MauriceReeves.com

I was reading an article yesterday about the racism Obama campaign workers were encountering while campaigning, and something really struck me about some of the most vicious of the slurs, they were all cited as being from PA.

I'm not honestly surprised by this. I live in PA. This state is so conservative and reactionary I'm surprised that the KKK didn't mean the Obama campaign at the Philadelphia city limits to inform him he wasn't welcome. I think the thing that surprises people about PA is that the hate isn't openly visible most of the time. It's only when you talk to the people you realize "Wow, this guy hates everybody!"

What I find more interesting is that prior to the PA primaries Ed Rendell, the governor of PA, made comments that Obama was going to encounter problems in the Commonwealth because of his race. Rendell was excoriated in the press .

I don't like Rendell that much, but I knew when he made that comment that he nailed it. He was exactly correct, and the Washington Post story bears that out. Certainly I realize that it's the most extreme cases that make the news these days, and I'm sure the level of hostility is not always that high, but still...

The other day, during our neighborhood yard sale, a man came up and asked us if he could buy the Obama yard sign from us. When asked why, the guy said "Well I got a bunch of stuff I'm going to put up on my friend's house. I've got posters, buttons, stickers, all I need is a yard sign." "Is he an Obama supporter?" "Oh no, he'd never vote for that ni...guy."

That's my state y'all.

As a parting shot, I bring you news from another part of the country. In Marietta, GA a bar owner is selling "Obama in '08" shirts that feature Curious George. Honestly, it wouldn't have surprised me to hear this was happening in Scranton, York, or Altoona.

I won't say that "The Omnivore's Dilemma" (Wikipedia link | Amazon Link) was one of the most profound books I ever read but I did do what it intended to do: Made me rethink my and my family's relationship to food.

So with the land available to us, the desire, and the money, we decided to put in a bigger garden than we had last year. It turned out to be a two-day project, but I know it will be completely worth it. Given the rising costs of food, and oil, which is turned into fertilizer, and used to carry our produce from New Zealand, Chile, Mexico, etc, this is our chance to eat better and save some money.

Saturday

Saturday we spent the morning cleaning up the area for the garden. The first thing we had to do was clean up the stone, brick, and grout we had piled by the back property line from a previous remodel. It turned out to be over two tons of brick and stone that we loaded into a trailer and hauling to our local dump. Cost: $200 for disposal.

Once we had the area clear of the brick and stone we took the weedwacker across the entire area to find all of the stumps. After two hours of digging we had pulled 6 stumps out of the area and got them ready for a trip to the shrub dump.

After several trips through the 24x8 plot with the rototiller we were ready to plant, but too tired to do anything else. So we shopped instead. At Home Depot we got metal fencing, organic top soil, and organic garden food. We also picked up some additional plants in fiber pots so we don't have anything to throw away.

Sunday

The next morning we got up and tilled the land one more time, working in the compost I had from last year as well as the organic garden soil and garden food. While the kids worked with family to put in the plants, the rest of us installed the metal fencing. It was a pain to install, and still needs some tweaking, but it was a necessity. We're trying to be as organic as possible and that means not using chemicals, plus we live on a golf course, and I can't count the number of times I've had golfers walk through our tomato plants swinging their club looking for their golf balls, so as the final touch we hung on a sign on the golf course side of the garden that says "Invading Rabbits and Golfers Will Be Mulched". Hopefully the sign will not be seen as a provocation.

I'm very proud of our garden, and can't wait to start reaping its benefits, literally. Better yet, I'm looking forward to learning more about canning so we can have our fresh veggies for longer. It should be a good time.

It also doesn't seem like we're the only ones embarking on this. I talked with my friend Chris who also recently planted a garden with his girlfriend, and he pointed me to this article:
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/05/10/the-rise-of-suburban-farming/

In a sense we view this as our own Victory Garden. The originally concept of the Victory Garden was that individuals would plant their own gardens to allow the public food supply be directed to the troops overseas. In our case it's giving us a chance to "dig for victory" in an effort against global warming, in an effort to save money, in an effort to eat locally, in an effort to eat better. All of these things are important to us, and so we've done something about it.

So, as for what we planted:

• Basil


• Oregano


• Parsley


• Tomatoes


• Red Peppers


• Green Peppers


• Green Beans


• Broccoli


• Cucumber


• Peas


• Carrots


• Corn


• Watermelon


• Pumpkin

One other thing I wanted to note real quick while I'm thinking about my diet and how it's going...

I feel gross. Maybe I'm not eating the right kind of protein, and I'm getting too much fatty and processed foods, whatever. I feel gross. I'm happy I'm losing weight. I'm happy I'm getting healthier, but I've kind of lost the will to eat.

I'm hoping that I can get some better protein at the store and some more salads and round out my choices a little better. Because honestly, I feel like a sausage.

I'm on Atkins Day Nine, so second week of the "Induction" phase. I had a dream about Oreos last night. I actually woke up in a panic because I dreamt that I ate an entire tray of cookies in one sitting. I really miss chocolate. Really really miss chocolate.

Other than that, I'm doing great. I'm lifting weights and I'm down 15lbs total, so I feel good. I just wish my brain wouldn't taunt me while I sleep.