Tag: Holidays

Activism, Citizenship, Community, Down On the Farm, Equal Rights, Events, Food Justice, Freedom, Hope, Juneteenth, Neighbors, Opal's Farm, Role Models, Service to Others, Social Justice, Summer, Thoughts From the Porch, Uncategorized, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, What Can I Do

Just Can’t Wait

gregoryjoel

It’s an overcast Sunday morning here in North Texas. Rain is in the forecast once again and with a little luck it will continue Monday. Another “rain day” would be welcome during this busy time of year. Another peaceful morning drinking coffee and getting some well-deserved rest and some writing time would be amazing even though this is one of the busiest weeks of the year.

Juneteenth is this Friday and Ms. Opal’s Walk for Freedom is at nine o’clock at Will Rogers Coliseum. Opal’s Farm will be there for the celebration with lots of great veggies. I’ve been told that, God willing, Ms. Opal will be there to ride in the comfort of air conditioning to lead the walk and celebrate her hundredth year. After all the miles she has walked to advocate for a day of celebration on June 19th, she has definitely earned the comfort of air conditioning on a Texas summer day.

Our Executive Director (and candidate for Texas Congressional candidate for Texas District 25) will be in Evansville, Illinois (one of our sponsor cities) for Opal’s Walk and then in Chicago for the Grand Opening of the Obama Presidential Center. We’ll all be walking together at the same time as many folks around the country and the world. Please come and celebrate freedom and unity with all of us.

Event Details

📅Date: Friday, June 19, 2026
Location: Walks taking place across the country

Walk Host Cities:

  • Fort Worth, TX
    • Evanston, IL
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Grants Pass, OR
  • Washington, DC

Juneteenth has never meant as much to me as it does this year. The constant onslaught of bad news – an unjust war, increasing economic hardships for the majority of Americans, the daily attacks on our freedoms and democracy – can be overwhelming, bringing hopelessness and despair. Juneteenth is a reminder that we all have something to celebrate – our freedom and each other. It offers hope for what we were always meant to be. It’s truly a statement of “we the people”. It’s so much more than a holiday simply honoring the freedom of African American enslaved people. It frees us all from the oppression of fear and hatred that old ideas of class and racism that have weighed on us all. It’s a time to join in unity instead of the deep divisions that so many of us feel.

It truly is a time to, as Ms. Opal says, celebrate freedom from Juneteenth to July 4th. In this 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, celebrating Juneteenth has never been more important – it’s about the freedom we all should have and enjoy. Please join us, whether in one of our host cities on in your town , as we walk together to celebrate unity and Juneteenth.

Birthdays, Children, Family, Generations, Grandchildren, Gratitude, Relationships

A Better Christmas

gregoryjoel

I was going to write my annual end of the year wrap-up from Opal’s Farm today, but I got a bit sidetracked – which happens a lot, especially this time of year. The holiday season is a mixed bag of emotions for me. I experience the joy of my grandkids and a deep sadness that their father, Jeremy, isn’t here to celebrate with them. It doesn’t help that Jeremy was born on Christmas Day either. Moreover, my father, who was our “Mr. Christmas”, has been gone for almost twenty years and Mom passed in 2017. My sister and her husband live in Georgia and I really miss her. There’s no one from my family to celebrate with except the grandkids and my daughter-in-law. Grief tends to hit hard this time of year. Holidays aren’t my favorite time of year, but my grandkids remind me there’s still joy in the season. Sometimes you have to find new traditions to move forward.

My grandkids and Uncle Adrian, my oldest son, have a Christmas tradition that started after Jeremy died. Every Christmas morning, at nine AM, we meet at Ol’South Pancake House – a Fort Worth Institution and one of the only places open – to have breakfast together. It’s hard to coordinate family time with all the in-laws (and out-laws) that we decided to start our own tradition and everyone can plan around us instead.

We headed to the cemetery to leave flowers and birthday wishes after breakfast. My oldest granddaughter, Baillie, was with us this year. Her relationship with her dad was strained due to his addiction. She neglected to go with us in the past but joined her brother and sister this year. The atmosphere at both breakfast and the cemetery was much lighter than in the past, leaving room for real Christmas joy.

Aside – We often go to the mural of Jeremy painted by his business partner, Jay Wilkinson. The mural is located on the outside wall of Hop Fusion Brewery in Near Southside (the brewery is also home to several of Jeremy’s murals). Sometimes I, or we, need to sit have a conversation with the twenty-foot-high Jeremy…

Life is like that – joy in the midst of grief, light in the midst of darkness. I thank God daily for both ends of the spectrum. It may not make sense to everyone, but this is the best Christmas gift I could receive.

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Forget Black Friday. It’s Thanksgiving

gregoryjoel

Thoughts From the Porch: I slept in this morning. I didn’tbother setting the alarm since it was a holiday. I awoke to sunshine streamingthrough the window and it was 9:15 in the morning. It’s not often I miss thesunrise, but I’m grateful for the rest and a lazy morning on the porch.

I’ve had a plethora of text messages this morning. Everyone was announcing their contributions to our Thanksgiving feast. Margaret, Gael, and Mary are busy in the kitchen. Friends have come in and out. Work is on the back burner. The tradition of watching the Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game will be fulfilled. God is so good to us…

Yesterday, Think with Krys Boyd, one of our local NPR shows, interviewed Anthropologist Jack David Eller, about his book, “Inventing American Tradition: From Thanksgiving to Cinco De Mayo”. I was surprised to learn that many of holiday traditions weren’t intended to be traditions at all. What didn’t surprise me is that retailers had a huge part in making them so.

For instance, the Dry Goods lobby tried to have Thanksgiving moved back a week. Then they could have an extra week of the Christmas selling season. I guess since it didn’t happen, they came up with the whole ‘Black Friday’ thing. It became the biggest retail day of the year. It’s since morphed into ‘Black November’ with advertising starting well before Halloween. At least they wait until November First to put the Christmas decorations out…

I don’t get as excited as I used to about the holidays, especially since Mom and Dad are gone. Dad was a big Christmas fan and it just isn’t the same without him. I’m more of a Thanksgiving guy myself. Other than turkey sales, it’s avoided most of the rampant commercialism of the season. We cook a lot, eat a lot, and watch a lot of football and we do with family and friends. What better holiday is there?

The only drawback to Thanksgiving is that it’s only celebrated once a year. I long for the day when communal gratitude is expressed daily. It’s hard not to get along with others when I stay in gratitude. Despite commercial claims, life goes better with gratitude than it does with fizzy drinks…

I could go on and on about the benefits of gratitude and thankfulness, but it’s Thanksgiving and the aroma coming from the kitchen makes it hard to concentrate. I’m feeling a bit inclined to sample the wares there…

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Take today to take stock of all the blessings. We’ve received. Most of all, take a moment to say thanks for the people in your life.   ff