Greetings CSA Members-
This is a time of year for a million or more markers of the season: first frost, last tomato sandwich etc etc.
It is also a time for me, personally, of significant life shifts…. at least, impending ones. Last night our youngest son Jasper (17 years) and his Winona High School boys’ soccer team lost its sectional semifinal tournament game, ending 12+ years of competitive soccer in our family. Our oldest son Emmet (26 years) surprised us by flying in from Washington, DC, for the game. In two short weeks Oscar (22 years) will be leaving the house to move to Texas; the inevitable “empty nest” syndrome is just months away for me and Jenni. Dang…. all so bittersweet. Despite the bright sunshine of the most glorious autumn I can ever remember here in Minnesota, I’ll admit to feeling more than a bit of gloom recently.
And yet, I must keep things in perspective here, regarding everything from vocational ups and downs to family transitions. And employing 25+ farmworkers from Guanajuato, Mexico, is one great way to help me do this.
Earlier this month I spent several days working on plumbing and electrical upgrades in the basement of one of the farmhouses where we house some of these farmworkers as part of our Visa contract with the US Department of Labor. This work took me repeatedly through the bedroom of a particular farmworker, a “second generation” member of the Pantojas family (Daniel’s father worked here many years). Over and over again, I emerged from the basement steps to see, square before me, the open closet in which Daniel was (is still!) amassing supplies to bring home to his family. Here is the picture (used w Daniel’s permission) that I took one day in there:
Wow, a picture says 1,000 words, and more. 80% of what you see in here is children’s clothing and shoes, all accumulated this summer to bring home to young children in Mexico, 2000 miles away. It focused my attention, over and over again, passing this scene as I worked.
Daniel Pantoja has spent season after season after season away from his wife, parents, and of course young children, all in an act of supreme devotion to the well being of those very family members. His work has fed many thousands of Minnesotans over that period of time, including you, dear member.
I am not diminishing my own family experience and anguish here- or that of any Minnesotan or other ‘first world’ family. Rather, I am commenting on parallel realities, that I think all of us in positions of relative comfort and affluence could do well to think about.
I mean, really think about.
We are so inundated with images of mass migration and suffering in this world of ours. As destabilized climate makes more and more of our planet unlivable, these images will become even more common and unsettling. These are simply facts of life in the 21st century. They are not political statements.
Imagine the daily life reality of someone like Daniel Pantojas in his village in highland Mexico, that he would give up the simple, mathematical majority of his time with his young children, to come to Minnesota 6+ months every year to pick kale for American tables. Imagine the Daniel Pantojas-like characters in Venezuela or Honduras. In Syria or in the Congo. Please, I ask of you- Daniel asks of you- please try and put all the political rhetoric about immigration out of your thoughts for a brief moment and really contemplate this.
Who of us could blame any other person who migrates, legally or otherwise- to try and feed their families? And when these folks show up in our fields picking tomatoes- or in our nursing homes cleaning bedpans- how could a compassionate, thoughtful person not feel even a pinch of gratitude?
Enough said from my soapbox! I know that I, for one, will feel powerful mixed emotions in a couple of weeks, when Daniel and his fellow Guanajuatecos pack up and return to their homes. Sorrow, selfishly, to see them leave our lives for the winter. But overarching delight that they can do so, once again, with bank accounts padded for the coming 5 months. And suitcases full of children’s shoes.
I wish you and your families, near and wide, a wonderful winter. It has been a real honor and privilege, to provide fresh produce for you these past 6 months; I say this deliberately, with no irony. I am certain that Daniel would say the same thing, if he were up here at this computer rather than out harvesting parsley this crisp October morning.
Gratefully,
Jack
p.s. one final reminder: this upcoming week's farm share, on either October 20th or 21st, is your last summer delivery of the season. If haven't yet signed up for our winter program and you'd like to stay on for those deliveries, we still have a handful of shares left. To review things like dates and pricing, just click here for all the details. And if you're ready to join, just log into your account here. Once you log in, click on the "My Farms" tab and then click on "Place Order." You'll then be prompted through the sign up process.
