Did you say 'Valley'!?!

Yes I said Valley -- as in Mississippi Valley State. It was there I was able to share in the experience of a free concert performed by a local ensemble of jazz and blues musicians (most notably a woman past her mid life rocking out on bass guitar) followed by two of the Marsalis brothers - Branford & Delfeayo. The concert was excellent. Above is me and Delfeayo (Branford disappeared). Below is the jazz/blues ensemble (left) and my girl Mz. Nellie gyrating on bass (blurry right).

Sociological Conference

After months of preparing, surveying, interviewing, analyzing, and then writing JR & I finally completed (at least this phase) our alternative food systems assessment. This assessment served to further engage and enlighten me on social justice and community development issues and needs, assist the Delta in the development of stronger alternative food markets, get me out to see the nooks and crannies of the Delta, and hang out with my partner in crime JR. What seemed to be the biggest hurdle to climb in this process -- the actual written document -- has been behind us since December. Currently, work has directed me toward finding solutions to the marketing, communications, and education/community outreach issues faced by the Delta in regard to a more sustainable food system. I have made three proposals and am working on the realization of each of them by Spring. In the meantime JR and I, as well as other members of the Institute for Community-Based Research, took a trip to Alabama to present our work at the Alabama Mississippi Sociological Association (AMSA). The AMSA trip was, among many things, fun. After a full day of work a group of approximately 12 of us left at 6:15 pm. After a brief stop at Burger King and another not so brief stop at some strange truck stop, we finally arrived in Alabama at 1:30 am. We all hit the sheets but were ready to go again by 9 am. About half of the group presented that Thursday afternoon. The rest of us were slated for Friday. After the presentations Thursday afternoon we stayed for the banquet dinner Thursday evening. We arrived back at our hotels around 9:30 that evening. Though some of us had to present the next morning (namely JR & I at 9 am) several of us decided to go out, briefly, to let our hair down. Around 4:30 the next morning we returned to our hotel rooms to let our hair back up and prepare for our presentations later that same morning. There is something to be said for good preparation. Before leaving for Alabama many of us gathered to present our work to each other. Adjustments were made and new scripts were written all before we hit the van. Friday our presentations flowed seamlessly. Everyone's performance went well -- even those of us who saw the sun rise on our preparation. The pic above includes some of my fellow passengers & Institute partners.

It's beginning to look a lot like.....

I haven't quite acclimated myself to the winters in Mississippi yet. My mind is still in Minnesota. At five o'clock I hit the front doors of the office bearing down with the expectation of frosty winds and biting cold. Instead I hit a wall of warmth. Mississippi, apparently, is usually cool, wet, and gray during the winter months. The gray I'm used to. The other stuff -- not so much. The rains in the Delta are heavy. The heaviness exists not so much in the actual amount of precipitation, but rather the feeling it emotes and its 'stay-ed-ness'. The gray clouds just sort of hang. Low. And stay. The temps also seem to fluctuate wildly daily. One day it is 70 degrees the next it is forty. One day I was teased for wearing a turtleneck and a sweater shawl in the morning and having to run my air conditioning later that evening. Above is a pic taken off of my balcony during an afternoon.

Shared Video

Embedded is a video shared with me about Mound Bayou, Mississippi. Mound Bayou is located just up highway 61. I found the clip interesting though clearly nuanced. I am passing it along to this blogs readers and hopefully you will enjoy it as well.


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