Views from the island

Dear friends,
We were at full tilt on my first full day on Williams Island Farm. Noah, Kelsey, Ryan, Felicja, Ashley, and I sowed eggplant and lettuce, planted cabbage, fertigated garlic and strawberries, modified the greenhouse, fixed the compost spreader, milked the goats, fed the sheep, harvested shitake mushrooms, collected chicken eggs... and so on.

For those of you wondering where the working title "Cracks in the Pavement" comes from, here are some notes on the title's origin I hurriedly jotted down on a legal pad over a year ago when I was just starting to brainstorm for the writing project.

A short post today. Just wanted to share some photos and some of the excitement of being in this lovely place and being blessed with good work and good friends.

Cheers,
Chad

In the garden. On the road.

Dear friends,
Greetings from Tennessee! I arrived here in Chattanooga yesterday evening, the culmination of a long and lovely drive through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and twenty miles worth of Georgia. Upon arrival, I immediately unloaded my bike out of Beatrice, my trusty and much beloved ’94 Buick LeSabre, to explore the city that is to be my home for the next four months. I confess to being quite enchanted by the wooded hills, the broad and meandering river, and the very livable scale and pace of Chattanooga.

Nine days and a few thousand miles ago, twenty-five of us met in the Alan Chadwick Garden to discuss the Cracks in the Pavement project and to share ideas on “underpinnings of health”, the topic of the first of several open letters I’ll be composing over the coming months (photos here). We engaged with the following questions:
-What trends in modern society might we deem healthy?
-What trends display a distinct absence of health?
-Are there patterns and characteristics common to healthy phenomena, “underpinnings of health”, that we can begin to discern, study, and employ as a means of helping us cultivate health in our own lives and in our communities?
In small groups, we came up with some wonderful thoughts and observations, some of which I include in my outline of the day’s events. We concluded the afternoon with some lovely poetry compliments of my dear friend Deena Miller and with a reading of my letter on underpinnings of health. I will post the letter in a few weeks, after it has benefited from the efforts of a small cadre of editors (thanks be unto editors!).

The next topic of discussion and writing will be technology as it relates to societal and environmental health. Within a few weeks, I plan to hold another community event in Chattanooga to discuss how various technologies have influenced and are influencing the way in which we live, relate with one another, and relate with the world at large. Since ninety-seven percent of you aren’t likely to be in Chattanooga, I would like to invite you all to share thoughts, questions, opinions and what have you on the blog or, if you would like to keep it more personal, directly with me via email.

Take care, be well, and stay tuned!
-Chad

March 14 event at Alan Chadwick Garden

Dear all,
The first community event tied in with this writing project will be held on March 14 at the Alan Chadwick Garden on the UC Santa Cruz Campus. Things kick off at 3pm and should run until about 5:30pm. As per usual, I invite all comers to join me for a delicious happy hour pint at the Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery after the event.

The afternoon will consist of a few short readings from the early stages of the writing project, as well as a bit of poetry from some friends. Then I will give an outline of the writing/teaching project, its themes and purpose. There will be some interactive discussions as well, all set in the rustic loveliness of the Chadwick garden. If rain is in the forecast, I will contact you all with an alternate venue.

For directions, type in "McLaughlin Dr & Hagar Dr Santa Cruz, CA 95064" on google maps. From Hagar Rd., take a right on McLaughlin. Then take your first left up the hill to Merrill College. Immediately on your right, there will be a narrow driveway that says University vehicles only -- the garden is down that driveway to the right. For parking, however, continue up the hill to the Merrill College parking lot.

I look forward to seeing some of you on the 14th. If you haven't already, please RSVP so I can get a sense of how many people to prepare for. If you would like to bring simple snacks or a bottle of wine, that is most welcome.

All the best,
Chad

"Cracks in the Pavement" writing project

Dear friends,
As many of you know, I am working on a writing project which I've tentatively titled "Cracks in the Pavement". The project is to be a series of "letters on living", some of my thoughts and reflections on life in the early 21st century. I am fortunate to have been given the chance to live and work with friends Ryan, Kesley, and Noah on their small farm on Williams Island in Chattanooga, TN while I do the bulk of my writing.

As part and parcel of the writing project, I will also be organizing a series of community events in which I will give a short talk on an upcoming writing topic followed by discussion and other activities. Tentative dates and topics of these events are listed to the right.

This project is a personal exploration for me, a chance to follow lines of inquiry on how to live in this world with greater joy, connection, integrity, and purpose. I invite you all along for the ride because I've found that this question always reminds me of how much I value the relationships that shape and sustain me.