I’d like to begin the year with the most unforgettable and celebratory event of 2010 in EcoVillage, Ithaca, N.Y. At the double wedding of Liz Walker and Jared Jones, and Graham O and Otto Ottoson, we residents of EcoVillage and our families were present to the last person.
Jody Kessler, an ordained interfaith minister and well-known singer, officiated. She sang during the ceremony celebrating innocence and joy.
Our poet, Phebe Gustafson, performed a memorable poem with the lines: “I imagine the day when the seed that became the gourd, becomes the lamp that warms all the days of our winter.”
As in a 17th century poem, melodious birds sang madrigals around the meadow.
One of the grooms, Otto, wore a necklace made of gourds. “Graham and Otto are creative and whimsical,” says Sara Pines. “They play at life.”
Graham and Liz both wore elegant, long white dresses.
And Anna Schroeder, 7 years old, quotes one of Graham’s responses to Otto—“When I see a cool bug, I’ll show it to you”—and other such promises that made the guests burst into laughter.
Monty Berman says, “Picture this: a gorgeous sunny, dry May Sunday, folding chairs, white tents, set up for a crowd of over 400 who came up the hill across the meadow; the two brides wearing white wedding gowns—each with their own trains and bridesmaids walking up the hill to celebrate the joining of two longtime EcoVillage resident couples in happy matrimony. Warm smiles and engaging expressive faces —in short, our great experiment of EcoVillage in one of its finest hours.”
Deanna Berman says, “The wedding procession went for a walk through the EcoVillage land. It was as if the people following the trains of the two brides in wedding dresses were an extension of their trains and bridesmaids.”
Chris White says, “The double wedding was one of the most memorable events I have experienced at EcoVillage. There was a lot of great music.”
Liz says, “The wedding day was magical. It had been hard work preparing for it, but the day opened mysteriously. It was bigger, better than what I had imagined, filled with the radiant spirit of the community.”
Her 84-year-old mother went with her and Jared to Italy for the honeymoon in late September. They visited a pedestrian-oriented Italian EcoVillage; all three felt at home.
“We visited Italy’s Cinque Terra—five mountainous, medieval villages—no driving allowed, though train or boat was possible. We three chose to reach the villages by foot. We experienced blue Italian skies and seascapes; we reached villages with houses of stucco and tile, cobbled pathways, olive trees, fig trees, vineyards, and goats.”
Liz says, “I think of the writing as a spiritual calling; I am just the channel to express the possibility of living more sustainable lives. The book is an attempt to capture some of the stories of people trying to make the changes to create a better, more equitable world.”
The book has been endorsed in a list of Green Books in the latest Publishers Weekly.
Having read her first book at EcoVillage, Ithaca, Pioneering a Sustainable Culture, I found this one even more compelling. For one thing, I read a chapter about which I have strong feelings myself, and much experience—the chapter on racism.
Here is my muddle: My ancestors are Christian. I was born in a rain forest. I am a South Indian who has lived in Aden, Arabia; and in North India. My only language is English—not native to India. My ancestors were Syrian Christian, my soul is Western, my skin color equatorial.
I came to the U.S. on a Fulbright scholarship. I lived in Chicago—a most segregated city—for nearly 40 years at the University of Chicago. I know enough about racism to know who is talking from experience and who is in denial.
Ithacans believe that racism can be reversed through Talking Circles. When I read Liz’s chapter, its honesty and realism touched me to the core. I could not stay dry-eyed talking to her. Liz is honest about her own white middle-class background, even though she has lived as a child in Peru, as a teenager in England, and later as a young adult in San Francisco, Calif.
Until I read Liz’s chapter on racism, I never thought I would meet anyone in Ithaca who would understand the subtle underpinnings of racism. I strongly recommend it to readers.
The epigraph quotation from Maya Angelou suggests how racism enters both whites and blacks: “The plague of racism is insidious, and invisibly as floating airborne microbes enter into our bodies to find lifelong purchase in our bloodstreams.”
This is a short review, and there are many more sections to savor: The Ithaca Farmers’ Market, America the Fast Food Nation, The Commons, Carshare, Hydrofracking, and much more.
Jody Kessler, an ordained interfaith minister and well-known singer, officiated. She sang during the ceremony celebrating innocence and joy.
Our poet, Phebe Gustafson, performed a memorable poem with the lines: “I imagine the day when the seed that became the gourd, becomes the lamp that warms all the days of our winter.”
As in a 17th century poem, melodious birds sang madrigals around the meadow.
One of the grooms, Otto, wore a necklace made of gourds. “Graham and Otto are creative and whimsical,” says Sara Pines. “They play at life.”
Graham and Liz both wore elegant, long white dresses.
And Anna Schroeder, 7 years old, quotes one of Graham’s responses to Otto—“When I see a cool bug, I’ll show it to you”—and other such promises that made the guests burst into laughter.
Monty Berman says, “Picture this: a gorgeous sunny, dry May Sunday, folding chairs, white tents, set up for a crowd of over 400 who came up the hill across the meadow; the two brides wearing white wedding gowns—each with their own trains and bridesmaids walking up the hill to celebrate the joining of two longtime EcoVillage resident couples in happy matrimony. Warm smiles and engaging expressive faces —in short, our great experiment of EcoVillage in one of its finest hours.”
Deanna Berman says, “The wedding procession went for a walk through the EcoVillage land. It was as if the people following the trains of the two brides in wedding dresses were an extension of their trains and bridesmaids.”
Chris White says, “The double wedding was one of the most memorable events I have experienced at EcoVillage. There was a lot of great music.”
Liz Walker and Jared Jones, the First Couple
Since that day, much has happened in the lives of Liz and Jared, the first couple. Liz, the co-founder of EcoVillage, is currently managing the development of a third neighborhood dedicated to creating affordable and very green conditions.Liz says, “The wedding day was magical. It had been hard work preparing for it, but the day opened mysteriously. It was bigger, better than what I had imagined, filled with the radiant spirit of the community.”
Her 84-year-old mother went with her and Jared to Italy for the honeymoon in late September. They visited a pedestrian-oriented Italian EcoVillage; all three felt at home.
“The Italian EcoVillagers were cousins or something of our own pedestrian-oriented community here.
“We visited Italy’s Cinque Terra—five mountainous, medieval villages—no driving allowed, though train or boat was possible. We three chose to reach the villages by foot. We experienced blue Italian skies and seascapes; we reached villages with houses of stucco and tile, cobbled pathways, olive trees, fig trees, vineyards, and goats.”
Publication of Liz Walker’s Second Book
Since its publication, Liz’s book Choosing a Sustainable Future by New Society Publishers, about her evolving ideas and inspiration, has been read, cherished, and endorsed by an impressive number of readers and critics.Liz says, “I think of the writing as a spiritual calling; I am just the channel to express the possibility of living more sustainable lives. The book is an attempt to capture some of the stories of people trying to make the changes to create a better, more equitable world.”
The book has been endorsed in a list of Green Books in the latest Publishers Weekly.
Having read her first book at EcoVillage, Ithaca, Pioneering a Sustainable Culture, I found this one even more compelling. For one thing, I read a chapter about which I have strong feelings myself, and much experience—the chapter on racism.
Here is my muddle: My ancestors are Christian. I was born in a rain forest. I am a South Indian who has lived in Aden, Arabia; and in North India. My only language is English—not native to India. My ancestors were Syrian Christian, my soul is Western, my skin color equatorial.
I came to the U.S. on a Fulbright scholarship. I lived in Chicago—a most segregated city—for nearly 40 years at the University of Chicago. I know enough about racism to know who is talking from experience and who is in denial.
Ithacans believe that racism can be reversed through Talking Circles. When I read Liz’s chapter, its honesty and realism touched me to the core. I could not stay dry-eyed talking to her. Liz is honest about her own white middle-class background, even though she has lived as a child in Peru, as a teenager in England, and later as a young adult in San Francisco, Calif.
Until I read Liz’s chapter on racism, I never thought I would meet anyone in Ithaca who would understand the subtle underpinnings of racism. I strongly recommend it to readers.
The epigraph quotation from Maya Angelou suggests how racism enters both whites and blacks: “The plague of racism is insidious, and invisibly as floating airborne microbes enter into our bodies to find lifelong purchase in our bloodstreams.”
This is a short review, and there are many more sections to savor: The Ithaca Farmers’ Market, America the Fast Food Nation, The Commons, Carshare, Hydrofracking, and much more.
