145th Week Update - Miles Neighborhood Food Collection Project

Hi Folks,

There are so many things to fix

yet only one simple thought

occupies everyone’s mind. 

Diane McEachern from the very small town of Bethel in western Alaska helps
explain the essence of Occupy Wall Street for those befuddled by the movement.
To read her full story, click on the link to the Los Angeles Times/Nation website.

While checking out my favorite news sites Saturday afternoon the above photo of Diane McEachern jumped out at me. I didn’t see the headline or the caption…just the photo. Of course, I thought, that is what Occupy Wall Street is all about. And having a cacophony of causes under one umbrella is suddenly not confusing to me any more.

Occupy Wall Street is a simple tool, like One Can A Week, where ordinary concerned citizens can personally do something about an awful situation by exerting very little energy. Pitch a quiet tent in a city park and you are doing something very important. You have finally found something you can do about the abuses of the financial system, the astonishing lack of jobs or the closing of your favorite library. It is the powerful feeling of doing something— not the cause(s)—that is so exhilarating and motivating.

I immediately understood the concept when I saw this poignant image of a lone woman with here peaceful pups. (Those guys look like they get it, too.)

The organizers of Occupy Wall Street are also aware of what they have discovered as indicated by their insistence on and off camera that a precise cause does not matter. Just the thought of doing something simple motivates people to help make great changes. They will keep the occupations going and by sheer numbers of voters attending these events, things will change. When it is time, the organizers will probably say, “Now go vote. Pick the candidates that talk about changing what you want to see changed.”

We are celebrating our 145th consecutive week of collecting food for the hungry in Tucson. One hundred and forty-five weeks of doing something simple like taking a neighbor’s can of food to the food bank. Apparently, we have been occupying the Miles Neighborhood for some time now.

The Bigger Picture

We are here on this planet to help each other but when the powerful make us feel helpless, hopeless and weak, it is time to do something simple like Occupy the Tundra in Alaska. or Armory Park in Tucson. Just by standing next to other 99%ers, we can gather our collective strength and vote into office those

who are able to help, not hinder our compassionate view of the world.

We do have to face up to and face down those who want to challenge our democratic way of life for the sake of a quick buck. All  it will take is each of us, like Diane McEachern in Bethel, Alaska deciding to occupy a small space with a simple idea.

Banana Bonanza

We still donated lots of cereal boxes and peanut butter jars but bananas were by far the most plentiful food product this week. Exactly 100 lbs. worth of bananas accompanied 10 lbs of potatoes topped off with a colorful bunch of radishes.

We collected a total of 238 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $33.00, a $25.00 check and $8.00 in cash.

See you Sunday,

Peter