Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

28 March

Color And Light As Promised. I Call It Calla Flower Art

by Jon Katz

I’m heading for my reading stand tonight, Morningside by Tea Obreht. Here are my experiments in color and movement and abstract flower photography.

Please come and take a look. I call it Calla Art in honor of my favorite spring flower. I look forward to seeing you in the morning.

Stay dry, be warm and safe. Spring really is coming; it just doesn’t know it quite yet. I saw Nancy, my extraordinary chiropractor, tonight.

She says my back is almost 100 percent after the famous fall on my head in early winter.

Journey in red

Study in flower sculpture

 

Flower fusion

28 March

The Meaning Of The Cambridge Food Pantry Campaign. I Believe It’s A Compassion Revolution, The Stirrings Of A Movement

by Jon Katz

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” — Aesop.

In the decade that the Army of Good has existed, we have helped many people in many different ways, from older people to young refugee victims of genocide to persecuted farmers and other victims of life, poverty, and cruelty.

Yet, this is the first time I’ve seen a fundraising campaign elicit a response as urgent and committed as the one we’re witnessing now.

This small town food pantry was on the brink of being overwhelmed by working-class individuals’ escalating struggle to afford basic necessities.

(Your contributions are making a huge difference. You can help by browsing through the updated items on the Cambridge Food Pantry Wish List and seeing how you can help. They need everything.)

(The above photo shows today’s food delivery to the Cambridge Pantry. The boxes keep coming, and the staff can’t quite believe it.)

This suggests something more significant than a single pantry.

We are at the dawn of the Compassion Revolution, a movement I have long anticipated. It is not just a concept in my mind but a reality I witness daily at the pantry and in other places where we have worked. Our message is clear: we stand against hatred, indifference, conspiracies, and lies.

We embrace St. Terese’s “Little Way,” which states that you don’t need to be rich or a saint to do good.

To me, it’s simple: Good people who work hard should be able to feed their families, and children should never go to bed or school hungry. But getting this done is becoming difficult and touches the hearts of good people everywhere.

I’m sticking with this cause. My idea is to do my best for as long as possible. I am immensely grateful to the hundreds of people all over the country who are joining this cause. My idea has always been simple, and the Internet has made it possible: large numbers of people contributing small amounts of money to causes and people they want to help. We have no Billionaires in the Army Of Good.

I’ve never seen anything like what is happening with the good pantry, and I hope we can continue it.

It is, for real,  the ultimate in small acts of great kindness. It offers great hope and generosity of spirit, two things fading our country now. We practice being good to one another.

The pantry staff is stunned by the flow of food that people want and the boxes who arrive every day, usually twice daily.

The food is coming just in time; grocery stores and food companies donate only some of the foods people want and need. We have been filling the gap successfully and continuously. Federal and state support for food pantries is declining, even disappearing. I hope we can keep it coming.

This has the throes of a movement.

I’m not sure yet what is happening, but the response is a heartfelt and defiant call from the heart of America to be a gentler and kinder people, to be human and generous again, to help people rather than demonize and persecute them. First and foremost, we need to help our children in need.

We are all sick of the cruelty and cesspool politics emerging from Washington and elsewhere. I believe we share one thing, we are so weary of cruelty and anger.

To much of our media, all news is bad news, but every day, I see and feel the good news coming from the Army of Good. You may never read or hear about it, but it is real, powerful, and committed to good. That is what my idea of America is really about.

The haters do not speak for or to the real America; they speak only to themselves. The good people sending all this food are the true American patriots.

In a sense, this is a social and very American response; in another, it is political. We are definitely sending a message.

I beliee most of us have had enough of anger, grievance, and hatred. If our leaders can’t help working people feed their families, we will help in any way we can.

That’s what I believe is happening. Our small revolution is getting started.

(Maria helping clean up after packaging food for children. She is volunteering also.)

Every day since I began the Army Of Good’s embrace of the Cambridge Food Pantry, boxes and boxes of urgently wanted and needed food have come streaming into the pantry.

They come from all over the country, summoned by a scattered, individualistic, and good-hearted organization of people who do not know one another. They know me primarily from my blog and have always succeeded in the group’s eight years of existence.

They were unwilling ot refuse this approachable call of need and compassion.

First was the Mansion Assisted Care facility in Cambridge, a Medicaid senior citizen care center. It was the refugee children fleeing from Myan Mar’s genocide and, most recently, the Cambridge Food Pantry, fighting to feed a surging number of people who can no longer afford to feed themselves and their families.

The Army of Good has never said no. They are the real deal.

But we have never struck as deep, continuous, and enthusiastic a cord as we have with the Cambridge Pantry comparing. Some of the reasons are obvious. The amounts are smaller than the items on most of our wish lists.

I don’t want to be a watcher in this fantastic movement; I want to be a participant. I volunteer weekly to put together food packages for children, and I’m writing about it daily.

Maria joined me this morning and also wants to volunteer in the pantry. She wrote a beautiful piece about it on her blog this morning.

Stay tuned, I think we can keep this cart rolling. We are doing something special, something that will give hope to a lot of people.

Small acts of kindness; you can check the updated Cambridge Pantry Wish List every day.

 

 

 

 

 

28 March

At The Cambridge Pantry: Busiest Day Ever, 22 Favorite Items Gone, Army Of Good To The Rescue: “They Made All The Difference…”

by Jon Katz

Cambridge Pantry Director Sarah Harrington knew Wednesday would be busy.

Due to the massive snowstorm, the pantry had to cancel last weekend’s food distribution.

She knew the Wednesday offering would be jammed and require three days of food, including the Easter Weekend. But she didn’t expect yesterday when a record-breaking  67 people—187 individuals—came looking for food.

(The Cambridge Pantry food most sought today is Campbell’s Chunky Soup, Clam Chowder, case of 8, $14.43. See below)

She was overwhelmed. More than 21 favorite items were gone entirely: clam chowder, ravioli, coffee, ramen, prego sauce, diapers, wet wipes, flour, sugar, canned spaghetti, pineapple chunks, pancake syrup, parmesan cheese, and Kleenex.

They also registered seven new families on Wednesday.

(Joan, a volunteer at the food pantry for seven years.)

This list includes many of the most sought-after food items in the pantry.  Sarah was worried about how to re-order.

Adding to the pressure, the New York Legislature is considering a one-third cut in the funding that supports the backpack program. This morning, we had only 67 bags of food for the children for three days. The potential consequences of this funding cut are serious.

Then she texted me later: “After my crazy record-setting day, I came home and was overwhelmed with joy when I learned that all the Amazon list items ordered for the food pantry were delivered and waiting to be opened. It is such a game-changer. I thank the Army of Good! You guys are making all the difference!”

On to clam chowder! (See below.)

Yesterdays.Amazon food delivery. Army Of Good to the Rescue.

I went to help pack this week’s backpack orders; I loved this work. It’s not remote work but a very personal thing to put my hands on—the things that will help families have enough to eat over the weekend. I love knowing that the things I was packing were going right to the children who needed them, with no fees or special charges and no middle administrators.

The food I was packing would be eaten by a hungry child starting tonight and going through the weekend.

We are re-posting the entire   Cambridge Pantry Wish List to replenish some of the items. I asked Sarah this morning what item was most in demand today. She said the most sought-after food for the moment—they are out of is clam chowder. The list is updated every day.

The pantry’s food of the day is Campbell’s Chunky Soup, New England Clam Chowder, 16.3 Oz Can, Case of 8, $14.43.

Also new on the list today is Community Coffee, 12.0z, pack of 3, $12.oz pack of three.  All of the items on the Wish List are foods unavailable to the food pantry from their usual sources; it means a lot to the families to get them.

I can’t thank you all enough for supporting this pantry; more and more people in the area are struggling to pay for food. As Sarah said, you are making a huge difference.

Above, my volunteer task (along with others) is to prepare these “backpack” food packs for delivery to the central school today for the children of families who depend on the pantry for food.

 

Feature phot: Director Sarah Harrington ordering food at the Cambridge Food Pantry.

28 March

Farm Journal, March 28, 2024. Mud Morning, Light Morning. Two Views, Mud, Calla Lili

by Jon Katz

It was a gloomy day outside, but my Calla Lillies brought some color inside. I went to the Cambridge Food Pantry to prepare backpacks for the kids who needed food. I’ll write about it when I get home. In the meantime, here are two ways of looking at the morning.

St. Joseph’s Mud morning

Inside, A Calla Lily plant brings some light. I can’t stop taking pictures of the Calla flowers

27 March

Color And Light, Calla Art, The Power Of Inner Silence

by Jon Katz

Because of what is happening inside and outside of me, I’ve become increasingly drawn to what I call inner silence, the quiet that comes from inside, from the heart, not from what is happening outside of me.

This has helped to calm and ground me. I never thought of silence as healing, but it is a powerful healer. I need something like this right now; many people do.

So, I share what I am learning. I’m not preaching. It’s a take-it-or-leave-it thing; I don’t tell other people what to do, say, or think.

I’m a talker, but silence does not mean giving up talking or not being active or busy. It means making time for quiet and working and listening to still the churning inside my head.

It means that I am quieting down inside; no talking is allowed there. But thinking often interrupts. It makes a noise of its own. I can’t always control it.

When I am genuinely silent, I can appreciate and enjoy the silence no matter what happens to me in the outer world. It takes concentration and practice.

Much of the time, my inner silence isn’t completely silent, at least not at first.  There is almost always talking going on inside of my head.

My challenge is finding inner silence while connecting with the outside world or listening to what people call the news.

I have two worlds: the inner world and the outer one. Today, Maria is going to her belly dancing class, and I will be alone in the farmhouse with the dogs for several hours.

I want to wash in silence.

I intend to meditate for much of that time and read when I get restless. Mostly, especially when I get angry,  I want to drink up the silence and let it flow over and through me.

Silence does come from the heart, not the head. I need to remember that.

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