Category: Heroes
The Presidential Medal of Freedom…
I get to take Sunday off once again. It’s been another rainy weekend here in Fort Worth so it’s far too muddy to get any serious work done at Opal’s Farm. We’ve been blessed by an abundance of rain this Spring, but it’s slowing the planting process. Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful for the rain. Nothing is better for the farm than nature’s irrigation. The plants love it. I need to get the rest of the seed in to fully enjoy this wonderous time of year. The three-to-five-day rain cycle has really slowed things down.
I must apologize for not having the farm stand active yesterday. Opal’s Farm is in the transition period between early Spring and Summer crops and couldn’t harvest as much as normal. Everything sold at the Cowtown Farmers Market earlier in the day (and a special thanks to all the folks who braved the drizzly overcast day to come by). Please know the farm stand will be there next week with more fresh produce.
I must thank our Assistant Manager, Joey Hughes, for braving the rain and the mud all week to prepare and plant more beds. Joey is overseeing the biointensive section of the farm this year. He’s doing an amazing job expanding and keeping the section growing for our community.
I’d also like to give a shout out to our Volunteer Coordinator, Stacey Harwood, for doing the farm tours for all the kids and the parents who’ve visited the farm over the past few weeks. The farm is something near and dear to her heart and it shows in her excitement to tell everyone about Opal’s Farm.
We finished the week in a big way. Our Executive Director, Dione Sims, accompanied Ms. Opal the Washington, D.C. where she was invited to the White House to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday. Nineteen people were awarded the medal. Ms. Opal was in some awesome company the included Phil Donahue, former Vice-President Al Gore, and former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, among others. We applaud and offer our congratulations to all the recipients, but especially Ms. Opal Lee, our visionary and “Grandmother of Juneteenth”. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor in the country, and we can think of no one more worthy of that honor.
(* side note – you can watch the ceremony on https://www.c-span.org/video/?535394-1/2024-presidential-medal-freedom-ceremony )
Finally, this may not be a farm event, but I must tell you that I was able to go see my grandson, Lucas, perform in the District Orchestra Concert at I.M. Terrell Academy on Saturday afternoon. I’m so proud and I’m thrilled that he made district. Moreover, he played at a place special to me because that’s where Ms. Opal graduated high school and it’s such an important place in Fort Worth history. Thanks to Fort Worth ISD for its investment in expanding I.M. Terrell High School and honoring its historical significance.
The sun came out as I wrote this so I’m thinking it’s time to get busy. Have a blessed Cinco de Mayo and come see us at Opal’s Farm!
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela
Applause Please!
It’s a beautiful, warm February day here in Cowtown. I’m trying to practice the Sabbath rest from the farm. I’m taking the day off and Amber, our Assistant Manager, is doing the same. Yesterday was a long day for her. We had some of the National Charity League moms and daughters out in the morning as well as our friends from the Baha’i Temple of Fort Worth. They did an amazing job getting the sandbags for our low tunnels filled, making rows for the potatoes, and forking the new beds and cleaning them out.
We had another group come on Saturday afternoon, the First Presbyterian Children Ministry, and I wrote on the wrong date on the calendar, so it was quite a surprise for Amber. They were a huge help and we appreciate all our volunteers so much.
A couple of other things happened this week that I would be remiss if I didn’t mention them. First, Ms. Opal was honored this week to have her portrait hung in the Texas Senate chamber. Hers was the first portrait to be hung in the State Senate in forty-nine years. Moreover, she is only the second African-American woman to be honored in this way. Her portrait hangs next to the first African-American woman to serve in the Texas Senate and later, the United States House of Representatives, the Honorable Ms. Barbara Jordan. We are so proud of Ms. Opal and the lifetime of work she has done (and is still doing at ninety-six years old) to celebrate Juneteenth and the freedom for all people it represents.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/09/us/opal-lee-texas-portrait-reaj/index.html
Second, staff from several departments at Tarleton State University came, toured the farm, and had lunch with Ms. Opal. The excitement of our partners at Tarleton State is infectious and is being carried back to other departments as we move forward into the Spring. Thank you all for being there and the brain trust you have created to help Opal’s Farm become a model for what urban agriculture can do for our city and our state.
Opal’s Farm truly is about real food, real people, and real community!
#tareltonstate #firstpresfw #fortworthtrailblazers #nationalcharityleague #bahaitemplefortworth
Jim-isms
February has long been my least favorite month of the year. I’m the only one with that opinion. I’d like to think the greeting card industry invented Valentines Day not simply as a way to sell more cards, but an attempt to take the edge off the shortest, most miserable month of the year. Heck, even the corporate types at the National Football League extended the season so that the Super Bowl falls in February. I’d like to think they did it out of compassion for my fellow February sufferers, but I’m pretty sure that the motive was simply to line their pockets with increased ticket and ad revenue. Besides, it offers a distraction from those Christmas bills that just came due…
Despite the twenty-eight-day (Julian had a little too much wine while figuring out calendar calculations, so he threw in an extra day every four years – it’s a leap, I know) depression that is February, it does have one saving grace – Groundhog Day. I’m not really into the weather prognostications of a fat, furry little rodent, but the movie is one of the all-time cinematic greats. Grace, whether in secular or religious form is one of my favorite stories. It’s a reminder that we always have the opportunity to reinvent ourselves daily. We don’t have to settle for continuing to be a butthead.
Photo by Joël de Vriend on Unsplash
As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned to take February, and most things in life, with a dose of salt. Most of the things I’ve deemed tragic episodes in my life have turned out to be some of the biggest blessings. The inverse is true as well. The things I was ecstatic about turned out to be not so great. I’ve decided to just take it as it comes. As my friend Jim always reminded me, “Chop wood and let the chips fall where they may…”
It was February 15th, 2018 when I lost my friend Jim. I guess I didn’t really “lose” him. I have a pretty good idea he’s off fishing with Jesus and telling fisherman’s tales (no lying about the one that got away Jim, okay?). I simply wish he’d stayed here a bit longer. I guess it’s that way with all the people you love and care about: especially those who impacted you in a big way. Maybe that’s why February remains at the bottom of the list.
We held a celebration of Jim’s life on Tuesday at two o’clock in the afternoon on a mild February day. I’m not sure how many people were there, but it was a big crowd. He impacted the lives of so many. It was an eclectic bunch of church members and some not-so churchy- folks from recovery groups that Jim attended (seeing bikers sitting next to proper Baptist folks was a treat!). Before the service, I asked his wife, Sharon, if she had intentionally planned the service for Tuesday at two. She looked at me a bit puzzled and said “No, why?”
I had to laugh. Only Jim could pull this one off. I explained to her that when I would tell Jim about the difficult times in my life, he’d always say, “it’ll get better”.
“When Jim. When is it going to get better?”
He’d always reply somberly, “Tuesday at two o’clock. It’ll all be better on Tuesday at two o’clock”. He never knew what Tuesday or whether it would be two in the morning or two in the afternoon, but he was always right. It always got better. I didn’t always know the exact moment it happened, but it was always by Tuesday at two o’clock. I’m sure he still gets a good laugh out of that one…
There are three men who are my heroes. They all share the superpowers of unconditional love and wisdom – my father, my friend Edgar, and Jim. Each had their own way of using their superpowers. My father gave me solid values and wise counsel, which I usually failed to heed. When I finally surrendered my rebellious self-centeredness, he was awaiting my return like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son (and more than just once I can assure you). If God has a human face, I’m pretty sure He looks a lot like Dad.
My friend Edgar has been my friend, confidant, and mentor of sorts for almost three decades. He’s seen me at my very worst. He’s been there to dust me off and help me back on the proverbial horse more times than I’d care to admit. He believed in me when no one else would. Not many people have friends like Edgar. This blessing is not lost on me.
Then there’s Jim. A few Februarys have passed since that day in 2018. Not a day goes by that I don’t hear Jim’s voice telling me one of his “Jim-isms” – things he would say for whatever life might throw at me. “Jim-isms” were not always original, some came from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, some from older guys in recovery programs, and some were just time-tested West Texas sayings he’d grown up with. Somehow they all became Jim’s.
While the list of “Jim-isms” is long, there are two or three that stand out above the rest. First, there’s “This thing is too damn simple to be taken so damn seriously”. That was often coupled with “Son, don’t complicate the corn flakes”. Quite trying to be so intense. There’s nothing new under the sun. Above all, quit trying to make the simple so damn difficult. Remember Occam’s Razor- “the best solution to any problem is usually the simplest one.”
The other “Jim-ism” that hits home on a daily basis (and usually several times a day) is this, “When it’s over it will all be okay. If it ain’t okay, then it’s not over.” When I listen to the torrent of news about hate-filled people doing hateful things, about systemic and brutal racism, and about Christian Nationalist who blatantly misrepresent God in their pursuit of power and hegemony I have to remember this “Jim-ism” above all. It’s the one that reminds me that God is in control, that love always wins, and the arc of justice may be longer than I’d like, but it is an arc that is leading to the Kingdom of God.
Lately, there has been a lot of talk among my friends and neighbors about how tired everyone is – tired of COVID, tired of grief, tired of the police shootings and oft repeated news of insane mass shootings, and most of al, tired of the vitriol and division we live with every day. Faith and Jim-isms tell me to remind you all that:
“When it’s over it’ll all be okay and if it ain’t okay, then it’s not over” and “It’ll be better Tuesday at 2:00”
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