Who can forget back in 2008 when Barack Obama was elected President of the United States? Whether you are a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent; a liberal or a conservative; a fiscal conservative/social liberal or a fiscal liberal/social conservative; a social conservative leaning somewhat toward a fiscal liberal or a social liberal with just a touch of fiscal conservative, no matter what your political leanings, the election of an African American as President was unquestionably historic.
And whether you watched his acceptance speech or not, you are probably aware of what he said and most certainly aware of the part of the speech where he spoke about Ann Nixon Cooper, the 106 year-old woman from Atlanta:
“And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America –- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes, we can.
“At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes, we can.
“When there was despair in the Dust Bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes, we can.”
I’ve been reminded of this speech weekly if not more so during the last few months. In my mind I keep hearing, “Yes we can. Yes we can.” With the season we had this past year, with the abundance of produce, we had a lot to be thankful for. I’m reminded of this every time I go into our pantry and look on the shelves and think “Yes. We can.” This past summer we canned a lot. We canned tomatoes and pasta sauce and pickles and pizza sauce and hot peppers and bbq sauce and apple sauce. We also froze beans and corn and broccoli and cauliflower. We’ve been enjoying these veggies every week since the fresh stuff ran out. Yes. We can.
So in the spirit of President Obama’s speech, and Ms. Obama’s push for more home gardens, I give you the 2009 Fresh Earth Farms State of the Farm speech:
When you open the delivery box and you look inside and see the abundance of produce, or when you arrive in the tent and are amazed at all the vegetables waiting for members to arrive to take them home, you wonder how can you eat all this food in a week. You ask yourself, “What am I going to do with all these tomatoes? Is there any way I can use them all?” You can say to yourself, “Yes. We can.”
When your brother shows up at dinner time unrepentantly, with his four children and their spouses and their children and you feel obligated to invite them to dinner even though you haven’t prepared enough food. And he asks, “Are you sure? Do you have enough to feed us all?” You can answer, “Yes. We can.”
When it is cold and snowy, and the driveway isn’t plowed and the streets are a mess and the air is so cold that the car won’t start. You get a call from your friends in Florida concerned about your welfare and you talk about the weather and how you can’t get out of the house, even to get to the local grocery store for food. When your friend voices their concern and asks, “How are you going to survive? Do you have any food to eat?” You can answer, “Yes. We can.”
So if the 2010 season proves to be as generous as the 2009 season, be prepared to answer any question you have in your mind about how to deal with the produce with the answer, “Yes. We can and freeze when canning isn’t appropriate.”
Here is looking forward to an equally bountiful 2010 (past performance does not guarantee future results). Don’t forget to get your order forms in!