SUMMIT II/PROGRESSIVE ACTION FOR THE COMMON GOOD
It was a beautiful, late October Sunday afternoon not unlike many others, except for the gathering of the curious.
No, it was not a herd of Guernsey's bobbing across a field to see who
had walked up to their fence, but the second gathering of humans from
Eastern IOWA and Western Illinois interested in making a positive
contribution to their communities.
The campus at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL was awash in vibrant
oranges, yellows, and reds as folks entered to sign up for their
favorite workshop. They could choose from Education Reform,
Effective Lobbying, Protecting Our Environment/Hog Confinements (my
personal favorite), Combating Hunger, Predatory Lending, Rapid
Response/Effective Response to Media Coverage, Wake-Up Wal-Mart
Campaign, or 5 others.
As attendants munched on cheese cubes, mini-muffins, and coffee they
were called into the main auditorium to take their seats. I had
set up my “classroom” in one of the basement areas. There, with
the help of a highly competent assistant and good friend, Monica Kurth,
a large map of IOWA was taped to the board. (It took two of us you
know.) On it, I had marked in green, the 13 counties that have
chosen this year NOT to be part of the MASTER MATRIX process.
This means that (in no particular order) CLAYTON, IOWA, WASHINGTON,
LEE, WAPELLO, MAHASKA, MARSHALL, WARREN, DECATUR, FREEMONT, SHELBY,
WOODBURY, AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES CHOSE TO OPT OUT of having any input
when a construction permit is applied for a new or expanding CAFO
(Confined Animal Feeding Operation). Monica and I also placed
about the room environmental magazines, local pollution photos, and a
bibliography of some of the best sustainable living books, telephone
numbers, and web-sites.
We then made our way up to Wallenberg Auditorium and I took my place on
the stage as to ready myself to introduce our keynote speaker DAVID
OSTERBERG. After Cathy Bolckom's opening remarks regarding our
reason for forming a progressive group and our intentions, I introduced
David and was concluding when, all of a sudden, I broke into
song. I don't know what overcame me, but there I was, singing in
front of over 200 people.
I had never sung in front of a group of ANY number of people before, so
I was quite taken back when this song just came out…(Sung to the tune
of “Oh, What A Beautiful Morning” from “OKLAHOMA”)…I call it “ODE TO
THE EPA”…With my thanks to Rodgers and Hammerstein.
“There's a brown, stinky haze on the meadow. There's a brown, stinky
haze on the meadow. Particulates flying in/out of my nose, And
taking a deep breath could blow out my toes.
“Oh, What a breathtaking morning, My asthma gets worse every day, Mercury levels are rising, 'Cause big money's slashed EPA.
“We're bound and determined to change things, By building a livable
world, Where justice prevails with good fortune, Joining Peace and
Clean Air, Flags unfurled!”
Well, it went over pretty well. Actually, several weeks before, I
had been trying to think of some kind of joke to tell about David
during the introduction. But sometimes it's difficult to chuckle
with those pesky environmentalists, you know how serious they
are. Anyway, while driving to work one day and mulling this over,
all of a sudden it came to me, and I had to write it down. But, I
just couldn't finish it. So I asked help of my friend Dick
Fallow. He not only plays instruments by ear as I do, but he also
writes songs. So, we practiced with Dick playing the accordion
and there we were, together in front of many, many, many, many people,
singing and playing and having a good time.
We hoped they all liked it. From the laughter and applause, it
sounded as though they did. More later about the rest of the
summit.
And don't forget now, CPR…CONSERVE/PARTICPATE/RECYCLE
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