The Keep Going Song (The Bengsons)

[thanks to CT for the heads-up to the amazing artist Favianna Rodriguez!]

I am a big fan of the boycott; ask my children, as over the years we have avoided Pizza Hut, Domino's, Hooter's, Chick-fil-A, Fox News, Nestle', Curves gym, etc.  We also proudly take part in the buycott, supporting companies/products that align with our values and principles.  Our family believes in voting with our wallet, and using our dollars to create change.

After much thoughtful consideration, over a month ago I decided to follow through on a hard and fast boycott of Publix, the Florida supermarket chain.  The below article provides all the details but, when I heard in late-January that Publix heiress Julie Jenkins Fancelli helped fund the bulk of former President Donald Trump's January 6 rally in Washington, D.C. that took place just before the Capitol riot, I finally decided to pull the plug on my association with them.  Of course Publix posted a non-disclaimer in that she wasn't technically an employee and therefore this had nothing to do with them, but the supermarket chain has long been known for giving money to conservative causes, most recently Ron DiSantis' re-election (2022) PAC.

Call it the proverbial straw, but I am *done* with them.  Fortunately there are many other grocery store "games" in town, among them Trader Joe's, Sprouts, Aldi, Target, Whole Foods, and Costco, most of whom deliver via Instacart.  They may not miss me, but I will definitely not miss them, and I am of the Alice's Restaurant philosophy, that segues from one person to two ("in harmony") to three ("an organization") to 50 ("they may think it's a movement").

Join me?  #boycottPublix 

‘The last straw’: the US families ending love affair with grocery chain after Capitol riot:  Families are boycotting Publix after a member of founding family donated $300,000 to the Trump rally that preceded January’s deadly Capitol attack

As is tradition, five items below of beauty, interest, and humor to brighten your day/weekend/week.  Enjoy!

~ Curbside Pickup. Bicycle Deliveries. Virtual Book Discussions. Amid Virus, Bookstores Get Creative:  “We’re going to operate like a pizza takeout place,” one independent bookstore owner said. (thanks to CT, again, for the nod to this article!)

~ Chocolate:  Some people are perfectly fine without it. My friend Ross jokes that he can go for months at a time and not even notice. I too felt like that about chocolate—that is, until the pandemic started. (by Aimee Nezhukumatathil)

~ Kate Baer Is Speaking Truth. From Her Minivan:  Who says motherhood can’t be literary, even poetic?

~ The Bengsons:  Married duo The Bengsons blend soaring vocals, frenetic rhythms and rousing all join hands choruses to create new hybrid indie rock/art/theater performances. Their Americana-influenced brand of Indie Rock has received accolades from fans and critics alike.  [I am officially obsessed with these people, after discovering their Keep Going Song a few months ago.  They have a YouTube channel, and there is a musical, too.  Wow!

~ Why I Didn’t Answer Your Email:  Because my inbox will always be waiting for me, but my children will not. (by KJ Dell’Antonia)

NR:  Infinite Country by Patricia Engel

SONG:  The Keep Going Song by The Bengsons

BOOK:  The Dandelion Insurrection:  love and revolution by Rivera Sun

POEM:  Experiment in Empathy by Ellen Bass

The scientist places each rat

in its own glass box

and for thirty seconds he plays

"What a Wonderful World."

In the last three seconds, he shocks the rat.

This is followed by ninety beats of silence.

And then the cycle begins again.

As she describes it to me

I can't help thinking

how familiar this is - one minute

Louis Armstrong singing

and the next--

some fever or wreck, some impossible mistake.

And I sit holding a spoon,

unable to lift it to my mouth, unable

to put it down.

This strain of rats descends 

from a circus in the 1800s. Their ancestors

swung in satin-ribboned trapezes

and leaped through tiny rings of fire.

Now, none of those skills can save them.

And here's the thing:

a rat who isn't shocked,

who only watches,

panics too. That is empathy.

Feeling what another creature feels.

But sometimes it's too much to ask

a person to inhabit

the strange region of a foreign heart.

Once, when I was in a glut of pain,

I said to a friend,

Just take an hour and imagine

this is happening to you.

She looked straight ahead

and said, I don't want to.

QUOTE:  “There is only one time that is important – NOW! It is the most important time because it is the only time that we have any power.” ~ Leo Tolstoy

High Steppin' (The Avett Brothers)

[ Thanks so much to my friend MegHS for this picture!  She knew how much I loved the one of the Boston Common ducklings wearing pussy hats a few years ago, and this was a very thoughtful share...  :-) ]

Emotions are running high, with family as well as friends and, when the going gets tough, the tough go into roly-poly mode... except that yesterday I needed groceries and had vowed not to step foot in a store until all this is over.  I've been talking about using Instacart and finally signed up ($99 annual fee; peace of mind priceless).  Placed two orders, one for our household and one for my friend R (a snowbird who is "stuck" here until things are improved enough for her to go home to Maryland).  The process is easy-peasy, choosing items from the Publix website to add to your cart (they even give you a heads-up when something is BOGO, so you can add the second item to qualify). The app tells you when your shopper is in the store, what they suggest as a replacement (if your first choice is not available), when they are checking out, and when they are on the way to your home.  Instacart adds a 5% tip (which goes to the shopper) to the credit card you have on file, and Googling the process recommends adding another 5% in cash at the door (gladly).  This is a gamechanger!  Lysa was amazing.  She made substitutions where necessary, was so nice, and complimented us on our healthy eating, despite the Wise chips variety pack (I give my husband the non-vegan ones) and the Sweet Lorens cookie dough on the list!  We are stocked up for at least another two weeks.

Confession that, in addition to the earrings I bought a few weeks ago on Amazon, I also purchased The newest Avett Brothers CD, Closer Than Together, and the round-trip of delivering R's groceries was the perfect time to give it a listen.  Wow!  I could probably use each and every song as a title for the next 12 blog posts (is that a challenge, Susan?).  I segued from sniffling to welling to full-out weeping.  I enjoyed an all-Avett-Brothers Spotify playlist on my walk yesterday afternoon, and my legs were already twitching to pound the pavement, especially to such thoughtful music.

P.S.  Whenever I am on my way to pick up (for a music- or food-related outing), or drop off something, I always text R that I am "crossing Cleary" (the main street near her home) to let her know I am close.  She suggested we write a song with that title.  It could very well happen...  :-)

SONG:  High Steppin' by The Avett Brothers

BOOK:  Make Way for Ducklings 75th Anniversary Edition by Robert McCloskey

POEM:  When Giving Is All We Have by Alberto Ríos

                                              One river gives
                                              Its journey to the next.

We give because someone gave to us.
We give because nobody gave to us.

We give because giving has changed us.
We give because giving could have changed us.

We have been better for it,
We have been wounded by it—

Giving has many faces: It is loud and quiet,
Big, though small, diamond in wood-nails.

Its story is old, the plot worn and the pages too,
But we read this book, anyway, over and again:

Giving is, first and every time, hand to hand,
Mine to yours, yours to mine.

You gave me blue and I gave you yellow.
Together we are simple green. You gave me

What you did not have, and I gave you
What I had to give—together, we made

Something greater from the difference.

QUOTE:  "To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him." ~ Buddha