Grid Magazine September 2019 [#124]

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Your guide to a peaceful, happy closet

Mark your calendar for the School Strike for Climate

Common sense bike lane laws at a halt in Harrisburg

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SEPTEMBER 2019 / ISSUE 124 / GRIDPHILLY.COM

T O W A R D A S U S TA I N A B L E P H I L A D E L P H I A

Lyme disease is hard to diagnose, easy to miss and quickly becomes incurable.

And it’s on the rise.

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EDI TOR ’S NOTES

by

alex mulcahy

An Unwelcome Boarder managing editor Alexandra W. Jones associate editor Timothy Mulcahy art director Michael Wohlberg writers Bernard Brown Constance Garcia-Barrio Randy LoBasso Claire Marie Porter Meenal Raval Lois Volta photographers Kriston Jae Bethel Milton Lindsay Albert Yee illustrators James Boyle Sean Rynkewicz Lois Volta advertising Santino Blanco santino@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 112 distribution Alex Yarde alex.yarde@redflagmedia.com 215.625.9850 ext. 107 published by Red Flag Media 1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 215.625.9850 G R I D P H I L LY. C O M

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could see the delight in my son’s face as he revelled in the grass, rolling and stretching like he was bathing in it. What I couldn’t see was the tick that had just climbed aboard his sixyear-old body and was looking for a safe place to burrow in.

Over Memorial Day weekend, my family visited my parents in Northeastern Pennsylvania in their neighborhood of single-family homes and carefully manicured landscapes. This is the last place we expected we would encounter a tick.

Yet later on, our son noticed a black speck in an unexpected place. Was this a tick? he asked us. Indeed it was, and my wife used tweezers and a steady hand to remove the unwelcome boarder.

I wish this was the only instance of exposure to tick-borne illness that my family has experienced, but there are several.

A dear family friend is a victim, infected nearly two decades ago, and, much like Kerry Boland in our cover story, the medical community dismissed her complaints and was unable to diagnose her properly.

Her life has been devastated by the disease, with a laundry list of debilitating symptoms, long trips to specialists, experimental drugs and the burden of maneuvering stingy health insurance policies.

Mary Beth Pfeiffer has written a book called, “Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change,” and after watching her TED Talk, I’m not sure I want to read it. In the talk she says, “We can’t... take a walk or garden, or let our kids outside, without them showing up sooner or later, with a tick on them.”

She describes the tick as a formidable and impressive threat, with the kind of body armor that makes it impossible to squish. It can sense your breath at 50 feet

away. A tick’s spit has an anesthetic quality that allows it to burrow in without the host feeling it, and also has an anticoagulant that keeps the blood flowing. It travels around the world on birds, hops onto deer, onto mice—which is concerning in our immediate locale—and onto humans.

She further explains that ticks infected with Lyme disease are actually healthier.

They have more body fat, can search farther for food, and don’t tire out as easily. And they outlive uninfected ticks.

Ticks have been around for millions of years, so why are they flourishing like never before? Climate change makes the weather more favorable for them; world travel makes it easier for them to get from one place to another; and finally, development near wooded areas is giving them greater access to humans. Unless Greta Thunberg starts running the world tomorrow, this problem will continue to get worse.

Pfeiffer’s mission is to call attention to this growing threat. She closed her talk with this warning: “We need to acknowledge that we haven’t done the work on Lyme disease. I have four grandsons, two to eight years old.

They’ve been taught since day one to love nature, but also to fear it. ‘Sweetie. there are things in the grass that could hurt you.’

There’s something wrong with that. This is a war. And these tiny armored tanks are winning.”

ALEX MULCAHY Editor-in-Chief alex@gridphilly.com COV E R P HOTO BY L IN ETTE K I ELI NSKI

P O R T R A I T BY J A M E S B O Y L E

publisher Alex Mulcahy

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by

lois volta

DEAR LOIS,

What is a reasonable amount of clothing to have?

I

t’s all relative. For each person, there is a different set of needs that a wardrobe must fulfill. The landscaper’s wardrobe will be vastly different than the ballerina’s. A better question to explore is, “How do I maintain a healthy relationship with my clothing?” From here, we can do some digging and talk about how to mindfully maintain what we do have.

Closets are intrinsically personal and tend to provoke anxiety. Think about how you want to feel about your closet when you are not in front of it. When setting larger goals about closet choices it is best to do this from a mindful perspective.

I absolutely hate staring at all my clothes and feeling like I have nothing to wear.

There are a couple of reasons why this happens: 1. The item I want to wear is dirty; I feel guilty that I am behind on the laundry.

2. Everything is cluttered, stuffed and wrinkly; I am not proud of the way I have been caring for my clothing.

3. I find myself paralyzed by an overwhelming amount of choices.

4. I am reminded that I am unbelievably fortunate to have so many clothes and options and here I am, standing in my first-world problem.

5. I am reminded of the way I think about my body and the pressures of ‘looking good.’

There is a way to transcend these negative thought patterns. I can step away from the stress of laundry maintenance and into a state of mind in which I enjoy all aspects of my clothing and wardrobe rituals. Here are some ways I achieve this: 1. I keep up with my laundry and never 4

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let my laundry basket overflow. I am realistic about the amount of time it takes to maintain the amount of clothes I own. Less is more and I really don’t care if my staple clothing items are on repeat throughout the week.

2. I have implemented new habits that make things easy. I clean my personal clothing on a day when I am home and can fold them as soon as they are done.

I’ve learned new folding techniques to prevent overcrowding and I donate the clothes I don’t wear. When I look in my drawers they are tidy—I can see every piece of clothing. My wardrobe, as a whole, has breathing room; nothing gets lost or forgotten and everything makes an appearance.

3. Less is more. Less means more time to get on with my day.

4. I am thankful for what I have and know that I am fortunate to have more than enough. This gives me a feeling of contentment. I don’t need to buy anything else and I know that I’d rather not feed the monster of the fashion industry. Trendy is lame.

5. Everything that I put on my body makes me feel good. Looking good is not the problem; the societal pressure to look good is the problem.

Closets shouldn’t be a source of anxiety.

Self-criticism is self-defeating, though I do feel it is important to evaluate what it is about my clothes that is affecting me negatively. It is important to me that I buy the majority of my wardrobe secondhand. Consignment shops are a great option for high quality clothing at half the price. Personally, I have no problem splurging at a thrift store- most of them donate money to charitable organizations and the experience, as a whole, forces me to be more creative. When I buy something new, I try to find responsible, affordable options. Sometimes, I don’t, and it’s ok. It is literally impossible to buy responsibly in all cases. We can learn from our spending habits and focus on making

P O R T R A I T BY J A M E S B O Y L E

TH E VO LTA WAY

IL LUSTRATIO N BY LO I S VOLTA

thoughtful decisions within the information, situation, and means at our disposal.

For those who dislike laundry: Washing and folding laundry is a part of life: accept this and then decide what you’re going to do about it. Do you do your own laundry?

If not, why is someone doing your laundry for you? Better yet, why doesn’t this person even let you to touch the laundry machine?

Are you really that unhelpful? Do your own laundry. Maybe the person who’s currently doing it for you should bag up your clothes and put them outside for you to deal with.

Respect the systems already in place that you have been benefiting from. Show an openness to learning rather than begrudging compliance and sloppiness.

For those who need help: Pencil in the time.

Think of it as self-care. Get rid of clothing that you feel indifferent about, doesn’t fit, or hasn’t been worn. You really don’t need 20 t-shirts... Be realistic and stop lying to yourself about what you actually wear. If you like it and know you’ll never wear it, give it to someone who will. Cut your losses and live in generosity. Your clothing does not define who you are, so you don’t have to be so sentimental; just slim it down. The payoff is worth it. Take a full day to set it straight, and if you need help, get the help you need.

For those who have been doing ALL of the laundry: Up your game. Learn how to be more efficient, sustainable, and wiser with your time. Your work has not been in vain.

Thank you for all you do! Now it’s time to teach the rest of the family how to care for themselves. If you get hit by a truck or go on strike, your family should know how to keep up with the laundry. Life goes on, and you shouldn’t be doing it all.

Overall, I like getting dressed in the morning. When I put my laundry away, I feel satisfied with my form and thankful that the hard work has become easy. I like taking care of my clothes and my clothes take care of me back. Ultimately, this is a relationship with yourself and how you take care of your body in a very basic way—let it be thoughtful and meaningful. lois volta is a home consultant, musician and the founder of Volta Naturals. loisvolta.com

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EN ERGY

by

meenal raval

Back to School, to Strike for Climate!

School-age children are protesting for new policies

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Led by youth Sabirah Mahmud, a high school student who organized the Climate Strike rallies first in March and then again in May, launched a boot camp in July for youth new to Climate Strike PA. “The climate crisis is going to affect us all in different ways and it’s so important for us to take action,” Mahmud says.

With 30 new people attending the organization’s boot camp—where students learned about civil disobedience, the climate crisis and more—the September school strike for climate is expected to bring more people.

Mahmud tells us they may plan a march in Center City Philadelphia that morning.

With details still being worked out as of this writing, the Climate Strike PA team asks interested parties to follow it on social media.

“Let’s make September 20th the biggest strike to ever take place and make our governments accountable for their inaction against this global crisis,” she says.

Mahmud also asks youth all over Pennsylvania to get their own school involved and “champion for a strike” wherever they are by contacting Climate Strike PA. Calling all kids!

Over Memorial Day weekend, 12-year-old Hadassah Weinmartin organized the “first meeting ever” of the Sunrise Movement’s Northwest Philly hub. This first house party brought in 25 of her friends, and 10 of their parents.

Since that first hub meeting, Weinmartin has organized another local meeting, as well as a presidential debate watch party. She’s the youngest with the Sunrise Philly team.

Her message to us? “You’re never too young to make a difference.”

meenal raval is a catalyst for the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign and Solarize Southeast PA, to assist people transitioning away from fossil fuels like coal, oil, gas and gasoline.

P O R T R A I T BY J A M E S B O Y L E

I

t’s september! With summer vacations almost over, children are getting ready to go back to school. And this year, back to school means back to an event called, “School Strike for Climate.”

There’s a Global Climate Strike planned for Friday, September 20, days before the United Nations Climate Summit in New York City on September 23. The Global Climate Strike invites people of all ages to strike—by refusing to attend work and school—to disrupt the social order and to push our governments to act on the climate emergency we find ourselves in. Imagine the distruption possible when both young and old join forces.

Started in August 2018 by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg of Sweden camping outside local government offices until they treat the climate crisis like the emergency it is, the movement has spread like wildfire—to Europe, Australia and within 4 months, the rest of the world. The School Strike for Climate is dubbed Youth Climate Strike US, and locally, Climate Strike PA. Why are our youth in the United States striking? Because we have only 11 years to prevent even worse effects of climate change. Their platform lists demands of the federal, state and local governments: 1. A Green New Deal 2. A declaration of a national climate emergency 3. Compulsory education about the climate crisis 4. Preservation of our public lands & wildlife 5. Deem access to clean water a human right Locally, I’ve met many young people inspired by Greta, who rise for climate.

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bike talk

Curbed Progress The PA Senate is standing in the way of protected bike lane by randy lobasso installations across the state

U

rging his colleagues in the state legislature to act swiftly on parking-protected bike lane and pedestrian plaza legislation, Pennsylvania State Senator Larry Farnese of Philadelphia penned a dire warning June 19.

“If we fail to act ... we risk the loss of several major bike lane projects funded for construction this year,” Farnese wrote to the Senate Transportation Committee leadership, senators Kim Ward and John Sabatina. “[W]e must act now in order to decrease the amount of bicycle fatalities in our state, increase the safety of all individuals on our roads, and to make sure we appropriately use taxpayer dollars for future road paving projects.”

That week came and went.

And although the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed its own bike lane bill, the Senate Transportation Committee failed to bring the legislation up for vote before it dismissed for the summer.

The next chance to work on this legislation is later this month, when the legislature reconvenes.

In the meantime, though, because Pennsylvania senators failed to act, streets infrastructure projects around the state have been delayed and more lives were put at risk.

Pennsylvania bike lanes and the law Let me first say: this shouldn’t be going on.

People who commute by bicycle are very rarely considered when laws are written and infrastructure is installed.

For instance, in Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) says motor vehicles must park within 12 inches of a curb. It further clarifies that line-striping and flex posts cannot be interpreted as a curb. This presents a hurdle for parking protected bike lane installations because 8 GR ID P H I L LY.CO M SEPT EM BE R 20 1 9

line striping and flex posts are often used to separate the parked cars from the bike lane.

To install parking protected bike lanes on our city streets would require a legislative change to the vehicle code that specifically says a motor vehicle can park more than 12 inches from a curb. It’s easier said than done given Pennsylvania’s legislature.

The push for legislative action Cities like Pittsburgh, Lancaster, Harrisburg, and, yes, Philadelphia, have protected bike

lane projects that are waiting for state approval. In some cases, like that of Parkside Avenue in West Philadelphia, the bike lane has already been built and striped. The City just needs the go ahead to move parking away from the curb.

Bike groups around the state have not been waiting patiently for such permissions.

In April, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, where I work, and Bike

Pittsburgh launched a campaign with People for Bikes organizing people all over Pennsylvania to demand the Senate and House Transportation Committees vote on these bills. In May, the mayors of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Lancaster co-wrote a letter asking for this legislation to come up for a vote.

To give credit where it’s due, the Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee took up the bill in June, and it passed unanimously. It was taken up by the full Pennsylvania House of Representatives and passed nearly unanimously, 200-1, soon after.

To become law, the Senate needed to take up the legislation, pass it, and give it to the governor. But the Senate did nothing.

And as streets and roads across the Commonwealth are paved in the summer and fall, the result is that many have been paved without safety improvements.

PA senators return to work on September 23, and advocates will be there lobbying for safe bike lanes.

Streets at risk In addition to the aforementioned Parkside Avenue, 5th Street, Lindberg Boulevard through Southwest Philadelphia, and the Chestnut Street Bridge, are all ready to install protected bike lanes. The Pennsylvania Senate holding this legislation back not only harms these projects; it also delays others from beginning.

PennDOT and the City of Philadelphia should be able to provide infrastructure that allows anyone, regardless of what mode of transportation they choose, easy and safe access to the streets. This is a political problem, but it’s also a climate problem, a safety problem, a congestion problem and a force holding Philadelphia—and other cities around the Commonwealth—back from reaching their full potential.

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urban naturalist

Attendees at a Moth Night event held by Bartram’s Garden study the hundreds of insects that have flocked to a white backlit sheet.

Moth Appreciation Insect viewing parties spark curiosity and empathy for by bernard brown otherwise invisible creatures

A

white sheet strung up

between two trees in Bartram’s Garden glowed blue in the dark August night. It was speckled with hundreds of insects, ranging in size from tiny wasps and midges, whose identity could only be discerned with a magnifying glass, to geometer moths an inch-and-a-half across.

A small crowd of children and adults pointed and leaned in closer to look, highlighting interesting critters with flashlight beams. LJ Brubaker, the garden’s communications manager, slipped around the craning necks and pointing fingers to call out newly-arrived bugs and answer questions from the human visitors.

More than 50 people had registered for 10 GR ID P H IL LY.CO M SEPT EM BE R 201 9

the “Moth Night” at Bartram’s Garden. A parade and “glow party” earlier in the evening had drawn 600 people, and many of the moth watchers at the sheet sported face paint and glow rings.

Bartram’s Garden has been hosting moth nights for at least four years, according to its lead gardener Mandy Katz. In addition to setting up the sheet, Katz painted trees with a homemade mix of molasses, brown sugar, banana, and Hamm’s Beer to attract moths looking for a meal. Ken Frank, local naturalist and author of The Ecology of Center City Philadelphia, set up another sheet and blacklight downhill from the first.

Katz, Frank and Brubaker identified some of the moths with the help of a guidebook. An inch-long, fuzzy, orange moth

called a white-pointed prominent hung out toward the bottom of the sheet.

A few dogbane tiger moths, white with orange on their heads and the leading edges of their wings, sat for a while surrounded by midges. A small “bird dropping” moth looked exactly like what its name implied.

However, many of the moths could only be identified to the family level before they flew away. The humans faced the same challenges with other insects at the sheet and the bait stations, such as click beetles (family Elateridae), and caddisflies (order Trichoptera).

If it seems odd that insect enthusiasts encountered species that they couldn’t identify, consider that there are more than 2,100 moth species documented in Pennsylvania. (Butterfly enthusiasts have a much easier time with around 160.) Factor in all the thousands of other flying insect species that could be attracted to a light at night, P HOTO G RAP H BY AL BERT YEE

and a moth night serves as a humbling introduction to the mind boggling diversity of insects, even in an urban park.

Bartram’s Garden isn’t the only place hosting such get togethers.

The Woodlands hosted its Bat and Moth Nature Night in mid-August, partnering with the Academy of Natural Sciences and Temple’s Sewall Lab, according to Emma Max, The Woodlands’ program and operations manager. The event “focuses on bats and moths because they are an important part of our cemetery environment and our urban ecosystem,” Max says.

You can also observe moths on your own schedule.

“Finding moths can be as simple as leaving a porch light on and checking it after dark,” according to the website of National Moth Week (July 20-28, 2019). Adding a sheet gives moths an easily observable place to land, and a blacklight can bring in moths attracted to ultraviolet light.

Professional researchers use similar techniques. Stephen C. Mason, Jr. a PhD candidate and graduate research associate at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, uses light traps in the New Jersey Pine Barrens to study how insect populations respond to forest fires.

For the best results, according to Mason, find the darkest location you can on a moonless night to avoid light competition.

Although no one is sure why lights draw nocturnal insects, the leading hypothesis, according to Mason, is that artificial light imitates the moon, which moths and many other insects use to help orient themselves.

Our bug neighbors need our help. As researchers have documented, fewer and fewer insects are sharing our nights with us.

A study in Germany found that in protected areas flying insect biomass, the total weight of all insects, had decreased by more than 75% in 27 years.

To start, we can ditch bug zappers (which kill mostly harmless bugs and very few of the targeted mosquitoes) and garden insecticides, and fill our gardens with native plants that host native insects. And, of course, events like moth nights can help muster sympathy for otherwise ignored or reviled critters.

“Moths are part of life we don’t really pay attention to,” says Ruben Alexis, who hung around for Bartram’s moth night after initially coming for the glow party. “But here, we put them on display on a canvas.”

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black history

The Second Shift These talented black women have had extraordinary by constance garcia-barrio side gigs

14 GRID P H IL LY.CO M SEPT EM BE R 201 9

clothes are clean or dirty, whether the child is hungry, whether he or she smells like urine,” she says.

If children misbehave, Hughes gives them extra attention.

“Children may not have words to say something’s wrong,” she says. “All they can do is act out.”

The downtime between ferrying children to and from school lets Hughes prep for her second career, that of stained glass artist. She wraps the small pieces of glass she’s cut for use in her creations in copper foil—a process that hurts her fingers—and later solders the pieces together.

Her colorful sculptures have appeared in many places, including the African American Museum, the Free Library of Philadelphia on Logan Circle and Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, Tennessee.

Hughes tiptoed onto Philly’s arts scene.

“First, I painted T-shirts with my own designs,” says Hughes, who was raising her son as a single mother at the time. “I had to let the paint on the shirts dry, then I embroidered them for a three-dimensional effect. Once, when they were drying outside, someone stole every one of them.”

Hughes also made jewelry and vivid wooden figures. In her late 40s, she began working with stained glass after a friend persuaded her to come along to a workshop.

“I made a small glass boat, and I knew I’d found a home,” Hughes recalls.

Hughes has gained fame for her exuberant black female figures. They have broad hips, big butts, generous lips, and, sometimes, a heart-shaped womb.

“Children don’t have to look twice at one of my figures to know it represents a black person,” she says. “In my childhood because of systemic racism I saw few black

Lynne Suzette Carter just retired from a career as a supervisor within the Philadelphia Streets Department; she also works as a professional judge of boxing matches.

images. Their absence conveyed unworthiness and acted as silent indoctrination. My art celebrates who we are as a people.”

Philadelphia native Lynne Suzette Carter, sixty-something, has also used smarts and drive to forge a satisfying work life.

Soon after graduating from Cardinal Dougherty High School, she began working as a clerk and typist in the Philadelphia Streets Department. Over the course of her 39 years there, she held many positions, including computer support specialist. By the time she retired this June, she had risen to supervisor of the unit that oversees removal of “bandit” signs, those that mar the cityscape because they’re left up indefinitely.

While in the Streets Department, Carter also launched a second career that took her into a male preserve: she became a professional judge of boxing matches.

“What happened was, my first boyfriend and his brothers liked to see boxing matches,” she says. “They took me along and realized that I usually made the same call as the referees. I picked the winner. They said,

P H OTO G R A P H Y BY K R I S TO N J A E B E T H E L

D

evaluing black women’s work is a holdover from slavery time. It often cuts our employment opportunities, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C. think tank focused on economic issues.

The view prevails that women of African ancestry should go on being “…de mule uh de world…” as the acid pen of Harlem Renaissance author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) put it. This disregard can not only limit career choices but also slash earnings.

“Black women in the U.S. are typically paid 61 cents for every dollar paid to white men,” states a 2018 study by the American Association of University Women, a nonprofit group working for equity for women and girls.

Nevertheless, two local black women have beat the odds. Both have had secondary careers that are truly remarkable.

“I never thought I’d get my commercial driver’s license,” says Celestine Wilson Hughes, 71, who’s driven a school bus for the School District of Philadelphia for years.

“It was traditionally men’s work, and I love that I have the skill.”

Hughes credits an excellent instructor for helping her meet the challenge. Her routes wind through South Philly as well as Darby, where she lives; she drives a bus for that school district, too.

The work entails more than steering buses that weigh up to 13 tons.

“You have the responsibility to be the best person you can be with children,” says Hughes, who has a grown son and a granddaughter. “You greet each child by name, look them in the eye and smile. You make a connection.”

Hughes also stays observant.

“You pay attention to whether the child’s

In my childhood because of systemic racism I saw few black images. Their absence conveyed unworthiness and acted as silent indoctrination.

My art celebrates who we are as a people.”

— c ele stine wils on hughe s

Celestine Wilson Hughes works as both a bus driver and a stained glass artist.

‘You’re pretty good!’”

Carter decided to become a judge, but ran up against nay-sayers aplenty.

“The State Athletic Commission told me that it was no job for a woman, but I kept on,” she says.

She asked boxing superstar Joe Frazier (1944–2011) for help. Frazier’s secretary persuaded him to see Carter. “When I asked

him to train me, he said, ‘I don’t like judges and I don’t like referees.’ He tested me by asking what I thought of a certain wellknown boxer.”

As Carter drew breath to praise the boxer, Frazier’s secretary made a discreet thumbs down sign, so Carter said that boxer wasn’t so hot.

“Then Joe Frazier said, ‘Okay, I’ll train

you,’” she says.

Carter went to Frazier’s gym three or four times a week.

“He made me get in the ring and throw punches,” says Carter of Frazier, world heavyweight champ from 1970-1973. Carter spent hours at ringside, learning and scoring. By March 1982, she had become a professional judge in Pennsylvania. Next, she set her sights on Atlantic City, a boxing hub.

“I had to train all over again with Jersey Joe Walcott,” a 1950s heavyweight champion, she recalls.

By 1982, she was officiating down the shore.

Meanwhile, Carter continued to work for the Streets Department.

“I could do it because boxing matches basically take place on the weekends,” she says.

She also made strategic use of her vacation time, personal days, annual leave and comp time so she could judge fights. Carter has judged boxing matches not only in the U.S. but in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.

“When I officiated in South Africa, I got to go on safari and into villages. Boxing has been good to me,” says Carter.

In the pursuit of both their careers and passions, each woman found a winning formula.

“I decided what I wanted to do and I just kept going,” Carter says.

And Hughes, likewise.

“If you’re committed to accomplishing something,” Hughes says, “the universe will bring you what you need.”

S E PTE M B E R 20 19 G R I DP HI LLY.COM 1 5

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16 GR ID P H IL LY.CO M SEPT EM BE R 20 1 9

T H E PA S S P OR T YO UR FREE GUID E TO 36 G A RD EN S IN A MERI C A’S G A RD EN C A PI TA L 36 gardens and their must-see experiences all located within 30 miles of Philadelphia. Fall is beautiful in America’s Garden Capital. Pick up your passport at any garden while supplies last.

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S E PTE M B E R 20 19 G R I DP HI LLY.COM 17

meet your maker

Stable Genius Flourtown business turns damaged trees and discarded materials into high-end furniture by

claire marie porter

I

t’s the imperfect trees that make a beautiful piece of furniture for John Duffy of Stable Tables.

“I don’t really consider myself an artist or anything like that,” Duffy explains. “I’m more of a business person.”

Stable Tables, he says, began after he bought a table from a carpenter in Maryland and had to wait out a 14-week backlog to get it. He saw a need for handcrafted tables that were customizable, and locally made. He adds that he was an executive telecom operator, and was looking for something else to do.

“My [real estate business] partner is the one who really helped me get started,” says Duffy, referring to Chris English, a carpenter by trade. “He’s a general contractor and can make anything.”

Duffy, on the other hand, got his start making tables in 2003.

“The first table I made for Stable Tables was the first table I ever made,” he says.

The company mainly sells tables and countertops, but Duffy says it occasionally also makes benches, tables for conference rooms and desks as well as side tables and coffee tables.

The wood is mostly salvaged, and comes from trees felled by storms, age, or disease; old buildings or barns; and salvage companies — most of which would otherwise end up in a landfill.

There are enough trees dying from 18 GRID P H IL LY.CO M SEPT EM BE R 20 1 9

John Duffy started Stable Tables to fill a need for customized, local tables.

He makes them from fallen trees, reclaimed lumber and wood from old houses and barns.

Right: Trees with damage from insects or fungi are preferable for making uniquely beautiful tables.

natural causes that there is no reason to buy trees from a mill that are being harvested, Duffy says. Most are fallen, some are dead, and occasionally a developer might be cutting down trees after someone bought land and is trying to clear it.

The table bases are also made of salvaged material. One of his favorite materials, unique to Stable Tables, is made from the sifter of a mulch grinder, a heavy piece of metal that resembles a Connect Four game board. Repurposed scaffolding, old porch posts, and cast iron knitting table legs, are some of the other materials used.

Customers want things that are unusual,

says Duffy, with custom sizes and custom finishes. They may have already been to a restoration furniture store and found they can’t get exactly what they want.

“Live edge” tables are a specialty that is in high demand, where the wood’s edge isn’t sanded straight, but left with its natural curves.

Book-matching is another method Stable Tables uses, which involves placing two pieces cut from the same tree, one after another, joining them side-by-side with the grain aligned so that they create a mirror image of each other. The result is eye-catching and highly desirable.

P HOTO G RAP HY BY M ILTO N LI NDSAY

The first table I made for Stable Tables was the first table I ever made.”

— j ohn duffy, owner of Stable Tables Over time, Stable Tables has evolved from building rustic to more contemporary-style furniture.

“I don’t really make things your grandmother would have,” says Duffy.

Adding that customers often think they want something rustic, when what they really have in mind is actually quite modern.

There is no cheating when it comes to the process of making a table. It’s a long process that requires properly curing wood. When a mill first gets a log, it has to sit in log form for one year per inch, in order to properly air dry. Then, it can go into a kiln.

The best tables are usually the most damaged trees, says Duffy. The company’s most supportive business partners are insects and fungi.

“I look for wood that’s already got crazy

stuff going on in it,” he says.

For example, maple is not a not a very exciting wood, says Duffy. It’s just a plain light brown, usually used for painting or staining. But a lot of maples tend to die from either mushrooms or a bug that bores into the plant tissue causing clusters of inky black spots.

“They do really cool things to the wood,” says Duffy.

The mushrooms cause “spalting,” a wood coloration that resembles tiger stripes. It can be found in dead trees or live trees with many mushrooms attached.

“In the case of maple it enhances the way the wood looks,” says Duffy.

But the mill has to know about the timing of spalting. The wood can’t sit too long. It’s like aging a grape.

“Because if it goes too far, the wood gets

all punky and soft and it can’t be used,” says Duffy.

Currently, Stable Tables is comprised of two full-time employees and one part-time employee. And it will stay that way, according to Duffy.

“I enjoy it because I don’t have a lot of people working for me,” he says. “I’ll never make the money I could make, because I want to build stuff; I don’t want to manage people.”

Duffy is involved in the making of each and every table, whether this means picking up, cutting, or mining the wood; building or sanding the tables; or dropping off the resulting wood scraps, which they donate to wood shops at local schools.

“I want to know what that table is going to look like at the end,” he says. “I’m very hands-on.”

His greatest satisfaction comes from choosing a wood that’s so unique and beautiful, it just needs a good presentation, then “people look at it and think: ‘that’s art.’”

He’s in the sweet spot for a small business, he says.

“I’m happy every day,” says Duffy. “I sleep well.”

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TICK 22

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A plague is rising.

In dozens of countries.

In your backyard.

We have underestimated the danger.

Of ticks.

TOCK —mary be th pfe i ffe r,

Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change

I S TO C K P H OTO / V I K TO R C A P

Pennsylvania is ground zero for Lyme disease, and one Drexel professor is pursuing a cure. by claire marie porter

K

erry boland doesn’t remember getting a tick bite. It was 2002 and she was entering her first semester at Georgetown University when she began experiencing flu-like symptoms, which landed her in the emergency room. ¶ A short time after she started experiencing extreme food intolerances. She couldn’t eat gluten without hours of vomiting following. ¶ One morning two years later, when she was studying overseas in a direct matriculation program at the Université Lumière Lyon 2 in Lyon, France, she tried to get out of bed to hit her alarm. ¶ “My legs weren’t working, I was basically paralyzed from the waist down,” she says. ¶ She frantically called her family back home in Washington, D.C., telling them she thought she had meningitis. When her host family she was living with returned and called the hospital, Boland got a cortisone shot from the medical team and was told she probably had a pinched nerve or muscle spasms. Later that same day she had more “spasms,” which she later learned were seizures. ¶ She returned to the U.S. a month later and got an MRI to evaluate for a suspected slipped disc. ¶ “They couldn’t find a thing,” she says. “At that point, the mystery began.”

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ick populations are expanding in both geographic range and number, and the list of tick-borne illnesses, most notably, Lyme disease, is on the rise as well. According to the Centers for Disease Control, it’s the fastest-growing vector-borne disease in the country.

Science is still unraveling the complexities of this puzzling disease and one Philadelphia scientist, Garth Ehrlich, is trying to get ahead of the curve.

I asked Ehrlich, molecular biologist and professor at Drexel University, when the most appropriate time to publish a story on Lyme disease might be.

Anytime, he said—there is really no such thing as “tick season” anymore.

T

icks are arachnids, meaning they are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than insects. They are considered ectoparasites (external parasites), meaning they live by eating the blood of other animals. There are 899 known species, with 90 of those species residing in the United States.

The loathsome deer tick, also known as the black-legged tick, is about the size of a sesame seed, with a reddish abdomen and black semi-circle on its dorsal area.

Deer ticks were first thrust into public consciousness in the 1970s. This was when scientists discovered that the bloodsucker from the Rocky Mountains was the only carrier of Lyme disease (which, if little understood today, was much less understood at that time). The flu-like symptoms and bullseye rash became synonymous with the arachnid.

The lifespan of a deer tick is about two years from egg to adult. They dine on animal blood just three times: the first to change from larva to nymph: the second from nymph to adult; and finally, one more time as an adult to lay eggs. At any one of those three feedings, they can pick up Lyme bacteria from an infected animal.

In order to transmit the bacteria to another host, the tick must be attached for at least 24 hours. bout 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme each year according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those numbers are increasing across the country, and Pennsylvania is the epicenter. Between 2004 and 2016, Pennsylvania saw more

A

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than 73,610 cases of tick-borne diseases — more than any other state.

Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, a bacteria from the same family that causes syphilis and gum disease. It only creates chronic diseases, says Ehrlich.

Early symptoms of Lyme include flu-like symptoms, namely fatigue. If untreated with antibiotics, it can lead to facial paralysis, arthritis and neurological disorders.

Boland’s symptoms spanned the entire spectrum of Lyme disease symptoms: numbness in her hands, sharp shooting pains, depression and anxiety that didn’t respond to medication, severe gastritis and food intolerances, and finally neurological issues, including brain fog and memory loss.

Boland had been tested numerous times for Lyme disease with the Two-Tier Lyme test, the two-step test commonly used when a patient presents with symptoms of Lyme.

It was always negative.

“I have a laundry list of diagnoses,” says Boland. Most if not all of them are probably triggered by her untreated Lyme, she says.

She’s been diagnosed with everything from Hashimoto’s disease in 2006, to Lupus in 2015.

“I just felt like people were throwing pamphlets at me,” she says. “They weren’t

really listening to me and my symptoms or looking at the timeline.”

She says some doctors were questioning her mental health.

“My vitals looked amazing. They wouldn’t believe me. They thought I was a hypochondriac,” she says.

By 2016, 14 years after her first flu-like symptoms, Boland had trouble walking without feeling like she would pass out.

“My immune system started attacking my liver. My organs were failing. I made peace with the fact that I might die young,” she recalls.

Boland, like most Americans, believed that the Two-Tier test for Lyme disease was reliable.

The truth is that a reliable test for Lyme disease doesn’t exist.

There are multiple reasons for this, says Ehrlich, one being that the agents used to make that test were developed from a 40-year old strain of Lyme. The organism evolves, he says, so you could be infected with a variant strain of Lyme that has mutated and the test wouldn’t recognize it.

It was a Pennsylvania friend that first told her that the test for Lyme disease was faulty and urged her to pursue a diagnosis by other means.

I S TO C K P H OTO / GA B O R T 7 1

T

“Lyme ticks are sewers. People [with Lyme] are probably co-infected with pathogens.”

—GARTH EHRLICH,

molecular biologist and professor at Drexel University

“In 2017, I finally found a functional medicine doctor who believed me and my symptoms,” says Boland.

Her doctor requested various Lyme disease and immune tests to help find the root cause of her symptoms, including a Western Blot and CD57 test. After being referred to a Lyme-literate doctor (LLMD), she tested positive for two coinfections—Babesia, a Malaria-like blood parasite, and a bacteria known as Ehrlichia—both transmitted by ticks.

“That’s when I finally got my answer,” she says. She was officially diagnosed with Lyme disease. “But it wasn’t over yet.”

She began antibiotic treatment, but it made her terribly sick.

“If you talk to any Lyme patient you’ll hear the term ‘herxing’,” she says, “where you’re killing off so many bugs...and as they die, they release toxins into your body and produce inflammatory cytokines.”

The detox pathways of Lyme patients are already weakened, and so the body can’t process the toxins, and you feel even sicker, she explains. Not unlike the side-effects of chemotherapy.

Lyme bacteria is immunosuppressant, says Ehrlich. Like the HIV virus, it reduces the body’s ability to fight not only Lyme disease but other infections as well.

Boland eventually learned that she had been experiencing “Chronic inflammatory response syndrome,” and that her Lyme disease had activated certain genes so that her immune system doesn’t recognize biotoxins. So any exposure to toxic mold (such as in water-damaged buildings) causes inflammation and a worsening of Lyme symptoms, and makes treatment more complicated. ccording to ehrlich, the main factors behind the surge in deer ticks, and thus heightened cases of Lyme disease, are climate change, a lack of tick predators and an explosion of the mouse population.

Yes, the mouse.

In fact the name deer tick is misleading.

It suggests that deer are the main host for these ticks. Deer can carry them, says Ehrlich, but the vast majority are on mice. Because of the misnomer, most people don’t realize that they can be bitten by a deer tick in their yard or on a city playground.

These mice are everywhere, including our homes. The white-footed mouse has been referred to as one of “the most successful mammals in Pennsylvania,” owing to their range and ability to survive in di-

A

verse habitats.

In a yet-unreleased study by Ehrlich’s lab on white-footed mouse specimens, 25% of the mice tested positive for Lyme disease.

In the lab, there are two things that Ehrlich and his team are focusing on. The first is characterizing all of the different bacteria ticks can carry.

“Lyme ticks are sewers,” he says. “People [with Lyme] are probably co-infected with pathogens.”

Ehrlich’s lab uses a unique classification system, what he calls “pan-domain for diagnostics criteria,” which allows them to identify every bacteria down to the species.

“Others can only tell you various species,” he says. “We can tell you every species that’s there.”

There are enormous differences even within strains of Lyme bacteria, he says, like “the difference between a chihuahua and a Saint Bernard.”

Chronic Lyme is another focus of the lab.

More than 50% of people infected with Lyme never get the bullseye rash, meaning they have a higher risk of developing chronic Lyme, he says.

“When it becomes chronic, we have no cures for it,” says Ehrlich, adding that once the bacteria becomes chronic in the brain, it’s inoperable.

Once the biofilm has colonized the body, there are no current drugs that can eradicate it, he explains.

His lab is trying to invent a drug that can combat chronic bacteria by blocking the enzyme that triggers the bacteria to transition from acute to chronic. This drug could be used to combat all kinds of chronic diseases in concert with traditional antibiotics.

He gives the example of children who have cystic fibrosis. They get chronic infections in their lungs that can’t be cured.

“We can never get rid of them, but we can control them,” he says. “That’s basically what we have to do with chronic Lyme disease.” oland is now a member of the PA Lyme Resource Network, a cohort founded in 2012 that provides resources on Lyme Disease, and support and advocacy for Lyme patients.

“Since my diagnosis, I was looking for a way to put purpose to my pain,” says Boland.

She was feeling discouraged by the lack of information and the amount of misinformation.

B

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“Ticks do not discriminate.

Everyone is at risk.”

—kerry b oland, a member of the PA Lyme Resource Network

“Go see a Lyme-literate doc because you don’t want to end up like me,” she says. “It gets way more complicated in late stage to get to remission.”

Pennsylvania has been number one in reported cases for seven years running and 30 percent of those reported cases are children and youth.

“Ticks do not discriminate,” she says.

“Everyone is at risk.”

Lyme disease is still under-researched with low awareness and a low rate of prevention actions. Yet, it’s rapidly becoming more prevalent and affecting all populations.

“We need help,” says Boland, from health practitioners, who could benefit Lyme patients by learning more about the disease and from elected officials, who could push for things like insurance coverage for longterm treatment.

“It’s controversial and it shouldn’t be,” Boland says. “As a patient, it’s really traumatic to be in that crossfire.”

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How do I protect myself from Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases?

DA R E 2

Prevent

Preventing Lyme & Tick-Borne Diseases

D

Defend yourself and property

A

Avoid tick habitat

R

Remember tick checks and shower

E

Eliminate ticks correctly

DA R E 2

Protect Yourself

✔✔ The most important, effective action you can take is spraying your skin with repellant and your socks, shoes and clothes with permethrin… it takes only one minute for these two steps. ✔✔ Do routine tick checks to find ticks before they attach to you. Check your children and pets, too! Check in-between toes, behind the knee, in/behind the ears, groin, belly button, armpits, neck, scalp/hair, under skin folds, underneath watch bands, underwear bands and bra straps. ✔✔ After being outside, put clothes in the dryer on high heat for 10 minutes; if wet, for 60 minutes. This dry heat kills ticks. ✔✔ Shower within two hours of coming inside. Unattached ticks will fall off in the shower. Check for any attached ticks as they will not fall off in the shower.

DA R E 2

Act

If a tick is already attached, the sooner you remove it, the less risk you have of getting infected with a tick-borne disease. Follow these steps and get informed.

ST E P 1 : Use pointed tweezers, or other effective tick removers, to grab the tick as close to the skin as possible.

ST E P 2 : Slowly and steadily pull straight up. Do not twist or jerk the tick.

ST E P 3 : Disinfect bite area.

ST E P 4 : Dispose of the detached tick in a sealed, ziplock bag with a moist cotton ball (or save for tick testing), or by sealing it tightly in tape.

ST E P 5 : Consider sending tick for testing– options include ticklab.org (free to Pennsylvania residents), Igenex.com or TickReport.com.

ST E P 6 : See your doctor to discuss monitoring and preventative treatment.

The above text is courtesy of the PA Lyme Prevention Program: Dare 2B Tick Aware.

It has been edited for style and clarity.

DA R E 2 B T I C K AWA R E

“I really wanted to help educate people about the disease because I wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” she says. “I hope my story and experience can help prevent this from happening to someone else.”

The network advocates that long-term antibiotic treatment is both safe and rational.

“It can be beneficial because Lyme can be persistent,” says Boland.

The majority of Lyme cases are treatable with antibiotics; if caught early, they can be very effective.

However, short-term Lyme treatment can just as well fail, and that percentage of patients needs different options, says Boland.

And if you suspect you might have a tickborne illness, or if you’re still not feeling well after the initial course of antibiotics:

THIS AUGUST, Philly Foodworks and its members made a $17,000 loan to local farmer John Glick.

John will use this money to purchase a greenhouse and produce greens for Philly Foodworks members during the winter.

Greenhouses are smart investments for farms because they increase the duration of the growing season as well as increase the yield during the traditional growing season. Greenhouses are smart investments for customers, because they increase the availability of local

product during the winter and spring as well as help local farmers become more financially sustainable.

The concept behind the original C.S.A. (Community Supported Agriculture) programs was to share the financial risk of small scale farming with the whole community. By lending our community capital to John, we are sharing the risk together. Building a local food system is only possible if we as a community decide to invest in our land, our people, and our selves. Thank you Philadelphia for everything you do.

Philly Foodworks is a distribution network and online market in which eaters, distributors, and producers are all in it together. By investing in the mutual success and satisfaction of all parties along the way from the farm to your plate, we are determined to create a truly sustainable food system for our region.

When you shop Philly Foodworks, you too are helping change our food system! phillyfoodworks.com | 215-221-6245 | info@phillyfoodworks.com S E PTE M B E R 20 19

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EV EN TS

september 2019

S ep tember 14 On The Water Clean Up Help save a habitat that serves as a home for endangered birds as well as numerous turtles, mammals and fish. Darby Creek, a migratory stop for almost 300 birds, is littered with plastic bottles, bags and other garbage.

Grab a canoe, kayak or small watercraft and help at one of three locations. dcva.org WHEN: 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. COST: Free (Register in advance) WHERE: John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Morton Morton House and Ridley Marina

S ep tember 14

S ep tember 21– N ovember 24 Engaging Active Hope: The Practices of EcoPhilosopher Joanna Macy Active Hope addresses the challenges of climate change and draws on the work of Joanna Macy. The kick-off event will be followed by a workshop series offering concrete practices and tools to collectively transition to a more sustainable society. cranaleith.org WHEN: 9:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. for kick-off, 3:30 - 5 p.m. for sessions COST: $35 for kick-off, $20 per session WHERE: 13475 Proctor Rd.

America Plants Sale

S ep tember 25

Native American pollinator and garden plants, many not available in the area, will be on sale from a small local nursery. These plants are both attractive and ecologically restorative. dennisburton.wixsite.com/americaplants

IGEL Women in Sustainability Leadership Seminar Series: Francesca Kennedy

WHEN: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 654 Summit Ave.

S ep tember 17 Conservation Conversation: Climate Change Primer with C-Change Join Garden Workers Garden Club and Willistown Conservation Trust for this free talk.

Developed with scientists, business leaders and public policy experts, this presentation aims to foster an environment where people can join in a non-partisan climate change discussion. wctrust.org WHEN: 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: Rushton Convention Center, 915 Delchester Rd., Newtown Square

When Francesca Kennedy found out that the Guatemalan lake she had been baptized in was one of the world’s most polluted, she was inspired to act. She now runs the triple bottom line sandal company Ix Style to help her home country. igel.wharton.upenn.edu WHEN: 12 - 1:15 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 3730 Walnut St.

S ep tember 28 Tree Festival See trees in their autumn glory, and learn how they add beauty and value to our landscapes. Enjoy unique programs, hayrides, and demonstrations. Food and beverage selections are available on site. All activities are included with admission. Rain date: September 29. mtcubacenter.org WHEN: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. COST: $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6-17 WHERE: 3120 Barley Mill Rd.

S ep tember 28 West Craft Fest Shop artisan jewelry, handmade ceramics, clothing, accessories, prints, stationery, soaps, candles, children’s items and homewares, and enjoy live music, food trucks, children’s activities and acrobatic performances by Tangle Movement Arts. Rain date September 29. westcraftfest.com WHEN: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. COST: Free WHERE: 4000 Woodland Ave.

O ctober 2 2nd Annual Workplace Summit

S ep tember 28 Beekeeping 101 Whether you are an experienced beekeeper, a new beekeeper or thinking about starting a backyard hive, this workshop will take you through the ins and outs of managing honey bees. greensgrow.org

The Pennsylvania Conference for Women’s half-day summit is designed to promote effective partnerships and advance equity in the workplace. The summit offers proven, practical strategies to create workplaces that work for everyone. paconferenceforwomen.org/ summit WHEN: 1 - 5 p.m. COST: $75 WHERE: The Pennsylvania Convention Center

WHEN: 12 - 2 p.m. COST: $35 WHERE: 2501 E. Cumberland St.

TOP OF MIND local businesses ready to serve

crafts

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Sweet Mabel Store and Studio

954 Dance Movement Collective

Kimberton Whole Foods

The store offers art & craft from local and national artists, First Friday art openings and free gift wrap. The studio hosts parties, workshops, camp and open studio using repurposed goods. sweetmabel.com

Our mission is to get you dancing! The 954 Dance Movement Collective studio is also available for rehearsals, readings, classes, events, recitals, workshops, photography, video and performances. 954dmc.weebly.com

A family-owned and operated natural grocery store with six locations in Southeastern PA, selling local, organic and sustainably-grown food for over thirty years.

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In defense of environmental science A Penn alumna draws on her dual degree to defend climate scientists Lauren Kurtz (Master of Environmental Studies ‘12/Juris Doctorate ’10) is passionate about environmental policy. When she discovered that Penn’s Master of Environmental Studies (MES) program partners with Penn Law to offer a dual degree, she recalls, “I found the possibility of taking both tracks to be really exciting and valuable.” With environmental studies classes offered in the evenings, Lauren was able to balance her courseload with daytime employment at a law firm. “The MES program coordinators were wonderful and very flexible, which gave me the freedom to pursue research that was meaningful to me,” she reflects.

Lauren Kurtz, MES ‘12

VIRTUAL CAFÉ Join the MES program director from 12-1 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month, beginning in February, for an online chat about your interests and goals.

Log in with us.

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Now the Executive Director at the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, Lauren draws on her legal and environmental expertise to marshal resources and legal support for climate scientists who are legally threatened or harassed for publishing their environmental research. “We live in an era in which science and facts and truth are under siege,” says Lauren. “Scientists need support to fight back against attempts to censor their research.”

To learn more about Lauren’s mission to support climate scientists under fire, visit:

WWW.UPENN.EDU/GRID