PERSPECTIVE

perspective perspective Generosity learning, being and doing Sit down and eat up Sharing a meal together brings some calm in the storm A young man approached me in a parking lot yesterday. “My family and I are staying over there and if we could get five dollars we could get a pizza. If we could get ten we could get two and that would cover us.” I had no idea whether his story was true. He looked as though he was living rough, though—gaunt, sunken cheeks, despairing eyes. Without hesitation, I pulled out my wallet and handed him ten bucks. I don’t know just why I did it. He wasn’t threatening. He wasn’t over imploring. He just seemed to really need a boost right then and interacting with him right there a couple of feet away, I just felt it was a moment. It’s not that I’m on a mission to give away all of our money. I walk and drive by plenty of people who are asking for a little push. And I’m not driven to help others by a sense of guilt or even a feeling of being lucky enough to have it and these others don’t and so therefore it’s my social obligation to do it. Nor do I get a big sense of satisfaction. I have a hard time pinpointing why I feel compelled to help out sometimes, whether scooping a sidewalk for a neighbor or stopping to push a car, and other times not so much. Every fall, a neighbor of ours comes by with his air compressor and blows out our sprinkler lines. He makes the rounds in our corner of the neighborhood and gets everyone ready for winter. He doesn’t ask for anything. He just does it because he can. It is not a transactional offer in any way. Theresa Baer writes this month in her Learn and Live column about teaching children to be generous and to volunteer. She also offers some ideas about where and how. The idea is to help children to be aware of others’ needs and to understand that they, themselves, have something to offer. The goal is for them, really all of us, to not just do generosity as an activity that we have come to understand as something that we should do because we’re lucky enough to have something and those other people are struggling. Where we’re really headed with this is for our children to see people who are just like they are, who just want to be happy just as they do and who don’t want to feel bad just as they don’t want to. We want to get beyond the them and us feelings. We don’t just drop money in a can and walk by. We stop. We talk and engage with people who are just like us. In the end, we want to be generosity, not just do generosity, though the path to being generosity, it seems, lies through the path of doing generosity. F ires, drought, pandemic, civil unrest and election politics combine to put us off our game, a little bit. Nothing seems normal or easy right now. We are all a little, or a lot, out of balance with uncertainty, disrupted routines, cash-flow challenges and on and on. So where might we find an anchor? Something that is comfortable and familiar? I’d say look no farther than your dining room table. Something as ordinary and necessary as our daily meals can suddenly seem like that safe port in a storm. For many of us, COVID-19 has changed our daily routines and maybe opened up opportunities to spend more time together. This may, at times, vary between feeling like a blessing or a curse, but it could open the door for us to purposefully sit down to dinner together every night. It seems that this might be especially settling for everyone in the household in these squishy off-balanced times. Just sitting down and asking each other how the day went and what exciting or challenging things came up helps us all feel more connected, which is nice when things can seem to be spinning on the edge of control. Getting most or all of the family involved in planning and preparing meals, a couple times a week anyway, can take that connection to the next level. Food is so basic, not just to keeping us alive, but also to our identity and ties to our family and culture. We can take a minute to enjoy the aroma of bread (or better, cookies!) that we mixed up together filling the house. And then we get to eat them! Food is more than just calories that we need to keep our bodies and minds running. Food is, in a way, medicine. As the cliché goes, we are what we eat. By viewing food as nourishment, we might start to make choices, starting with planning and shopping, that make us feel better and healthier. Plenty of nutrition information is out there, so I’m not going to suggest Scott’s 3 Steps to Healthier Eating beyond saying that it seems the closer food is to it’s original, natural form, the more healthful it is for you. And there’s no place like a farm stand or a farmers market to get that kind of fresh, straight-off-the-vine fare. In our Bounty Special Section this month, we highlight some local farmers and let them tell you how they’re adapting to the new rules, what they have to offer you, and how shopping locally supports the economy right here where we live. We have also gathered a list of Farmers Markets and Farm Stands in the area. And finally, check out the Virtual Farmers Market, where you can support local farmers, artisans and other small businesses. Bon appetite, Scott

‘Tis the season,

Scott

OCTOBER 2019 • Volume 24, Issue 6 SEPTEMBER 2020 • Volume 25, Issue 4 PUBLISHER Scott Titterington, (970)221-9210 scott.rmpublishing@gmail.com PUBLISHER Scott Titterington, (970)221-9210 EDITOR scott.rmpublishing@gmail.com Kristin Titterington, (970)221-9210 kristin.rmpublishing@gmail.com EDITOR Kristin Titterington, (970)221-9210 CREATIVE DIRECTOR kristin.rmpublishing@gmail.com Emily Zaynard emily.rmpublishing@gmail.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Emily Zaynard ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR emily.rmpublishing@gmail.com Greg Hoffman, (970)689-6832 greg.rmpublishing@gmail.com ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Greg Hoffman, (970)689-6832 DISTRIBUTION MANAGER greg.rmpublishing@gmail.com ADVERTISING SALES EXECUTIVE Susan Hartig DISTRIBUTION MANAGER susan.rmpublishing@gmail.com Susan Harting COVER PHOTO susan.rmpublishing@gmail.com Cheri Schonfeld, Courtesy of COVER PHOTO Sky’s Open Design - skysopendesign.com istockphoto.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Theresa Baer, Lea Hanson, Katie Harris, Theresa Baer, Lea Hanson, Katie Harris Lynn U. Nichols Lynn U. Nichols, Scott Titterington

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