JOY AND JUSTICE IN THE PEPPER PATCH

DO WE NEED GOVERNMENT TO GET JUSTICE IN THE PEPPER PATCH?

Pepper patch---near Hatch--New Mexico.  I've come to watch the harvest--see what I can learn.

 

No anglos are picking---only latinos.  IT IS HARD WORK---stooping, picking, filling up a big bucket, carrying it to the collection center. 

Hoisted and dumped in a bin. The picker is given a "ticket" for each bucket picked---worth 65 cents.

 

See how thoroughly picked.  I stand in awe at the quality and speed of their work----come away humbled and a bit more welcoming of immigrant labor.

Light hearded comraderie --enjoying each others company---they were cheerful--connected--as one-- for the moment in a worthwhile project.  They make about $100 per day or more.

 

Peppers are worth about $2.50 per pound in this condition.  Almost double that after processing and packaged. 

 

 44 bins of peppers enroute to the factory a few miles away.

 

The rules---posted prominently for all to see on the porta john.  How much, how long etc.

Celebrate with me these achievements!  For many years migrant workers were at the mercy of the producers.  Chavez and others finally stimulated government to mandate standards for workers---including bathrooms---drinking water---fair wages etc.

 

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES: Republicans and Libertarians do not celebrate this kind of governmental intervention----believing that market forces would do a better quicker job. THEY ARE DEAD WRONG in my opinion.  Years and years of cruel exploitation only came to an end with governmental action. 

 

ALSO:  WHY CAN ONLY LATINOS DO WORK THIS HARD AND BE SO CHEERFUL WHILE DOING IT.?  WHAT SPECIAL WILL AND GUSTO EMPOWERS THEM? (Thank you Laurie for asking the deeper question) 

IMAGINE YOURSELF FREE

WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH YOUR TIME?
"Time is the currency of life" (Laurie)  "Time is not money---Time is everything" (Paul Styles)
The following is about a week's worth of caravan time pictured for you.

 Laurie and Sloan leading us to a buffet dinner.  We are about to depart the Casino for an adventure down south 150 miles. 

 

We all travel separately for maximum freedom----will assemble down there at the base of those mountains---at Caballo St Pk. 

 

 A great sunset welcomes me.

Next morning outside my door---two companions.  I enjoy having my friends close by.

A new friend joins us.  For the unacquainted that rig is a Lazy Daze---a superbly crafted motor home that will last---forever?

 

And here's the lady driving it---meet Jeanne and her dog Riley. 

 

Another new friend--- Carol joins us for a spell.  She creates and sells exquisitly beautiful napkins. 

CB rolls in --finds a spot that suits him.

We often walk together in the evenings.

Occasionally eat together.

An inspiration session. The idea is to share something that inspires you.

 

Sometimes we sit in the shade and chat.

This day we hiked to a pepper patch.

Another day we went to Truth or Consequences.  Tish shows us around the hot tubs.

CB builds us a fire. Laurie brings giant marshmallows.

CB hosts movie night---complete with popcorn.  He is an engineer and not surprisingly his rig is solar powered and an electronic marvel. On consecutive nights we watched THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK  and  BAGHDAD CAFE.

Look at this picture carefully.  I am being paid off for winning a bet.  Jeanne held the money. CB holds hat-in-hand symbolizing humility at learning (officially) that "a pint is a pound the world around" is false.  A gallon of water thus weighs not 8 pounds but 8.35 pounds.

 

Tish smiles at the super string of LED lights I've just installed. They use one tenth of the power of that old light ---delivering the same luminescence.

 

Jeanne rewards me with a new cap of her own making.

 

One morning--in a wierd mood--we decide to show off our scars.

The ladies all want a ride on CB's motorscooter.

 

RANDY PHILOSOPHIZES:  "ISOLATION IS A DEAD END! THE SELF IS FULFILLED IN COMMUNITY" (Teilard de Chardin)  I don't know exactly how community fulfills the self---but we are seriously experimenting to find out.  Too much connection is distracting and too little  distorts us.

But more important than the amount is the quality.  Our goal is to draw together evolving personalities capable of engaging at the level of authenticity.  (With a willingness to be playful, open, and growth oriented.) At this level wonderful things happen: Defensiveness drops away---we begin --to reveal ourselves---absorb character traits that we admire in others----inspire creativity---promote synergy.

AND OH YES---IT'S LOTS AND LOTS OF FUN.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN---ADVICE TO HURRICANE VICTIMS

SOMEONE IS SOON GOING TO GIVE YOU A BIG CHECK---$200,000 or so---for the damage to your house.  DON'T FIX THE HOUSE---TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN---OUT HERE---where your spirit wants to be.  $200,000 is enough money to live on for the rest of your life.   About $20,000 will get you on the road in a comfortable rig.  $180,000 will let you live in great comfort---without working---for the rest of your life.  I have less than that---and have not worked for 38 years. 

You can join the million of us already out here----consuming little---living large.  We wake up each morning doing only what we feel like doing.  We greet our companions---walk if we feel like it---eat what we want---work on projects we enjoy----travel wherever our instincts call.

I am living proof that you need not live in drudgery.  But for greed and fear--- The industrial revolution could have freed us all--- from more than a few years of labor.  But most of us have been seduced into consumerism and debt---living hamster-wheel lives that do not satisfy.

NOW IS YOUR CHANCE-----shuck it all and join me in the West.  Rent-- out here-- in beautiful places can be less than a dollar a day. 

You suspect there is more to you than fodder for corporate cannons.  You have something to contribute to the world----something that requires freedom----and time---and creativity.

 SEIZE THIS OPPORTUNITY----