Intro: biking back home to 8 High St on the path on a Friday afternoon – 8-year olds on ebikes, pedestrians crossing streets at will, the abundance of the freedge
5m: excerpt from UVA prof Peter Norton’s book, “Fighting traffic: the dawn of the motor age in the American city”
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/when-cities-treated-cars-as-dangerous-intruders/?utm_source=pocket-newtab
11m: and for a balanced media, a pro-car song: Johnny Cash sings One Piece at a Time
16m: My friend and imprisoned pen pal Peter “Pitt” Mukuria on Abolition https://www.prisonradio.org/commentary/the-meaning-of-abolition/
18m: Coming back from KY in early August, I met Peter “Pitt” ‘s mom Eunice, in Richmond VA (and his dad). She shares her love for her son and challenges of the situation, and gratitude for a supportive community. Eunice also mentioned to me, after the interview, that Peter’s case was one of 3 similar cases in a short time span in their area, where someone was killed during a police car chase. One of the deaths was of a police officer, after which the township changed their policies around the police giving chase.
27m: Buffy Sainte-Marie sings Starwalker
30m: mad rush bike ride from the Mukuria’s back to the train station, about 16 miles away, on the north side of Richmond.
34m: On the train I met Annie, a UMass grad student designing plastic polymers so they will break down.
38m: Pulaski Park (downtown Northampton) volunteer weeding times – last Sunday, this coming Sunday morning. Thanks Paige Bridgens for tending to this public space, and guiding us on renovating a space that was planted with native perennials but is now being strangled with weeds.
39m: Catherine Orland, a former housemate from 20 years ago is back East for a visit. 5 years ago she became a park ranger/ interpreter, working on a curriculum re immigration, among other things.
49m: WMSURJ monthly meeting coming up . Find out about their Indigenous Reparations campaign. Here’s a link to a video from the Hassanimisco Band of Nipmuc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9UyuhGsVfE
50m: A child was hit by a man in a truck last week in Florence between the community gardens and recreation fields. Hit n run. The child is ok.
51m: I did some Saturday night stalking, with a yogurt container of water, of 4 neighbor kids who were throwing food from the Freedge at our fence.
54m: The Impossible Dream, sung by Jack Jones