Mostly Santa Cruz

This week I made a small trip into my representative's office. Wally Herger had responded to a letter I wrote to save Planned Parenthood funding with total uninformed drivel so I sent his letter to as many people as I could and responded myself. Wally thinks that only one percent of Planned Parenthood services are primary care services and I just couldn't let that go-- so many young women (men and older women,) depend on the services, not just for reproductive care but for cancer and STD screening and treatment and referrals. It's too much to go into here but it is offensive that he takes his ill-informed information from right wing, sensationalistic, rabidly anti-abortion websites. Then Ellen Simon and I took a longer trip to Santa Cruz to visit our old friend Mathilde Rand (on biodiesel.)

Besides the beautiful shift in weather from rainy to springy we were able to get me some (Veggie Voyagers) book sales, time on public t.v. on a panel with other non-fossil fuel spokespersons, and lots of bio-diesel to take home from the Green Station.

One of the high points of our time together was the tour of the backyard of this Food Not Lawns cooperative. It was a-buzz with music, hair-cutting and urban gardening and small animal husbandry. We had a lovely time with our tour guide who reminded me alot in her commitment and straight-forwardness with the GRUB cooperative folks here in Chico. Their model is how to lower food costs, learn self sufficiency, and live in harmony with the earth even within an urban environment... It was inspiring.

Another favorite thing, of course, was walking to and on the beach. We got to see and imagine the damage done to some of the piers in the harbor by the tsunami and wander along this old railroad line, now decidedly in the tide line. It was a wonderful visit and I really appreciate Ellen's companionship and Mathilde's hospitality and the friendship of both.