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!

in the belly of the beast

Appalachia Rising: March on Blair Mountain.

Woah.

So many things took place, so many extreme feelings. I've been having trouble figuring out how to tell people about it. What pieces do I tell, how do I put it into one narrative, that tells the full story, communicated the epic truth? I don't really have an answer. So, I'm taking a different route. Here are snippets of the week. Just small crumbs, little pieces. Maybe one day I'll understand how they all fit together. (maybe not?)

On Sunday night, after a full day of trainings, orientation, and full on information download, there was an emergency organizing meeting called. It was a trend that would continue throughout the week. Why did we have a meeting after having meetings and stuff all day? Because after lots of hard work- we found out that yet another camp site had pulled out. We had been working for months to secure camp sites. For the week or so leading up to the march, our sites kept falling out. We'd scramble and find new ones. Totally secure ones. We knocked on doors of folks with big yards, we found paid camp sites, we had verbal agreements with parks to let us stay there. We had camp sites. And sunday night, we found out- another one dropped. So, we had a choice to make. Keep pushing, make it work, try our hardest, or... not.

We decided, we can make a suggestion but really- its not up to us. It's up to the marchers. What do they want to do? What would feel good to them? So, at around 10:30 pm- we called everyone together. For a big ol' group moment. And a moment it was.

Sarah opened the space- letting folks know what was happening. That we lost our camp sites. We were still trying to find more. That this was happening- because of what we're doing. We're fighting the coal industry, where it is strongest, most deeply rooted, where it has formed a strangle hold on the entire area. Therefore the fairly simply task of sleeping out, is coated with hardship. This is part of the struggle, it's what we're up against.

{The march just outside of Marmet- walking with the coal trucks. Photo: Cheshire Tongkat}

Then, this amazing thing happened. The room erupted in cheers, and clapping... we were not anywhere close to quitting. When asked what we should do, some folks said 'lets march in rotating groups so we can march 24 hours a day, all through the night, and we can rotate who sleeps' (a suggestion much of the room loved, but all organizers winced at). Folks said lets do it. We're going to do it. Saro lead us into song- and we sang "ain't gonna let intimidation/big coal/NOBODY gonna turn us around." And Dustin Steele closed us out- reminding us-- that we are in the belly of the beast. We have to do this. We are challenging power, we are changing power, we are creating power.

{Dustin- giving one of many powerful speeches. Photo: Cheshire Tongkat}

The next morning, we had about 250 people marching together through the streets of Marmet, WV. Marching along the original march route those union fighting miners took 90 years ago. We marched, together. We looked almost as strong as we are.

{Heading out of town. Photo: Brian Farkas, AP article}

As the week moved on, so did the hardships. On monday, the police told us we had to leave our camp site. That the verbal commitment we had- didn't really matter and the powers at be were calling strongly for us to move (shockingly, this isn't the story of 'those bad police' but is much more complicated and they actually worked with us...). So, at about 10 pm- after having our tents set, our speakers and musicians wrapping up- and folks getting ready to hit the tent--- we called another group meeting. Time to pack up and leave. Time to figure out how to shuttle 250 people back to marmet for sleeping- and figure out what to do in the morning. Rough.
{camp site}

But, as we called folks together for yet another dreaded 'we can't believe we have to tell you this' moment... we began to see a trend. A trend of the marchers being vigilant. Not willing to let these powers turn us around. Not letting intimidation weaken our spirits. Not letting a lack of sleep, a large amount of unknowns, or any other hurdle that could come out way prevent us from marching to Blair Mountain.

By midweek, we had it in our schedule to shuttle folks back and forth each night, and each morning. We gave up on finding new campsites, and we accepted the harsh truth. We had an amazing team of shuttle drivers step up. Folks lent their cars and their time to moving 250 people each day. By the end, we were spending about 8 hours a day shuttling people. No joke.

{Included in our many many vehicle chain? Portapotties on trailers. Perhaps one of the smartest things we did. Photo: Mark Haller}

It's a little hard to say what exactly happened on the march. I had been given the task of March Marshall- and stayed several hundred feet in front of the march- trying to slow cars, trucks, motorcyles- down before they hit the long wave of marchers. But what I do know- is how much support there was.

{marshaling the long line of marchers. luckily, i was part of a really grand team of folks. photo: }

We drove by signs that said folks were with us. People came out to their porch to wave. Folks handed out cold bottles of water from coolers filled with ice, handed out ice cold sodas (sierra mist to be precise), a fella gave his hat to a marcher, people stopped their cars to give donations, wave of school children rushed over to the fence and waved and shouted, and high fives went out to all the marchers. It was amazing. It is amazing.

{High Fives in Madison. Photo: Wren}

One fella came out in his driveway on his four-wheeler. He was holding a small bouquet of flowers and a sign that read 'thank you.' A woman we passed hollered 'you have water? you can fill up here with my hose if you want!" Kyle and I said we had plenty, but thanks for the offer. She offered water to the entire line. 250 people.

{photo: Cheshire Tongkat}

That's not to say, there weren't folks who sped up when they drove by us, or who gave a little swerve in our direction. Its not that folks didn't hold signs and yell 'go home treehuggers,' 'coal keeps your lights on,' 'we love coal' or 'coal feeds my family.' They did. The closer we got to Blair, the more intense it got. It was an incredibly visible proof that towns, neighbors, families- are divided. Sometimes, every other home rotated between 'welcome and thank you' to 'go home and friends of coal.' It's for real.

{Family sitting in front of the school in Marmet. Photo: Cheshire Tongkat}

I stopped to speak to a woman and her husband who were standing by the side of the road- red bandannas worn proud- who said they'd join us tomorrow. I had the privilege of getting their phone number and calling them to let them know when and where to meet us. When they arrived, the woman told me 'i saw my niece drive by with her 'other family', yelling at us. I told her she can't talk to me like that.' It's between families. The tensions are strong, thick, and incredibly real.

Mid week, I was standing on the side of the road, waiting for a rest break to be over, and Larry said to me 'i've been waiting my whole life for this.' i smiled and said something to the effect of 'well, you did a lot of work to make it happen.' modestly he replied that he didn't really do much to make this happen, that others- like myself- were the ones doing the work. and in that moment, i had the privilege of acknowledging that hes been doing this work for a long time, and without his work, none of this would be possible. i was able to thank Larry Gibson.

{Larry- standing strong, as always. On the mornings we had to be up at 5:30 am- larry was always the first one up, waking the masses, asking how folks were doing. amazing. photo: Cheshire Tongkat}

after one of the many nights of little sleep, and lots of work, I found myself waiting for the second round of shuttles to leave from Marmet and take us to the spot we'd start marching from. Which meant I had at least an hour and a half. Naturally, I decided I'd rest my eyes for a moment. Before I knew it, Kyle was waking me up to say the last shuttle would be leaving soon, so I better get ready. As it turns out, I had slept under the registration table for at least a full hour- probably more- all while people were coming into the building and were being registered. Embarrassing and an accurate depiction of the week.

{another photo of me catching rest at any moment possible- this time during a lunch break. photo: Paul Corbit Brown}

After a relatively short rally, we got hundreds of folks to head up the mountain. Blair mountain. We took over the road, and along the way we placed historical markers. We marched up that mountain, holding the incredibly beautiful signs made by the art build team.

{marchers heading up Blair Mountain. photo: Mark Haller}

When we got to the top, about 150 folks broke off and climbed up the company road (illegally) and onto the battlefield where archeological work has been taking place. I wasn't with them, so it's hard to say what that experience was like. The rest of the marches, went up the a public access road just up the way- where we all gathered. We had made it to the top, some of us had marched over 50 miles to get there, some of us had traveled from across the globe, some of us from the holler over... but we were all there. together.

{Photo: Elias Schewel}

Instead of joining the rally cry at the top, I took a moment to chat. One thing about being a marshal all week was that I didn't have capacity to get to know anyone on the march (other than Kyle, my co-marshaller). So, I decided to chat up two elderly fellas sitting on a guard rail on the margins of the rally. They were both retired UMWA miners. One from Logan, one from ___. They talked my ear off, about the good ol' days. About how miners these days don't know what they are missing. How women deserve the right to make choices about their bodies, and nobody else should have a say. How these mountains are part of who they are, who their families have always been. How private company land is making it harder to carry on traditions, to care for themselves and their own. How one of them is now a bus driver, and he's proud to say they just unionized. How the women in their families know how to get by, how to get their families through- but it depends on the land. How they were proud to be here, with us, with all these people. It was amazing, they were so amazing. It was so humbling to just be able to listen.

The march ended over a week ago. Everyone went home, I went home (err... to a home. one of many). There's lots of work to be done, but the march its self- is over. It was hard. I was pushed further than I knew was possible. I cried, a lot. I saw others cry, alot. I saw and felt real and raw anger, sadness, disappointment, and hurt from people who were working towards a common goal. There are wounds still open. Mediation is being scheduled, for organizers, so we can learn from these hard lessons, so we can heal our relationships, so we can keep working together.

I did more than I knew was possible. I saw a group of committed people do more together than I knew was possible. I saw extreme strength and resistance within the movement. I felt solidarity. Real solidarity. I saw our movement grow- get bigger and stronger.

This story isn't over. There is healing to be done, there is a mountain yet to be saved, there is local connections to be followed up on... this narrative is in its infancy. The Battle of Blair Mountain continues.

I don't know how the story will end, what the next chapter will look like, or what flow the plot will take- but for now- I feel confident we won. I don't really know what that even means, but I think we won.

{Cohen Sigdon Shea- the newest addition to my family- another reason to fight... and win}

{want more photos of the march? Check out my wonderful photo sources! Cheshire, Wren, and Paul photos at March On Blair Mountain Flickr. Mark Haller Flickr. and Elias Schewel Flickr}

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!