THE JOURNEY BEGINS

THE JOURNEY BEGINS 2015

I retired from Solomon Schechter Day School on June 5, 2015.  The next day, I visited Alice, my oldest and dearest friend, in her country home on the Shenandoah River, as she recovers from surgery.  She’s doing great and her prognosis is excellent.  We did some of my favorite things, bringing giant bags of clothing to Goodwill and reorganizing her stuff that had been in storage for 13 years.  On my last day, I drove to have coffee with Joani, my sweet friend since college, at the University of Maryland.  Then, I drove to Mercy Hospital in Baltimore (during rush hour traffic) and visited with my dear friend Deb, who I’ve known since we shared commiserated on our corrective shoes when we were 12, and who was on day 2, recovering from knee replacement surgery. 

Just a few days later, I flew to Santa Cruz, CA to visit Jesse at CASFA, an agroecology program.  He’s a 6 month intern, learning everything about agriculture, irrigation, social justice, and facing racism and sexism to transform himself and ultimately the world.  

Here we are!

Jesse took Friday off.  We went to see the redwoods.  They are big.  We are small.  They are old and we are young.  This particular tree was 2000 years old!  The scale is grand!

Jesse's program at CASFS in Santa Cruz is called AGROECOLOGY.  http://ensia.com/voices/agroecology-can-help-fix-our-broken-food-system-heres-how/ 

This article will help you better understand the goals and practices in Jesse's program at CASFS.


One bookshelf in their library gave me a little insight into the scope of their social, political, and ecological goals.

I'm now in JERUSALEM!  Tomorrow, I begin to volunteer with SKILLED VOLUNTEERS FOR ISRAEL.  I will sing and play at the YMCA'S English Speaking Summer Camp for Palestinians, Israelis, and kids from around the world (3 afternoons a week); Sing at MELABEV, An English speaking facility for Altzheimers patients, and at a Neighborhood Community Center for Seniors (Hebrew speaking).  This is a four day a week assignment.  My guitar is in tune!
L'shalom from Jerusalem, באהבה
with love, Hasha Musha