Bountiful Baskets

Bright and sunny, with a few gray clouds looming in the distance, I got in line for my first time. A bumper sticker on one of the many mini-vans in the lot read "I don't believe the liberal media" and the little white sportscar next to me touted the license place "GODSKID". I was smiling already:). The park was bustling with activity, and white baskets filled to the brim with produce lined the east side of the area. I was 20 minutes early, but a crowd was already starting to form. Not knowing what to do, I asked the first friendly face I saw. They weren't too difficult to find. Although they'd been there at least an hour, everyone was pretty upbeat. She directed me through the process and told me to take a box-one of the many left over-and I started to get back in line. There was an incredible sense of community. Others in line were chatting, their reusable plastic bags swinging at their sides or laundry baskets hefted on their hips. I saw soccer moms with tattoos, bleary eyed husbands, and an old friend I hadn't seen in a couple of years (although facebook seems to bring us together more regularly than that). He and his family lived right down the road from me, and I had no idea. It was fun to catch up. I also met a new friend-Jonelle-in line, who, with her resolve to use EVERYTHING in her basket, regaled me of her attempts to use okra. People were friendly and smiling...and excited!  This really was the place to be on a Saturday morning.

There's a new phenomenon emerging here in the west. It's called "Bountiful Baskets"  http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/ and it's a fruit and vegetable co-op. I heard about it when I went to visit my friend Tanya in Washington. For $15 dollars ($25 if you get the organic basket) you pay into it and on Saturday mornings you pick up your food. It's amazing, really. The founders-Sally and Tanya who send out the weekly reminder e-mails -wanted  an inexpensive way to provide produce for their friends and families. It's non-profit, and those who run each site are volunteers. It's also good for farmers. The group focuses on using produce from small farms to help them out and to keep costs low. They try to get as close to local as possible, preserving freshness and helping to support local economies. With such an affordable way to eat, it also promotes healthy living. I love the philosophy, I love the idea, and I love the produce. The box I recieved was packed to the brim with lettuce, spinach, broccoli, turnips, yams, bananas, pears, apples, pomegranates, grapes and a pineapple. It's different every week, so it's a surprise every time. My parents are doing it out in Logandale, and they both texted me at 6 am-independent of each other- to remind me to get in line;). (It's like they know me or something!)

There's power in coming together for a common purpose. I loved that feeling this morning. People from many different backgrounds and experiences, all on the look out for a great deal and maybe that same sense of community. I really enjoyed this because it's hard to feel that in Vegas. We are a transient locale. It's the nature of our town. People move in and out all the time, and because of that, there is little desire to build camaraderie or plant roots. Most are transplants from other places. More often than not, when I run into people who are rooted in this city, it's at church functions. The church really does provide roots in many ways that Las Vegas as a whole-with its propensity toward tearing down anything 25 years or older (other than government housing)-seems to find superfluous. It's the people here who connect this town. Mostly through their memories and social networks. It's the shared experiences and "remember whens". There are very few landmarks left to visually see what Vegas used to be. It might be a little thing, but in a big city-especially this city, it means a lot. Under the showy glitz and glamour of our 24 hour town, in a park on the far northwest corner of a Vegas map, a couple of roots started growing.  Maybe there is a place for me here after all...at least a place in line:)