Year of the Meniscus

In mid-December I was in Faber, VA. I had taken an pre-meeting walk to get ready for the day, and found myself laying by a river watching the water pour down and over some rocks. Not that this was a particularly new sight, but I really noticed something... the way the water sticks together. It's surface tension holds itself together, creating a sense of cohesiveness, to spite it's liquid state that makes me think it shouldn't be able to do that. It should fall apart, separate, spill... it should be chaos.

What am I talking about? well, do ya'll remember being in science class (cira 3rd grade, maybe) and learning about the meniscus?

{thanks for the image, wikki}

It's the specific curve created when you over fill a glass of water, but it doesn't spill out. This act is a fine line, just a drop too much and--- chaos!! there is water dripping over the edge and you've gotten the counter all wet (the horror). So, now that we're on the same page of the science behind my statement (err, are we?)- I'll elaborate.

This year, was the year of the Meniscus.

This year, was more packed than I ever imagined it could be. My glass was filled- past the top. But just barely, because I'm pretty sure it didn't turn into chaos (at least not the bad kind). I'm also pretty sure, that if anything more happened in 2011, chaos would be had. Or, at least I would have spent (more) time huddled in the fetal position thinking there was NO WAY i'd be able to do this. Whatever 'this' is...

I did a lot of moving around...

• I lived in Rock Creek, WV (Jan-July), Machias, Maine (July-Sept), in a truck- midwest style-(Sept-Nov), and in central Ohio (Dec)!

that- is a lot of places to live, a lot of beds to sleep in, a lot of kitchens to feed people in, and a lot of places to consider home- some for the long haul, and some of them with the understanding that a sense of home is short lived there.

In that time, I've (under failry strict meaning of the word) considered myself to have 22 housemates. WAY more if you consider folks who often stayed in a house i lived in, tented in a yard i lived in, or spent more than a week living together (say Blair Mountain).

• Spent time in 19 US states (Ohio, Maine, WV, VA, New York, PA, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota, Washington DC, North Carolina, TN... at the least. I just can't fully recall...

• I went to Canada 3 times

Which, prior to 2011, I had been out of the country 0 times. I went once for an anti- fracking protest in New Brunswick, and crossed the border 2ce on fall tour.

I had the boarder patrol read my diary, and had the fear of god put into me (and probably for Nikki and Tyler, too) when a boarder patrol-er came from around the counter towards us, snapping on a rubber glove and asked 'which one of you had to go to the bathroom?'

Ah! none of us. not us, no sir, no way. I totally thought we were getting searched, like, really searched (we weren't)

I did a lot of work, or things I call work, or think of as work, most of the time, or at least some of the time...

• WV based work...
• programming co-coordinating for the March on Blair Mountain, with the amazing Becks, where we planned, scratched, replanned, canceled, planned again and mostly implemented the non-logistical schedule for the March on Blair Mountain (like evening speakers and musicians and the rally schedule and line up)
• I worked on the media team- mostly pre-march- and got practice in doing outreach in new and exciting ways, with a amazing and talented group of people (did you see the media that came outta the march!?! it was SO good!)
• I did door-to-door outreach in southern WV for the march. Both exciting and (at the time) scary.
• At CRMW I worked in small and large ways to revamp the Volunteer process- as the (what ended up being short term) volunteer coordinator
• I helped plan the programming for Mountain Justice Summer camp, and also did some work in with the group as a whole (like helping to facilitate)

• Beehive...
• Did over 60 beehive presentations- mostly the True Cost of Coal
• Work party- i helped host and run a month long marathon workparty for... so many people. i actually don't have a number, but not including the ball, i'd say over 100 came through for at least a while. a steady 60 people.
• facilitated the baking of hundreds of baked good for the bfb
• helped host, organize, and throw a 1000+ person dance party (blackfly ball)
• successful wrote and received my first grant- from NEST- for bringing a Klezmer band to the bfb
• Beehive Meetings- I did the most intensive, aggravating, and skill pushing agenda setting, planning, and facilitating thus far in my life during the january beehive meetings; played a similar (but more minor) role for our May meetings; and was in another intense (in a different way) set of 2 week meetings this Dec. We met a lot.
• i went on a mini research trip on fracking- in the Pittsburgh area. Where I learned a lot, and really began to question if i have the option of not living in ohio (i later decided, no. not really)

• other things...
• I was elected to the Ohio Alliance for People and the Environment (OAPE) board, and have begun doing work with them.
• sent 2 million and 3 emails (thats a joke. mostly)

I also had a personal life... (a what?) like things i don't consider 'work'...

• 2 new babies were born in my family! i'm the aunt of 5! holy shit!
• Started dating someone- who is really amazing.
• some ohio friends came ALL the way to maine to see me- holy smokes- that's so great!
• i got to dance over bad little falls and experience the magic of celebration (bfb)
• traded vehicles, and now have a car that- for now- runs smoothly.
• made new amazing friends from all over the county- and feel incredibly lucky and blessed to know so many folks who i love and care about.
• i screen printed something! me! i did that (and will continue to, i think)
• made a zine for my nephews- and shared it in a public way
• actually started to learn the banjo- then forgot and will re-learn in 2012
• i made 13 blog posts (many of which, have more details about the things listed on here...)
• my aunt and uncle moved to central ohio- win!
• my grandmother moved away from central ohio- not win.
• mama went to dc to stop the xl pipeline (ok, i didn't have anything to do with it, but it's just SO dang cool!)
• i read some great books:

The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy), Bossypants (tina fey), Prodigal Summer (barbara Kingsolver), Girl with the dragon tattoo (0% recommended), The Dispossesed (ursula k le guin), Percepolis: the story of a childhood (again; marjane satrapi) Parable of the Sower (octavia butler), Flood! (Erik Drooker), sister outsider (audre lorde), Blankets (Craig Thompson), Kindred (Octavia Butler), Off the Map (crimethInc), The Red Tent (Anita Diamant), the Gnome Lexicon (illustrated by my friend, nate!), and read lots of zines.

• i finally filled the journal i've been writting in since early hs- the first date being '4/23/06 3:02 am' the last being '9/9/2011' Actually, there are about 20 blank pages, but I wanted to start a new one so i could bring a smaller book to journal in on tour-- which i did- and successfully made a entry EVERYDAY of tour. wham!

Looking back through my old journal, i found a page, where i am struggling with the 'why bother?'-ness of the world. I actually wrote, that i wanted 'a cause to believe in, a reason to be here...' (3/9/07) During that time in my life, I wouldn't say I was happy. These days, I continue to struggle, much of which is a similar internal debate about life and what I will do with it. But the tone is different, and at the beginning of this year, i made another entry (1/19/2011, NYC), where I spoke to the struggles in my life, but how i was happy. Actually happy.

Today, that remains true.

• I went to my first church serivce (that is not a UU- which, I enjoy and doesn't quiet seem to fit into the category of church, in some ways) It was the United Church of Christ in Machias... I went to hear my inspiring friend Cole speak at the service that day.
• I found out my mother is planning to sell the house I grew up in. Smart, and sad.
• I have lots of new music to enjoy and listen to. According to my Itunes, the most listened to music that I added in 2011 is: Thao and Mirah (self titled), Jessica Lea Mayfield (tell me); Big Tree (self titled). Itunes says I listened to 2,614 songs in 2011, and my most listened to song? Wild Young Hearts by the Noisettes. (Though, I'm pretty sure that is an inaccurate read of what I actually listen to...)
• 117 horizontal drilling permits granted in ohio (ok- that isn't really my list of things that i did... but... fuck.)

Looking back through my journal entries from the past year, and generally thinking about 2011, I think I learned one really important thing for myself. I have- on a fundamental level- accepted that my life is a choice. I am the only one who gets to choose what I do, how I do it, when I do it. (of course, there are exceptions to this, and in my opinion, saying there are not is a major act of privilege. for most things in my life, i have that privilege). While I have personally debated this for myself, for much of the year (and probably more), I really had it driven home by a conflict mediator who worked with us this Dec.

This is my life, and I get to choose what to do with it. Everyday, every moment.

It's like having access to a compass rose. I can see where I am, and see whats around me. I get to make the choice where I move, and accept the consequences of that choice, both the foreseen and the unforeseen.

As for what 2012 will bring, I just don't know, but I know I get to decide. I intend to be in Ohio- to live here. Work here, take care of myself and those i love here. At least 6 months. I am having a hard time making a plan for myself, but am picking up a habit i used to be in- creating a wish list for the winter. A list of things I would like to hold myself to, a way to commit to myself (and others) to being more interested, interesting, and having more fun. Here's what I've got- for Jan, Feb, and March.

- ohio rocks presentation

- one book a month

- martial arts once/week

- bread 2x a month (and give one loaf to someone else!)

- love letter to non-here friend 1x month

- stretch 5x a week

- go to one 'new' event a month

- screen print something!

- uphold my commitment made to myself in a PSU workshop

- don't accidentally watch tv

- research organizations in central ohio i can do support work with, that actively fight racism (directly or indirectly)

So, here goes!

Go, Go, Go around the east coast

So- per usual it's been a while since getting more stuff up here. Just a testament to how busy things are I suppose.

Right after the last post- my camera broke. wha whah. So there are some epic things missing in photograph form...

We spent a couple days in Ithica NY- which- was perhaps my favorite part of tour thus far (well... top 5 at least). We hiked around a bit, saw some amazing gorges, waterfalls, and a cool cemetery. We stayed with some anti-fracking activists at a place called Ghost Cat (where Ryan gave me my first real banjo lesson- renewing my faith and desire to actually play!) Maria and other Ghost Cat friends gave us the downlow on Fracking, including a copy of Gasland. It took us a bit to watch it- but once we did I realized that everything I was hearing about it is not just rumors- but real. And it's horrifying. Not only is it really awful, scary, and all other things bad- but it hits super close to home. Too close.

I knew it was in PA, and happening all over the place- but then I learned it's all over Ohio, too. The Marcellus Shale covers LOTS of Ohio- way more than I thought. AND after emailing an Ohio oil and gas organization, NEOGAP, I found out that on the eastern boarder of Ohio- companies are already working on leasing land. Terrifying. I still have a lot to learn about Fracking, but just thought I'd share that little bit of info I have and encourage folks to watch Gasland.

But anyway- after Ithica we did other cool stuff- like a presentation at a community garden in Providence (where we saw many cool things- like an old firehouse that is now a community space and apartments, a cool and amazing place called the Steal Yard, and did a great show at Brown University), an amazing show at Food for Thought Books in Amherst MA, and a couple of other things... all before getting to NYC (and getting a camera!)

Just testing out the new camera in staples...

Hahaha.

Flip book in action at the Commons during a dismantling monoculture presentation in Brooklyn.

Erin and Sully= friends foreveeer.

Subways and folding Wannabee booklets- the usual.

The massive show we did a Laguardia High school- a couple hundred students were there. Yikes!

Laquardia students getting up close and personal with the poster

After a short presentation on the True Cost of Coal, we did a mind maping at the Renaissance school.

It was ab0ut Police Behavior- and folks shared some very scary stories about police in their community with us.

And then we had lunch with Juan at school- yay!

And got to hang out while Juan taught students there how to screen print- using crayons!

Central park snacks with Roger- horrah!

Practicing trumpet on the dock of the house boat we stayed on in Brooklyn

Rolling posters on the top of the boat- getting ready for the mini-RMO show later that night.

RMO let us practice with the dance team that night- which was super fun! After we learned the dance to matador, the band took their practice to the street and did a small show for anyone who was around!

Mini show for RMO!

And Michaela and I practiced a new way of presenting the poster- using a technique of highlighting each scene in the poster by extending a hand to push it out more than the other images. We have a few details to figure out... but watch out for this new style soon!
(kidding.... clearly).

Hanging out on the boat.

And then- we went canoeing on the Gwanus. It is perhaps the most disquesting water i've ever seen...

But it was really fun and we avoiding touching the water at all costs- rumor has it the water its self has gonorrhea.

Erin- just hanging out in front of the ghost ship.

On the way to the Grange, we saw... a double rainbow! Oh My God! It's so vivid!!

It's starting to look like a triple rainbow!

We went to an old factory to see the very amazing acre of roof top community garden.

The garden is called The Grange- so naturally we had a minor freak out about how cool it was.

City scape meets food scape

Later that night, we played games at Johns house with many delighful people.

Of course, we played the drawing game... which one of the best ones went like this...
"(1) molly and erin picked a pack of moichi ice cream balls.
(2) erin and michaela pick and eat dandelion flowers under the sun.
(3) heres the thing about those bees: they graze like sheep.
(4) When the bees saw that they couldn't free the ram, they were so upset they threw up in the grass.
(5) sheeps milk makes bees vomit. "
haha! so great!

The we jumped out of NYC for an afternoon show in NJ

And then we headed back to the big city and... It was Halloween! In a last ditch effort for costumes- we decided to embrace the cliche and all three go as Bees! So we did a show at the very amazing Bluestockings book store dressed as bees... ahaha!

We even had wings!

She's cute. I like her.

We took this opportunity to have delicious photo shoots in the corner... (haha).

Dancing at the c-squat after party for critical mass (which- we missed because of the presentation that evening).

And that night- Michaela had to leave the US of A because of these weird and horrid things they call boarders. We stayed out as late as we could (which- wasn't very late...) and stayed up with her until she had to run out the door at about 4 am to catch a train to get the airport. She was flying out to Panama and then busing to Guatemala to do solidarity work with folks impacted my mining there. She's great.

We miss her a lot.

appalachia-lujah!

Appalachia Rising was really amazing! I was a little worries about it, heading to DC and trying to make things happen there made me think twice about it, but it was really amazing. There was two days of conference stuff (Sat and Sun), which I unfortunately was unable to participate in at all (beehive stuff), but I generally heard good things from folks about it, and people were giving off good vibes in every direction.

We were set up in the hallway, and it was the first time I was able to participate in returning the poster to the people who shared their stories with the bees. It felt really good to be there working with the Bees and working with so many amazing people all working towards the same goal.

Erin sharing the poster with a group of people huddled around in the hallway.

Reverend Billy and the church of life after shopping spread the gospel of ending mtr.

Lovely music filling the room


The next morning, on Monday, folks gathered at Liberty Park in DC for the mass mobilization. The weather was not good- rainy rainy rainy- but still people came out in drives- at least 1,000 showed up to march but very possibly more. There were speakers, musicians, and lots of people doing their best to take on big coal and end mountaintop removal.

Bees Plannin'

I say Mountain You say Justice!
Mountain!
Justice!
Good Ol Uncle Scam...

talkin'
right?

One: We are the people
Two: You can't ignore us
Three: You cannot blow up mountains!


Holdin up giant banners sure does make your arms tired...

Making jams and keeping energy high

Hugs for friends who have to leave


Always remember to get in a good dance before being arrested

Yup.

Over one hundred people were arrested outside the white house during the action, as they refused to leave until the mountains stopped being destroyed.

Exhausted bees at the end of a long weekend


Check out the video of the action! And there's been lots of media around it, including from Democracy Now!

Woo!