COMMUNITY DINNER

For the first time we have decided to hold our weekly Community Dinners all summer long. In other words, not just during the school year. While much of life in a college town is governed by semesters, we needn’t be. After all, most of the people who flow into and through here at this point are not college age. Or at least not undergraduate age!

And this means that, except for rainy evenings, we can hold all our dinners on the patio outside. (That patio used to be a basketball court. This is Indiana, after all!) I can remember when I wanted to get rid of the entire patio, ratchet up all that thick concrete, rather than just part of it, like we did when we constructed the pond, rimming the entire thing with patio pieces that we dug out and called “urbanite.”  So glad now that we didn’t!

That’s what happens here. Certain dreams that we have just don’t work out. Why? Because they’re not big enough, not imaginative enough. Who would have thought, way back ten years ago, that this patio space would transform into a near-continuous community commons?

Thanks mostly to Mariella, here are a few pics from last Thursday evening, where, as ever, the offerings and variety were so abundant and precise, that you would have thought each offering was chosen in advance to go with all the others.

It begins . . .

This young person walked boldly into the scene, and announced herself forthrightly, “Hi, I’m Rebecca, and I’ve never been here before.” Loved her energy. Here she is with neighbor Jelene.

Housemate Alex has a smile to rival young Rebecca’s.

Over about 20 minutes, the table got more and more laden with nourishment.

At dinner, a few of us older ones noticed that the round table was occupied by only young people . . . Hmmm. Ageism?

Well, maybe. But we old ones love them anyway. And we love ourselves, too. Here’s two that I’ve decided to call “The Aunties,” sisters Wanda and Sophia.

Duncan, always so serious and thoughtful, attracted two  one-to-one conversations on his concrete bench, first with Dan and then with me.

SECOND WEEK, CSA

This week’s haul for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture, which has seasonal memberships for weekly produce) seemed about a third bigger than the first week (last week). Still mostly greens, with added peas.

Dan and Solan gathered the goodies and brought them to me for washing in our outdoor sink. The whole process took less than an hour.

Ummmm. . .  Dan and I sniff the lemon grass for a double selfie.

Solan filled the sacks, and the folks with the memberships picked up most of them that same evening.

Oops! No small paper bags. Okay, this one time, plastic will have to do.