Page 20 - Sonoma County Gazette April 2020

On equinox, Starhawk, the wiccan teacher who lives in Cazadero, offered a free online ritual to celebrate the changing of the season, telling the story of Persephone, who, as you likely remember, was carried off by Hades, the god of the Underworld, and kept there until Zeus demanded she be let go. Her mother Demeter’s grief had plunged the world into an endless winter, and everyone was starving.
Virus Days...So, how are you holding up in these turbulent times? If you are like this writer you have a variety of things to do including
But although he did release her, she was forever changed by the experience, as we are all changed by any experience that takes us out of the sunlit everyday world into the realm of loss and grief. Which is where we all are sitting these days, despite the glorious spring weather – all of us, everyone,
writing this draft for the Gazette. The tough question is what should I
write about? The dailies, tv, and radio provide up to the minute reports as “Breaking News” which it is repeated ad nauseum. Anything we write about today (mid-March) for the April edition will likely have been forgotten when you receive this copy. In any event let’s see.
of every nation and race, and all classes – united in catastrophe, struck down by a minuscule, invisible virus that none of us was prepared to meet up with amidst all the other struggles of our lives.
This message from Bernie Sanders arrived just in time to go to press.
Bernie is asking people to donate $20 to five charities who are helping
people on the ground in this crisis. The other five are Meals on Wheels. No Kid Hungry, Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, National Domestic Workers Alliance, and One Fair Wage Emergency Fund. To donate, copy to your browser: https://secure. actblue.com/donate/bernie-coronavirus-donations/?refcode=em200320-1- 15&t=32&refcode2=7749_349857_Sr201J&akid=7749%2E349857%2ESr201J
We will be changed, possibly for the better, those who survive (and most of us will). And while we are inhibited from helping from one another as
we Shelter in Place, we can strive to add no virus-sized dot of animosity, judgment, superiority, criticism or unkindness to the limitless shared field of awareness in which we reside.
Also, should you feel symptoms that might be the virus, call your doctor, go to Sonoma Valley Hospital where there will be an opportunity to be tested.
Buddhists tell us compassion begins with being kind to ourselves. And so, while we aim for the highest good, and fail repeatedly, we can forgive ourselves, and move on.
Some suggestions I’ve heard about in a time of pestilence!
And for those of you suddenly finding yourselves stuck home with your children and spouses, this gift of family, this greatest wealth, this may have you climbing the walls with exhaustion and irritation; whilst we elders, many of us living along, tolerate the emptiness of our enclosure.
Well, let’s read a book. Wait! The local bookstore and public library are closed. Thank goodness we’ve stocked up with those editions recommended by our local book club and friends at the pub before it closed. Don’t forget the “Little Lending Libraries” along the street which your neighbors stock and where you are expected to reciprocate. Of course there is always the tube to watch, but it’s such a bore most of the time with 3-4 heads jabbering away with the same messages.
For whatever we are able to glean from this descent into darkness, may we be grateful.
Speaking of food, our hardworking local farmers are among those whose livelihoods have been affected by the closure of so many restaurants who normally buy their produce. FarmTrails has gathered some information about farms that are delivering farm products or accepting new members into their CSAs. Unfortunately, there are no Sonoma Valley farms listed at the website.
For those who wish a sedate stay at home there’s no shortage of activities. One could clean the silverware, closets and drawers, do household carpentry or painting, and, of course, garden! It would be an interesting dialogue to have neighbors detail to each other choices they have made.
As of yesterday, the Friday Farmers’ Market here in Sonoma was open, as usual, in the morning. I believe there is a farm market in Boyes on Sunday mornings but two weeks ago, on a foggy morning, I could not find it.
Don’t forget to complete your census questionnaire!!
Green String Farm, just over the hill in Petaluma, is keeping its regular hours and is doing a crisp business. I don’t know whether Flatbed Farm on Highway 12 near the Sonoma Regional Park is open.
Most people will either receive, or have received, an invitation in the
mail to complete the 2020 U.S. Census on line. Simply go to the website: my2020census.gov and follow the instructions. If you do not have access to a computer, at some point, likely in April, someone will knock on your door and announce he/she is your friendly local enumerator from the Census Bureau. The person will ask who lives at the address and leave a Census Questionnaire with you. It’s easy to complete and return. Return postage is free.
There’s someone at the door! The person who may come to your door is NOT the police or immigration officer. He/she is a Census Enumerator that is a head counter. In fact, the person has officially sworn they will not reveal names, addresses and any other information received from residents. They may not reveal under pain of fine and/or imprisonment. It’s a matter of confidentiality! By law your answers and information are confidential. Donald Trump’s ICE will not have access to your names and addresses.
You can make a bigger difference than usual by buying directly from farmers, especially during the Shelter-in-Place, which, alas, may go on past the designated April 7. If you’re worried about food safety, keep in mind that fresh farm produce has actually passed through fewer hands than the food at the grocery store!
Why is this important? First, it’s required by federal law. Why? The Founding Fathers added it to the Constitution. Seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned based on a state’s population as counted every ten years. In addition, federal expenditures are distributed to states based on their population for reasons such as school lunch programs.
For the past couple of months, Redwood Food Bank has extended its services specifically for seniors. There’s a monthly drop off at Sonoma Creek on Oregon Street. So far it has been using the Community Center there, but that’s now closed. Swing by at noon on the first Tuesday of the month, to find out; lots of good stuff, all made available through the Federal Trade Mitigation program, begun by USDA “aimed at assisting farmers suffering from damage due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations.” Sounds complicated, and it’s not organic or local, but it may give your larder a boost! And it’s free.
And while you’re surfing online, here’s your chance to weigh in on the city’s project with CalTrans to create better bike lanes on Broadway:
https://restripingbroadway.mysocialpinpoint.ca/broadway-enhancements?f bclid=IwAR3iBVVcuB4amojucwpb0cbd_uq60M3hnTXp6rX3GT2TkovxBDivV- JdEow
Show that you count! Complete the questionnaire today.
Stay home, and be well!
Important News!
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