Bud went through a lot before we got him. I sometimes see the sorrow in his wise face, but that could be a projection. That face is impossible to resist.
3 April
Bud At Rest.I See Sorrow In His Face
by Jon Katz
Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz
3 April
The Compassion Revolution Begins: In March, The Army Of Good Send 2,716 Pounds Of Food To The Cambridge Food Pantry
by Jon Katz
(Sarah’s food of the day, April 3, 2024: New England Coffee Blend, Pack of 3, $14.39. We can return coffee to the pantry shelves, where it has disappeared. It is very much missed. Coffee is not available from commercial sources.)
I’m pleased to bring you some real news:
Congratulations to the Army Of Good and Cambridge Food Pantry Director Sarah Harrington for your astonishing work and generosity.
In the final weeks of March, you sent 2,716 pounds of food to the pantry. Your combined efforts have changed the lives of hundreds of people, altering their lives, health, and well-being in profound ways.) Something big is happening here.
I am honored to be a part of this. This is a bright moment for us.
The Army Of Good has never shone brighter, and I feel strongly that this is just the beginning. You’ve also done fantastic work, Sarah, and I am eager to work with you and support it for as long as possible. We’re just getting started.
This initiative resonates far beyond my small town in upstate New York. It is a testament to the compassion and decency that defines our nation. We are a country that stands together in times of hardship, helping those in need. We are not the country of the raging and hateful news.
The pantry can store some food for the first time in a long time.
Children will eat the food they love, want, and need, and families are pleased to be able to eat, boost their morale, and get the food they want from the best possible sources.
Under Sarah’s guidance, you have all made a statement that will rebound and echo nationwide. I believe the Compassion Revolution is underway.
(The pantry needs everything on the wish list, which is updated daily. If you’d like to browse the list, you can do so here. Thank you.
“I sometimes wonder if anybody out there cares about people like us,” one mother told me. Your Army of Good is changing things for us, including the hope we can have. When we see that food coming in, it’s hard to believe we can take it home. It makes me proud…”
I hope to keep it going. They need more help than ever. Sarah’s choice of the most needed food of today is coffee, The New England Coffee Blend of Roast Ground Breakfast Blend Coffee, 12. Oz a bag, Pack of 3 is on sale on the Pantry’s Amazon Wish List for $14.39
Note: If you send food from sources other than Amazon, the address is the Cambridge Food Pantry, c/o Sarah Harrington, 24 E. Main Street, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.
2 April
Flower Art, April 2, 2024. In The Morning, Flowers, In The Evening Flower Art
by Jon Katz
In the morning, I take pictures of flowers. In the afternoon and early evening, I make flower art. Both are important, each is different. The flower art takes a lot of time, I use macro lenses and I have to move in just the right way to get the picture I want.
This is my experimental work, my different work. I don’t see a lot of other people doing it. I’m still experimenting and refining. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I hope you enjoy it. See you in the morning.
Every photo is different and requires an understanding of the light, the sun, the backdrop, the settings, sometimes a tripod, lots of moving back and forth, and lots of turning the lens or me. This one took a half hour; I got to move until the seeds were apparent.
I always think of capturing the soul of the flower.
My idea is that no flower needs to stand alone; they are all part of a community, and they know and react to each other. That is the central idea for my flower art, which is rarely literal.
2 April
Setting Clear Blog Boundaries, Last Words: Where I Have Landed (Finally) In The Nasty And Hate Mail Drama
by Jon Katz
The postings and discussion about hate mail have been nothing but good for me. I’ve learned and admitted the mistakes I have been making, and have also opened up some of the most thoughtful and interesting discussions in a long time on the blog.
Good can come from everything if you are open to it. A number of people got caught in friendly fire during my battles with trolls and disturbed people, and I have apologized for that.
I’ve even gone to my long-time therapist to sort out what I learned to learn and do.
I feel I am a better person for these discussions. I am much less angry, resentful and trigger happy and the blog is a better place for it. It was almost like an exercism, I came to terms with my Dyslexia as well. Cruelty can either kill you or make you strong. It’s made me strong.
The latest issue was whether I should accept an offer of AI software to screen for people who would be cruel or insulting or dishonest about me or figure it out myself. All of the responses but one was civil and helpful.
Charlotte doesn’t trust me to judge the difference between hostility and argument; ‘The trouble with your idea is that you alone get to define the difference between “hatred” and thoughtful disagreement. I don’t particularly trust your barometer for that.’
I told her that if she didn’t trust me, there was nothing I could do to appease her, I will always react strongly to people who are cruel, hateful or diishonest to me or about me.
Charlotte doesn’t like me much (but still obviously reads the blog) but nothing about her message was hateful, and she is welcome to post messages on the blog any time.
It isn’t necessary for people to like me or agree with me in order to comment and it never has been the policy. And yes, Charlotte I do get to make the decisions.
That’s why I can call it “my blog,” and not yours. You can always start your own blog and do it right.
It’s my blog and I take responsibility for it, good and bad. As I suspected, Charlotte was not interested in thoughtful dialogue.
The issue has also taught me a lot about me, most of it unplelasant but important. I can’t be enabling or giving these people power, then complaining about the hurt. I’m definitely stronger than that.
Pete below offered a thoughtful and unusual response, I disagree with it, but I appreciate his civility and intelligence. He’s welcome here. I wanted to share the conclusions I have reached.
This is how meaningful conversations happen.
“Pete: It really doesn’t seem like more monitoring and filtering of messages is the answer. Not that I have an answer. It’s clearly true, though, that this is not an open discussion board; it’s a website belonging to one person who pays for it to exist. In that regard, it’s private property. You can’t march up to someone’s house and splash paint on it just because you prefer purple to blue (or for any other reason). And although there are laws against that kind of behavior, I don’t think it’s the laws that keep it from happening. I think it’s that people share a generalized understanding of what’s acceptable and what’s not. This Internet stuff is still pretty new; maybe it just takes a while for people to realize basic decency applies here too.”
I enjoyed Pete’s respectful response, but I can’t agree with it. I did think about what he said.
People can and do disagree with me all the time, including him. We are often an open discussion board. Just not open to hatred and cruelty. Lots of people show basic decency many don’t.
I don’t believe the Internet promotes decency, I believe it spawns hostility.
The point is hatefulness and cruelty.
The internet is not a newborn baby, it’s more than 60 years old, and there are no signs time is easing the issue of insult and anger,defamation, bigotry and hatred that is sweeping social media.
This is reflecting the growing bitter divisions in the country, which will continue until Mr. Trump finally steals and cheats and lies his way into jail, trips over one of his $60 mega bibles, or explodes from internal combustion.
People in American right now do not, in my view share a “generalized” view of what’s acceptabe and what’s not. That, in fact, is the problem. That’s the way it used to be, not the way it is now.
We have no common feelings about lying and honor at the moment. Lying and dishonor is a valuable asset in our political environment.
Religion used to do that for us, but much of religion has lost its authority and courage, just like Congress.
I liked the discussion we all had this week – there were many and useful comments, and lots of support too – it was a good and important one and I want to share the rules for my blog that I have developed and refined. I don’t need or want AI software to do this for me, that’s my job and I am up to it.
First, any and all comments must be approved by me before being posted anywhere on my blog.
Secondly, the rules are simple.
No one will be permitted to post any message that I find cruel, dishonest, or hateful, period. I screwed that up, and I’m sorry. It’s never too late to grow and change. Any name calling means being blocked for good.
Third, disagreement is welcome, as it was all week, no one in the history of the blog has ever been knowingly banned or blocked for posting thoughtful and civil messages. If that happened, and I’m sure it did, it was a mistake and it won’t happen again.
Finally, I am and will use software that enables instant deletion and blocking. Some people don’t like it, but it’s my blog and these are my decisions to make. I won’t run or hide from making them.
I was one of the problems more than once, and now, I intend to be one of the solutions.
The rules are simple, no matter what people think of me. I won’t be posting any messages that I find offensive, cruel or dishonest. People lie about me all the time, and I failed to see the foolishness of that.
I happen to love civil argument, Pete’s message was stimulating and valuable, even as I don’t share his views. Disagreement causes me no harm, and has always made me smarter and stronger. Pete is always welcome back.
My dream for the blog has also been to use the comment section as a forum for thought and civil discourse. Hate and rage and lies have no place for it. I won’t ever let them return, and yes, I will be the judge of what is acceptable to me and what is not.
Thanks for following this, and thanks for participating in this and future discussions. I got more comments this week than ever in th 17 years of the blog. Thanks.
2 April
SOS For Soap! Food Pantry: Sara Harrington, And The Amazing Search For Love And Soap And Nourishment
by Jon Katz
(Sarah’s Urgent Food Choice For Children And Families Today: Dial Soap Bars, 8 bars, $6.47. The food pantry is out of soap, so this is one of the most urgent requests.)
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Sarah Harrington is one of those unconsciously remarkable people. She is shy yet powerful, quiet, yet a workaholic, modest but in charge, a modern executive in a traditional environment modernizing a community pantry that had no website.
Everyone at the pantry loves her, and many worry about her working herself into exhaustion.
She also has the gift of empathy and compassion. She wants to get her guests (her name for the people who come for food) the best possible food and the gift of dignity.
I see a competent person who knows what she is doing. I trust her completely and appreciate working with her. In some curious way, we are similar. She makes doing good seem easy.
She has two college degrees—a Master’s In Visual Communications from Temple University and a Bachelor’s In Graphic Design—and has had many high-powered and diverse jobs.
She’s even edited her own magazine. Some might say her world has shrunk as the new director of the Cambridge Food Pantry.
Obviously not.
She knows how the modern world works, and how to reach out to it.
But she’s one of the blessed ones, doing what she loves and most cares about – helping people who need help.
No wonder we get along so well. Sarah is a sucker for underdogs, “that’s my thing,” she says. “These people don’t have the luxury of saving for their retirement. It’s tough out there; I see it all the time.”
The Army of Good has done an excellent job sending food to her pantry. “It has made all the difference, “she says. This is the good stuff—a lot of food they love and miss. They noticed the change right away.”
But she made it happen.
By Thursday, all of the food on those shelves will be gone, and the shelves will be empty. Our donations are giving the pantry some breathing room, the guests are very grateful..
Sarah has devoted her life now to helping people get the food they need but can’t afford, She has recruited me and the Army of Good to help get the food they want, but that can’t be brought through the vast and complex food pantry system.
“It makes such a difference when they can bring home the food their families want and love; it makes them feel whole and successful again.”
One story I heard stuck in my mind: a woman who cried when she saw a jug of Tide Detergent, something she always loved but could no longer get.
We are filling the void between what people want and need and what the food pantry system can’t provide.
Maria and I spent the morning opening packages and stacking them for the rush tomorrow. “It will all be gone by the end of the day,” she said.
I felt guilty about all the work it took to unpack those packages and wanted to help. A squad of devoted volunteers came to finish the job, as they always do.
“I’ve worked at other food pantries,” she said, “but this one is different—the vibe, the volunteers, the sense of community.”
I can already feel it.
But for all the good happening here, Sarah is the one who brought it all together. She recruited me, understood me, was honest with me, listened to me, taught me, and instantly understood the potential of the Amazon Wish Lists as a powerful tool for nonprofits, something I saw at the Mansion and then Bishop Maginn.
Working with Sarah, we’ve refined the Wish List idea, which gives donors the power to spend and purchase what they want.
Sarah is moving the pantry to the next generation, recruiting local advocates, and even starting a website.
Sarah is the first executive director to have an e-mail address. She is also a passionate texter; that’s how she and I communicate.
She and Maria hit it off right away; both love hard work and physical work, and they get right down to business. Both are artists.
Maria signed up to be a regular volunteer. She’s going back next week to help. Me too.
(Dial Soap For Children And Families: $6.47 per box of eight bars.)
Sarah is married (to a school vice principal) and has two grown sons. She is also a dog lover. She almost melted when I brought her outside to meet Zinnia, who was waiting in the car.
It rarely takes more than a minute for her to answer a text, and I return the favor. We talk back and forth all day. She works all the time and is available all the time. She sends pictures of the boxes pouring into the pantry from the Army Of Good.
Seeing all the packages you have been sending was a wonderful thing for me to see. We are doing some heavy good. I also noticed how much work goes into opening those packages and distributing all of those cans and bottles and boxes.
Sarah is teaching me how the complex and limited food supply system works, how important farmers are to the system, and how supermarkets are very generous but limited in what they can give away.
Before the pantry, one local market used to haul tons of still-fresh food to the dump. Now, it goes to the Food Pantry Regional Fund and the pantries.
However, many foods and products are owned by the companies that make them, not the supermarkets, and they come and collect the things that don’t sell. They rarely give them away.
I spent much time speaking with Sarah this morning and taking photos of her and the pantry. I’ll write more about her and what I am learning about a system that seems increasingly essential daily.
In the meantime, I hope we can get these children and their families some soap. They very much want to be healthy and clean; I hope we can help them:
A box of Dial soap bars costs $6.47. I’m buying three boxes; what you are doing is lovely beyond words. I hope we can maintain it.
Zinnia waited quietly in the car while I was inside the food pantry.