my paradigm shift, as of so far.....

Things just haven't been right since George's brother handed him the election in 2000. September 11, 2001 boosted the theif's ratings enough to make the administration's next move look legit, as long as you didn't use any critical reasoning skills. Our nation's leadership waged an unjust war on terror, which so far, has left over 2000 American service people, and somewhere in the 10s of thousands of Iraqi and Afghan nationals dead and gone forever. The depleted uranium that tips the majority os US artillery will last long after humanity has evaporated and no one wants to admit how dangerous it is, much less clean it up. The top earners of the nation were given a tax cut dt the outset of this illegal war. This was a move that broke all the molds of how to economize during wartime. Not a single nation in the history of the world has cut taxes during a war. But  Dubya has it all figured out. Just keep the richies happy, and you can do what you want to. He couldn't get folks to go along with his idea to throw half of the nation's social security earnings into the stockmarket, but he has managed to hire the Marquis de Sad to underwrite all of his bizarre and unprecedented executive power needs. After the election of 2004, we all went into a bit of a fog. No one knew what to do, seeing as the monkey king had bought out the ketchup slinger, with a little help from some rigged voting machines. Not to mention that even if Kerry had won, what would that have helped? He had all out vowed to continue "fighting terrorism" in the same irrational way that the current war machine was pumping. And he showed no signs of helping us with our budget/deficit issues. How would we change anything, when everything was bought and sold a hundred miles over our heads? What were we supposed to believe in when democracy had been bought and paid for, right before our eyes...again!?! Who was gonna lead us out of this hole? Where the FuCk was superman when we needed him?

I decided that I would have to lead myself out of my hole. All the fear and terror and smut and garbage that had been passing for news would have to go. I would have to seek my own truth, and share it with anyone who was interested. This decision was made in a fog of whiskey in south Minneapolis, after a bartending shift. As I looked into the eyes of my fellow humans (bloodshot as they were), I recognised that if there was going to be an event that would change my world, I had to make it happen myself...and I should probably lay off the whiskey.

So the quest began. Though the day in day out monotany still persisted, I had an instance or two each day that reminded me of my goal. To find my truth. An important step came in June last year when I decided to quit bartending, and run a daycare in my apartment. It was the beginning of my new life of service. It would mean less incoming cash, and a lot more incoming love, joy and gratitude. You see, as it turns out, my truth is full of love, joy and gratitude. My truth has nothing to do with my credit rating, my net worth or my material things. No matter how much stuff I pile around me and call mine, there's still a matter of my neighbors, and how they are doing. See, the fact is that no matter how well off you are, you are only as safe and secure as your neighbors. And just so we get this straight....WE ARE ALL NEIGHBORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, speaking of neighbors...

Hurricane Katrina blew into the Gulf Coast last year, and ripped the veil away from our apathy and inaction. We were shown point blank, that if left to the help of our government alone, we were all fucked. No longer could we pretend that the big men with all the money and power had been looking out for our best interest. We had to face the fact that each of us was as vulnerable as the folks on the Gulf Coast, and if a catastrophe were to strike in our area...we'd be totally screwed!
Watching as the drama played out on the news, seeing how badly the keystone cops were flubbing it up finally got to me. It was making me ill to see the suffering masses. to see all the old ladies stuck on their roofs in their housecoats was killing me. It might has well have been MY grandma. I had to find a way to help. I had no money to speak of, but there had to be a way. I did find a way.. After a google seach of Katrina relief in Minneapolis, I found a grassroots group that was meeting the next day. I showed up, introduced myself, saw that there was a chance to go to the coast to help, and I left 6 days later with a pocket full of gas maoney from friends who supported the mission and a trailor full of donated goods and fresh fruits and vegetables from the kind souls at the farmers' market. Our mission was to distribute food and supplies from large store houses to places which needed help. 
We were staying about 75 miles inland at Camp Sister Spirit  in Ovett, MS. The camp had sustained some substantial damage from Katrina's high winds, but that did not stop them from handing out over 2 million pounds of food and supplies within the first 5 weeks after the storm. All of the good had been from private donors, seeing as they had received no help from the feds during that critical timespan.  Strong women were running the show at the camp, and it was a wonder to behold. They sent truckloads of food and supplies to the south with us and with others distributing it. We traveled down to the coast of Mississippi, where some people wandered around, seemingly in a shock induced coma, whil many others struggled to keep their spirits high while they shared everything they had with one another. Everything along the water had been washed away or pulverized by the storm. Neighborhoods for a couple of miles inland had  been overtaken by the tidal surge, and what was left of the homes was completely unliveable. No power, no water, no food, no dry shelter. Most were living in tents behind their homes or staying in temporary shelters. The situation in New Orleans was terrible, as was the nearby community of Slidell. I didn't witness all of the places that were effected , and I didn't have to in order to understand that this situation would need all the love and compassion that I and the rest of humanity could muster for a long long time. No quick fix was going to work this time. It was just too big. My mission lasted two weeks, and it changed my life forever and in every way. Andie Gibbs, the director of Camp Sister Spirit had offered me the job of caretaker at the camp, and I knew what I had to do. The position would come without a paycheck, and I'd have to figure out how to cover expenses outside of food and shelter. She suggested having my friends sponsor me.....I still haven't figured it all out, to this day. But all of my needs are met, and I'm oh so very blessed. Just being a part of the camp, which is a source of hope and light and education to the surrounding rural area, is closer to a life of service than I could touch in the city.
Convincing my 13 yr old of how this move would enrich our lives on every level wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. She grumbled, and rumbled, but in the end, I got my way. We gave away / sold all of our belongings which had filled our 2 bedroom apartment. My very best sister soul gave me a wad of cash to help us down the road.  We packed the few things that we kept into my minivan, and we headed south. First stop was my parents' house in Texas, where my daughter decided she would like to transition into our new life. Can't blame her. It's great to be my parants' grandkid. She'll come out to the camp for good after she finishes 7th grade in Texas. And while she's not exactly ecstatic about the idea of living in the woods, I think it's growing on her. We'll have plenty to keep us busy with 120 acres, a vineyard to tend to, a garden to care for, and a creek to swim in!I've jumped out of the box, and I don't want back in. I hope to help the camp become a flourishing self-sufficient community, while serving the needs of the neglected souls that surround us.

And listen, friends...just because Katrina opened the door to my dream life of service, does not mean that  this is a happy ending. It's been SIX MONTHS+ since Katrina hit, and believe me when I say that nothing is back to normal, even though a lot of people would like to pretend that it is. People are STILL living in tents behind their unliveable houses. Others have watched powerlessly, as their homes have been demolished, and now there's nowhere to go. Some reconstruction is going on, and some cleanup. But this is so huge that it will be a decade before anything can be called normal around here again. It will take every ounce of giving, serving, helping and caring that our nation has to get through this event. Thousands of people are homeless on the coast...thousands more are still waiting to come home...and too many of them are finding out that they have nowhere to come to. The gentrification of the chocolate neighborhoods, and the acres of empty, unused fema trailors tell a fucked up story.
YOU can do something or YOU can do nothing.
If YOU want to help, then do it.
Don't know how? email me.