Organic Dementia #1

It’s late and I’ve just pulled my first batch of scones from the oven so I can have them for breakfast in the morning. I’ve never made any real attempts at baking and it’s with no small amount of relief that I tell you they turned out beautifully. I love breakfast. It’s easily one of those meals where (as long as I eat it) I’m liable to over eat. I’ve been able to keep myself from over doing it by figuring out small stuff that I like. Scones have always been at the top of my list. What’s unique about these particular scones is that they’re organic. The mix is made from all natural ingredients by a small company in Vermont. The eggs, butter and salt I added were also organic. And, oh yeah, did I mention that I FREAKING MADE THEM?!?!? And they’re AWESOME!!

This is the change I made that I’ve mentioned a couple times in the past few days. I haven’t eaten red meat in over a week. I’ve cooked every meal I've eaten (at least the ones that required cooking) and I’m trying to use organic products as much as possible. I’m switching out the products I use around the house with environmentally safe items. In short, I’m going green.

There are a lot of reasons behind this. In truth it’s something I’ve felt like I needed to do for several years now. Ask me why I’ve had that feeling and I won’t be able to give you a good, concrete answer. It’s just been there. Ask me why it’s taken me so long to do it…well, I can give you several excuses but that’s all they would be. I’ll have to start by telling you what my habits have been like for the last several years as well as give you a little more of my own background.

This all kind of starts with my family and the way I was brought up. The people in my family (every one of them) are the kind of folks that thrive by being active in the world around them. They’re important to their community and they’re not content to sit at the back of the bus. At last count we’ve got three doctors, five teachers, two nurses, one judge, one social worker and one youth minister/priest in training. We just added an architect via my spankin’ new brother-in-law.

And then there’s me. The server, the writer. Before anybody gets the wrong idea this is in NO WAY an inferiority thing. I’m very much secure in what I do and my family has always stood behind me. For the moment I’m biding my time working on my own projects until I finish my degree and eventually start teaching. This is the hand life dealt me and I’m playing it as best I know how.

That does not mean, however, that I’m beyond changing things that I believe would be good things to change. The environment is something I’ve always felt very strongly about, particularly now. Everyday I read the news and things just seem to keep getting worse. I’ve always told myself that I should be doing more but I’ve never done it, mainly because I just couldn’t figure out where to start. Again, it’s turned me in to just another asshole with an opinion and no action to back it up. Then I made it worse by starting a blog…you know the rest.

This isn’t me telling you how to live your life. This is me saying that I’ve been living as one more schmuck in the crowd pretending everything’s fine and that the products I use and the things I eat can’t possibly make a difference in the long run. I don’t believe that. I’ve never believed that. It was just another excuse and I’m tired of making excuses. Maybe I will be long since dead when the polar ice caps have melted away and what's left of North America feels like a sauna. That doesn’t mean I need to make it worse. If I’ve learned anything from my family, it’s that seemingly little things can make all the difference in the world.

So, cliché though it may sound, I’ve started with me and with my home. I’ve started with small changes. I didn’t run through my apartment, throwing out everything I own and buying all new, organic and environmentally sound products. I may be completely nuts but I’m not stupid nor am I financially sound enough to totally restock my place in one fell swoop.

I’m writing about this because I’ve been living pretty much exactly like quite a bit of America lives. My eyes closed, my ears open only occasionally and my mouth making promises my lifestyle couldn’t keep. A month from now that won’t be the case. Believe me, if I can pull this off (and I am pulling it off) then anybody can do it.

The trick for me is that I’m pretty much on my own with this. I’m having to do a bit of research and I’m shopping in very different places. I spent over an hour at the grocery the other day and only walked out with one bag, having spent less then thirty dollars. By writing about what I’m doing then hopefully I can help someone else make the same changes. I’ll do the legwork, tell you what I’ve found out and then maybe you can do some of the same things. So far I can tell you that it’s much easier then you might think.

Tomorrow we’ll start with food because it was the best place for me to start. As always, questions, comments and advice aren’t just welcome, they’re appreciated. I’m having a good time with it and in the long run, maybe it’ll make a little bit of a difference. Take care.


"And I've been playing my guitar just playing. And I'm running out of good things to say. I saw what there was to see and they give me a Bachelor's degree. And I think it's time now that I was away" - Jeffrey Foucault