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Can a Tomato Change the World?

gregoryjoel

I haven’t had much time to post anything. This was a blog from 2018 and it still applies today!

Thoughts From the Porch: I need to get a little personal here. I have an issue that’s close to the heart and after this week, I’m driven to share it with you. I haven’t spent much time on the porch. The early blast of Arctic weather has limited my time there. It must’ve delivered some silent signal to our trees last night. They seemed to release all their leaves at once. Except for the few bold ‘hangers-on’, the yard, sidewalk, and most of the porch is covered in dead and dying leaves.

My tomato and pepper plants succumbed to the freeze. I knew it was coming. The cycle of the seasons is inevitable. I know the time will always come to say goodbye to homegrown tomatoes for the winter. I had hoped we’d somehow escape the unusually early frost. It’s always difficult to say goodbye to tasty, fresh tomatoes, even if it’s only temporary.

I spent this last couple of weeks working on grant applications for Opal’s Farm. Everything met with our Director’s approval and I’m submitting them this morning. I haven’t written grants in many years, so there’s more than a little fear there. Did I do it right? What if they don’t come through? What if, what if, what if…

I want to do well: for the farm and as a writer. I guess I’ll find out how well I did when the grants are awarded.

I’d like to be offering a grand update on our progress, but the wet Fall weather has slowed tilling and bed preparation to a crawl. There’s still much to be done in this holiday (and giving) season. November 27th is the Global Day of Giving. I hope that you’ll keep Opal’s Farm in mind if such days are more convenient for you. Please remember though, donations aren’t contingent on special ‘giving days’, they are accepted 24/7, 365 days a year!

Personal experience has taught me that ‘playing in the dirt’ has the power to change lives and communities and provide solutions to problems far beyond food deserts and food scarcity. If that were all it did it would be a noble undertaking, but it’s much bigger than that.

Several years ago, I was working on a community garden in a local westside neighborhood for B.U.R.N. Ministries. Some of the young men who were in the youth program came to help one day when harvesting had begun. One of the young men asked me what “those are” as I was picking tomatoes. The question kind of took me back. I just assumed everyone knew what they were.

You see, he had grown up in an urban food desert. Most of his diet had consisted of processed foods from the local dollar and convenience stores. He had no idea what fresh produce looked like!

I pulled a tomato off the vine, wiped it off, handed it to him, and invited him to try it. He was reluctant at first. He took a small bite. I watched as his face went from a turned-up nose to a beaming smile. “That’s really good”, he said as he devoured the rest of the tomato. “Can I have another one?”

I’m not saying that one tomato is going to change the world. But I couldn’t help but notice how it changed his face and his perception. It was like shining a light in to a dark place. Once he ‘saw’ the opportunity in front of him he was able to taste the goodness of God’s world. I’d like to think it provided more than simply a great taste sensation. I’d like to think it provided hope.

That’s why Opal’s Farm is so important: to people, to the community, and to the next generation. A simple tomato has the power to change everything. That’s why I’m so passionate about a couple of acres and some wonderful produce.

I could go on and on. Educating people, feeding folks, and empowering individuals for stewardship and the opportunity to leave things a little better than they found it leaves me humbled and in awe of God’s creation.

As a professional writer, I’m supposed to craft my words carefully and ask you to be a financial partner with Opal’s Farm. I’d love for you to be a ‘farmer’, right alongside us whether it be with financial support or digging in the dirt. Moreover, I’m not too proud to beg. My wife always reminds me, “A closed mouth doesn’t get fed”. This is a golden opportunity to make a difference; to do something tangible. Right here. Right now.

So, I implore you to join us! You can reach us at:

http://www.unityunlimited.org

http://www.gregoryjoel.com

OpalsFarm on Facebook

@opalsfarm on Twitter

Bad Weather, Community, Down On the Farm, Farmers Markets, Food Justice, Gardening, Gratitude, Health, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Service to Others, Social Justice, Spirituality, Springtime, Storms, Thoughts From the Porch, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, Volunteers

What’s Your Impact?

gregoryjoel

It’s severe storm season in North Texas. I pray everyone stayed safe through last night’s intense thunderstorms. There were reports of a tornado and the warnings hit here right before bedtime, so I stayed up late until after the storm passed. Fortunately, our area was spared the bulk of high winds and tennis ball-size hail that so many saw. That wasn’t the case for many of our neighbors. I’ll be leaving in a bit to check on the farm. At least I won’t have to irrigate today. Spring rain is fantastic for the farm – severe storms, not so much…

We couldn’t be at the Cowtown Farmers Market yesterday morning, especially since it was Cowtown’s Spring Festival. Fidelity Investments and their Associate Sustainability Network have been coming to the farm to volunteer on the last Saturday of the month for two years now and they’ve been such a wonderful partner to Opal’s Farm, providing tools and financial support as well as strong backs and willing hands. They brought their largest group yet and many hands make short work of all the work springtime demands of the farm. We thank them so much for their commitment to service for the Opal’s Farm community.

We’ve been blessed with so many wonderful volunteer groups over the years. One of the questions I’m often asked from both volunteers and future donors regards our community impact. To be perfectly honest, I can tell you how many pounds of food per acre we provide, how that translates into the number of meals, or the other quantitative metrics we put on a spreadsheet, but that’s not the whole story. The real impact has to be experienced. It’s one thing to see numbers on paper. It’s quite another thing to see the faces of our neighbors so happy to see us providing fresh, healthy produce that hasn’t been in the neighborhood for a long time.

We opened Opal’s Farm Stand at the corner of Rosedale and Evans three weeks ago. The weather hasn’t always cooperated with us, but yesterday afternoon was a gorgeous, albeit windy, Saturday. We had more folks come by the farm stand and the overwhelming response to our presence was pure joy. Three of our senior citizens came by and were thrilled they could use their SNAP benefits to get twice the amount veggies for their dollar with the Double Up Food Bucks program (Thanks Texas Health Community Hope for making this possible!). I can’t tell you who has been more blessed by the program – SNAP recipients or me – especially when I tell them we’ll be there every Saturday afternoon from 1 PM to 4 PM. We love being part of our community.

No, numbers on paper don’t tell the whole story. I want our volunteers to know that every weed pulled, load of much laid, tomatoes trellised and pruned – all the things that seem so trivial – really do have a huge impact on the community. They represent one more healthy, organic, nutritious veggie on the tables of our neighbors instead of the ultra-processed empty calories provided by local dollar and convenience stores. Healthy food makes healthy people and that impact goes far beyond what can be shown on a page.

Thank you all so much for your help and please know that the time you spend at Opal’s arm is making a tangible difference in the lives of your neighbors – and we’re all neighbors!

Community, Composting, Down On the Farm, Events, Faith, Food Justice, Gratitude, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Service Organizations, Service to Others, Spring, Thoughts From the Porch, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, Volunteers

Spring(ing) Forward

gregoryjoel

Good Sunday morning to all from Opal’s Farm! It’s been a great week at the farm. Volunteers (almost a hundred of them) came from Bank of America on Friday, and I’m simply amazed at the job they did. The farm looks great! Beds are prepped for more Spring planting this coming week, tomatoes are trellised, compost and mulch laid down, and you won’t believe the pile of weeds that were pulled. Thank you to Margo, Eric, and Aaron for getting their respective teams for putting this day all together. Thank you so much to Bank of America. They’ve been such a good friend of Opal’s Farm and the National Juneteenth Museum as well.

We didn’t have Opal’s Farm Stand yesterday due to the much-needed rain we had yesterday. However, the farm stand will be open today from 1PM to 4PM at the corner of Rosedale and Evans. We have a good selection of produce this week with even more coming as Spring moves forward. We hope to see you all there.

Community, Down On the Farm, Events, Faith, Food Justice, Gratitude, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Service to Others, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, Volunteers, What Can I Do

Spring Rain, Yeah!

gregoryjoel

Good morning from Opal’s Farm to you all! It rained last night and a couple of more waves of rain are supposed to come later today. Rain is the best irrigation there is. God sure knew what He was doing and it gives me a day off too!

The puppies (okay, they’re full-grown dogs , but they’ll always be puppies to me) are all curled up around my desk as I sit here writing and enjoying my coffee. Occasionally they sit up and put their paws on the desk (and the computer keyboard) or nudge my hand to get an extra dose of loving and chest rubs so if you see a long line of “zzzzzzs” you’ll know why.

I’ve been especially blessed to have some great groups of volunteers at the farm las week. Pepsico, Enterprise, JP Morgan Chase, and Oncor all came out and got an incredible amount of work done. The farm has never looked so good nor got so much composting and planting done! The first blooms are on the tomato plants so get ready for some gastronomical greatness in the next few weeks.

I apologize for the lack of social media posts over the last couple of weeks. It’s been an incredibly busy time at the farm now the Spring’s really here (in North Texas you never know…). Unfortunately, we were unable to open the farm stand this Saturday because of staffing issues. I’m still looking for someone to work the Saturday market stands (both Cowtown Farmers Market in the morning and the farm stand in the afternoon on the days I have to teach at the “Taste the C.U.R.E” program – at least through the end of July. If you or someone you know would like to apply for the part-time work, please contact me via email at opalsfarm@unityunlimited.org.

Anniversaries, Culture, Events, Friendship, Gifts, Gratitude, Grief, Spirituality, Thoughts From the Porch

Happy Anniversary Fort Works Art

gregoryjoel

Fort Worth’s Near Southside held Gallery Night a couple of weeks ago. Fort Works Art, which represented my son Jeremy several years before his death, held their tenth anniversary on the famed Gallery night. They curated many of the artists who have been a part of the last ten years and included some of Jeremy’s work. Jay Wilkinson, Jeremy’s former business partner and family friend, and a phenomenal artist, painted a grand portrait of Jeremy as “The Painter” and took a moment for this picture of my grandkids and himself in front of his piece.

Top: Jay Wilkinson and our grandkids in front of Jay’s work “The Painter”

Below:Jeremy’s piece announced the 10th anniversary

I just want to say thank you for an incredible evening for Margaret and our family. It’s a happy reminder of Jeremy’s place in the Fort Worth art community and that he’s not forgotten but lives on through his work and his friends. Five years after hissing passing I still bear the grief with comes with such a loss,  but days like this remind me of the joy he brought to others as well as his family.

Thank you for showing some of Jeremy’s work

Belief, Bible, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Easter, Events, Faith, Grace, Gratitude, Hope, Jesus, Love, Quotes, Recovery, Resurrection, Spirituality, Thoughts From the Porch

Remembering the Stone

gregoryjoel

A blessed Easter morning to all! I’ve been thinking a lot about Easter this past week. It was never a religious holiday in our home when I was growing up. My Church of Christ upbringing prohibited the celebration of “religious” holidays if the specific date wasn’t mentioned in the Bible. I pointed out to them that we knew when Easter was because of the Hebrew calendar and Passover celebration. They simply said the Bible didn’t say anything about “celebrating” Easter. Henceforth, since there was no such thing as a liturgical calendar (way too Catholic- those heathens!), Christmas and Easter should be relegated to Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny with no mention of Jesus. It wasn’t until many years later that my own spiritual journey led me to a much different view of such things.

Easter and the resurrection of Jesus began to take on true spiritual meaning for me some twenty years ago. That’s I found recovery from the alcohol and addiction that had plagued me for many years. I’m not one for “war stories” about the years prior to December 1, 2005, but suffice it to say that failure, degradation, separation from all things spiritual, and loneliness had become my way of life. Not for the sake of having tried to leave those ways behind, mind you. If I had a dollar for every time I quit or tried rehab, I’d be a wealthy, but probably dead man.

In the twelve step programs I’d tried they all talked about hitting bottom and I was there. A friend once asked me where the bottom was. When I replied I didn’t know, he said that it’s wherever I “put down the shovel”. So, I did. I simply quit digging. That’s when I learned what Easter is all about – resurrection.

I certainly don’t have all the answers nor the right to advise others on their spiritual life and a relationship with the God of their understanding, but my experience is that resurrection is real. I was dead, but now I’m alive. I’m alive because God loved me long before I loved myself. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead on that first Easter morning to offer new life to me.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Pexels.com

I used to wear a cross necklace as if the cross and the crucifixion were the most important things to remember. I’m not talking smack about cross necklaces, but I think I needed a new perspective on my reality. It wasn’t the cross I needed to focus on (although that was a necessary step in the process), but the stone that was rolled away from the tomb to allow a new, resurrected life to rise for everyone. Unfortunately, a stone is a bit too big to wear around my neck. I should know. I wore several for a long time, just not the same reason…

Today I want to be an Easter person, a resurrection person. I’ve been blessed in more ways than I could ever imagine, and I get a chance each day to be a blessing to others. I can even love others and accept the love and grace of not just my friends, but of a loving Creator. It’s the new life I always dreamed of and could never have on my own. My prayer is that we all focus on the stone and the new life that awaits us all each day.

“We humans mistrust, murder, and attack. Now I see that it is not you that humanity hates. We hate ourselves, but we mistakenly kill you. I must stop crucifying your blessed flesh on this earth and in my brothers and sisters.

Now I see that you live in me and I live in you. You are inviting me out of this endless cycle of illusion and violence. You are Jesus crucified. You are saving me. In your perfect love, you have chosen to enter into union with me, and I am slowly learning to trust that this could be true.” Fr. Richard Rohr