Wendell Berry: A quick recap

Last night my father and I went to hear Wendell Berry read. He read part of a new essay and short story.
I don't have time to say everything I want to say about it, but he made some good points about how our economy has been based on wants, and how we need to return to a need-based economy. He included art in needs, for what that's worth.
But one thing that hit home with me was the idea that many people think they "need" technology when really they only want it.
MB and I talk quite often about how long we can hold out on the cell phone front, and whether or not we are going to convert our TV to digital. On both fronts I want to say no. I don't think more TV is what we need in our lives; no one calls us on the land line we have. Why pay more for what we don't want?
Berry also mentioned that most children don't know the place they live: they don't know the plants or the animals or the birds. So true. Son knows lots of Pokemon, but he doesn't know the names of birds. This summer I will work to change that. And myself too. I don't know the native plants or animals or birds.
I agree with Berry that much technology works to alienate us from our local communities and the places we live, even the people we live with. I think virtual communities have replaced and are replacing real communities. And I think that's a bad thing.
He spoke in favor of local farmers, farmers' markets, etc. It made me really yearn for summer, when we can get the food we need from people who live near by, rather than from a grocery chain. (I'm ignoring, for the moment, the fact that I want coffee and chocolate too, neither of which are native.)
I took his beliefs to be both a warning and a challenge: what am I bringing my Son up to be? A doer and a thinker? Or a consumer?

Oh What Have You Done, Dr. Write, Dr. Write?

Well. I finally slept in and recovered from the Neko Case/Twilight Lounge debauch, which included rum, tequila, shoju, and beer. Then more beer.
Also, my friend Jane bet me $5 I wouldn't talk to the two guys in front of us whom we overheard mentioning Baby Jessica. Why? Well, it turns out they had been to a grad student reading and someone had written a story about Baby Jessica from the point-of-view of a mole. Why? Good question. In any case, they were both grad students. Then, later, I ran into other grad students who, I am sure, had been to the same reading. Sing it with me now, "It's a small town after all."
So today I slept in, then went for a run, then went to the Farmer's Market. Normally I would not go to the market after 10, but I just had to.
I ran into several lovely people, AND I purchased:
Beautiful heirloom tomatoes from Tremonton farmers
More tomatoes from Chad
More tomatoes from different Tremonton farmer, and also potatoes and beets
Jalapeños from groovy woman-farmers
Peaches from same place I got them last weekend
Blackberries from someone else (do you foresee another cobbler in my future?)
Corn from known Republicans (sorry Historian!!)
Natural beef from Zoe (couldn't find the Idahoans)

Then, I had to go to the store to get cilantro, lemon, and chips. And butter.
I made salsa. I ate lots and lots and lots of salsa. It was a kind of lunch.
Soon, I must make cobbler for the cookout tonight.
I'm hoping Son & I will finish Harry Potter (#7) as it is due soon. We only have a few chapters left. I'm pretty enthralled with it. I want to know what happens. No spoilers please.

Farmers' Market

I've just returned from the Farmers' Market with my haul: a watermelon for the get together tomorrow night, green beans, 3 tomatoes, garlic, beets, 3 ears of corn, a loaf of delicious bread, 2 summer squash, mixed greens, and the most delicious pastries known to human kind: cinnamon pull aparts from Crumb Brothers. I'm not sure why anyone eats anything else...
We also got some grass fed beef from Lau Family Farms. They come to the market once a month, and one can order bundles ahead of time. I'm excited to try it, as I'm trying to eat more locally. I also vow to try, try!, to eat fruit and vegetables in season. The two things I don't think I can give up: bananas and avocados. And coffee. It's hard to find local coffee, but at least we can buy locally roasted coffee that is fair trade. As far as I can tell the most sustainable coffee that I've found is Cafe Feminino from Ibis, a Utah roaster.
Middlebrow just bought Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, so I guess it's a vibe that's going through the house. I think this means that we'll be cutting back on trips to Costco, unless it's the Idaho Costco, which sells wine (but we'll be focusing on California wines, or Northwest wines, as opposed to the South American or Australian variety).
In other news: If Obama doesn't win the fall election, we'll be buying a small farm in South America, where we could find local coffee and wine. And maybe grow all our own food and write novels and play clay court tennis. My needs are few. Let's stay optimistic, but check back here in November, if you want to buy in to this post-apocalypse dream.