gatherings-kitchens-off/on topic
Charles Wilson (cwilson@sinosa.com)
Wed, 29 Oct 1997 23:08:36 -0700
I've only been into AGR for a couple weeks, glad to find all of you.
As for off/on topic: don't worry about it! Best shift would be for whoever jumps into a discussion to quote no more than one line of the last comment. It's the repetition that becomes the bog to slog through, not the individual thoughts.
Gatherings-kitchens: I spent 2 weeks at the 95 New Mexico national with my hiking partner of life and our daughter, then 7 years old. We stayed at Kid's Village, but walked a lot through the wonderful rainbow valley, meeting folks. Much goodness. A strong negative, however, was when we stopped at the big ovens kitchen after having hiked for several hours. Many platters of cornbread or similar were there, already cut into squares. When our 7-year old asked for something to eat, she was told, "No! This is all for the dinner circle." So we went another mile or whatever to Kid's Village with a tired, hungry child. We wondered then, and still wonder now, where was the love? Would the dinner circle collapse without that piece of cornbread? Nope.
I encourage anyone coming to a national gathering to be ready to pitch in to help the kitchens, by gathering wood, getting water, helping to straighten out or carry supplies. Don't wait to be asked. At Kid's Village, some of us pitched in often to help the overburdened kitchen crew, while others sat around day after day looking lovely, spinning tales. The lovely ones did find enough energy when it came time to get in line for meals. The more each pitches in, the more everyone enjoys! Oh, yeah, if you notice the shitter's nearly full, why wait for some mystery person to dig a new one? Go find a shovel.
Another thought is to bring some salt with you, if the gathering is at high elevation. For years, I have cooked without adding any salt, no problem. And it makes sense for some kitchens to cook without salt, as salt is a problem for some people. But after about 10 days at 9,000 feet, I had combo of mild heatstroke/altitude sickness. Quickly fixed by my taking some salt, plus the wise medical tent folks giving me magnesium (or manganese?), osha & sugar.
We came a couple thousand miles to get to the New Mexico 95 gathering. Arizona gathering will be a lot easier, as we are now living in southern Arizona.
Hoping my verbosity doesn't equal pomposity, I yam,
Zephyr
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