Redneck

Last night for Barnaby’s Birthday Dinner we sat down to a table of fresh fish caught by his brother, fresh arugula from his mother’s garden and the wonderful pie made from the neighbor’s rhubarb.

Barnaby wanted his birthday meal to be as homegrown as possible --- made from the efforts at the FryFarm in Michigan and the family cabin on Gull Lake in Minnesota.

I could not believe that I had anything to do with the tasty salad we were eating. Barnaby’s mother reassured me that this was the very same arugula we planted a few weeks ago.

When I was working in the garden, with the sun on my neck, I began contemplating the term redneck. Redneck was a word I used to describe a person from the country, like a hick. It was intended as a put-down to describe someone who I thought didn’t know anything.

But time has a way of changing perceptions. After living in California for the last 9 years I have grown to appreciate local and slow food. California also gave me the chance to work with farm laborers and their families and introduced me to a new State Holiday.

Now I find the term redneck endearing. A word of high praise for all who are involved in our food production. To me, redneck now conveys a sense of self-sufficiency a la Emerson and Thoreau.

Apparently my “new view” is part of a growing trend (as reported in the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle). But when I sit in the hot-tub at the Chelsea Wellness Center and listen to the women talk, this is the way they have been eating all along --- meats from their own animals, vegetables from their gardens, canning their produce for the winter, etc. They don’t buy much from the store and they don’t need a book to teach them about it since it is something they already know. And I thought they didn't know anything.