Henry's Farm Update, 1-27-20
Hi folks,
Henry here with your weekly farm update.
Recently I’ve been going for the ‘1980’s Cattlemen’ look. I think it’s paying off with the girls at my YMCA play dates Grammy takes me to. Those cuties can’t begin to keep up with ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes’ because they’re fixated on my flannel and aviators. I just wish I had a little more beard stubble and a squarebody dually pickup to lean on. Someday, someday…
Anyhow, all this fashion got me thinking about style. Lots of styles exist in the world: clothing companies each appeal to a certain style of person. College faculties are made up of a certain style of person. Rural America possesses a different style than urban population centers. Different gyms have different styles. Sporting goods stores and raw goods stores have different styles of customer. You get the idea.
Often these styles clash. We’re human. We’re tribe-oriented. We all gravitate towards others who look like us, and repel those who don’t. The mentality kept us safe back in the beginning. It’s still in our DNA. Yet, underneath the conflict, which is largely created from our own imagination and empowered by our own politics, we all basically want the same thing.
Which is why our farm is so cool. There isn’t a stereotypical Clarion Farms Customer. I’ll tell you this – the diversity of people who love this farm is mindblowing. Total polar opposites have a connection when they stop by to visit this piece of ground and pick up some beef for the week. Our farm driveway has a way of disarming people.
Why? Because when we strip away everything else, we all basically want the same thing. We’re not as different as we like to think. There is no stereotypical Clarion Farms Customer. Good work is unquestionably unifying. Good work, described by Wendell Berry, is that which is ‘necessary, enduringly valuable, and pleasing to the worker.’ Furthermore, good work – in our case, local food production – takes place at home where you can participate in the vision and accomplishment.
Thank you, friends, for participating. I heard an interesting idea yesterday – we’re not creating a community, we’re forming a Nation. A Nation links arms and defends one another. A Nation is diverse, good, and focused. A Nation, friends, is strong, but it doesn’t have to be big. The Nation of Clarion. I like it.
See you at the farm!
Sincerely,
Henry Port