I knew what it was all for.
4 comments:
yeah... i keep telling myself I'm not gonna date any more musicians. Yeah...
Sorry your experience with crop mob has left you feeling like something was missing, as you weren't really given an instruction manual and an outcome. Agreed, there could have been more supervision in Hillsborough. Also, the fact that most of us in crop mob are experienced at farming doesn't mean that we get to forget that other people don't have that experience. So on a few levels we failed you. I'm glad I stumbled on your blog and read your perspective. From someone who is not a farmer I would like to get more feedback from you on what your expectations are and what you would like to get out of these workdays.
Hi Trace,
Shucks, now I'm a little embarrassed. I forget sometimes that this blog is open to the world, as opposed to just my mom. I hope that you didn't take my comments personally.
As I said, part of the problem was that I didn't understand what exactly we were all doing there. I don't think that was your fault, but mine. I mean, who signs up to go work on a farm without finding out what it's about?
As for an instruction manual...I guess it would have been helpful to at least know who was in charge. Now, part of that is just me being shy about asking someone what I'm supposed to be doing. But I think if someone had been going around and making themselves available to make suggestions or answer questions, that would have helped me a lot. I know the people who were "in charge" were probably fully integrated into the work, but even a quick tour around the field every hour or so to talk to people would have given me a little more direction.
In any case, most of the people there seemed totally cool with the casual atmosphere. Or maybe they were just bolder about asking someone what to do. I certainly don't think you failed me. I'm just a fuddy duddy.
I didn't take it personally at all. I know that there needs to be evaluation and progress so that we can integrate new people and hopefully get them to come back again. We usually have some sort of crew leaders so that there is a feedback loop, but if that isn't in place folks can get lost in the crowd wondering if what they are doing is the right thing.
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