So, for the past 2 months, my recorder and thumb drives for my radio show, and my road bike, have all been in UMAss Police Custody. Gabor and I faced felony larceny charges. Finally in this episode I tell the full story.

Alex Jarrett: “Three years ago I spent a week walking in the Hudson Valley of New York, asking people their thoughts and feelings about climate change, staying with people I’d never met before each night, gaining an understanding of what stops people from taking action, and finding some serendipitous surprises about my influence in the world.

What I didn’t know then was that the biggest challenge would be editing the podcast! There’s just one episode, and it’s finally ready.

Thanks to Barry Febos, John Michelotti, Kristen Wilmer, Kaya Weidman, Ed Baum, Julia Indichova, Connor Stedman, Lori Gross, Fiona Fraser-Gross, Ethan and Dyami Soloviev, AnnMarie Tedeschi, Tom Houghton, Sarah Scott, Petra Aldrich, Air Nonken, Sarah Womer, Sara Katz, Myk Freedman, Julie Rosier and Oliver Brown.”

For more including pictures from the journey, see Alex’s website:

https://www.sharett.org

Jackie Brown, mechanic and program leader for All Out Adventures, stopped by my house to talk about how she became a bike mechanic, and about her work with All Out Adventures. AOA is based in Northampton and provides outdoor recreation opportunities for people of all abilities. Popular programs include biking (triking) and kayaking. https://alloutadventures.org/

On July 6, 2019, Daniel and Nancy came to Northampton to check out Pedal People refuse collection by bike. We had a fun, exciting day biking around together, going to the Bike Lab, checking out trailers and hitches and compost buckets and all that. Daniel wants to start compost and/or refuse collection by bike in Cite Soleil, Haiti, as part of Sakala, which is a youth empowerment organization that he was instrumental in creating about 15 years ago. They do sports, urban gardens, recycled art, scholarships, and many other things. sakala-haiti.org As I shared with them my excitement about the Trinidad Bicycle Osmosis Project I’m working on, Daniel reminded me often, “You know, Haiti is a lot closer than Trinidad!”

Robbie Leppzer is a local filmaker who has documented grassroots social justice movements for over 40 years. Power Struggle is about the successful 6+ years long citizen campaign to close Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor in Vernon, VT. The film is being screened this week, June 6th and 7th, at the Northampton Center for the Arts on Hawley St.        https://www.powerstrugglemovie.com

1m:  Koffee sings “Toast”

3m:  This morning while emptying the downtown trash barrels, I came across Roan Dunkerly, Noah Daube-Valois, and Jamie Payne, sitting on the steps of Northampton City Hall holding signs like “We love our teachers” and “We demand fair pay for teachers”. The three are 7th graders at JFK Middle School in Florence, and had walked out of school this morning and continued walking 4 miles to City Hall to deliver their message to the mayor and the public.
Community meeting coming up:

#FundOurFuture #TheSchoolsOurChildrenDeserve
Tuesday June 4th, Florence Civic Center, 5:30-7:30pm. Free pizza and childcare.

the rest of the show is… music, updates about my visit to Bikes Not Bombs and the Trinidad bike project, WMSURJ meeting and the reparations campaign, Florence night out coming up Saturday, “Race: The Power of an Illusion” Saturday in Greenfield, sponsored by Racial Justice Rising.

songs:  Ray Charles: Georgia on my Mind; JFK Middle School Jazz Band; Diana Ross – Reach Out and Touch Someone;  Gil Scott-Heron – Who’ll Pay Reparations on my Soul; Andy Grammer – Give Love

This is the 2nd episode about  my recent trip to Trinidad.

1m Arriving in Trinidad and getting through immigration

10m Aiko explains how she caught a ride on a boat from Europe to the Caribbean

29m Chronixx sings “There Ain’t No Givin In”

33m   Joseph B talks of his Meriken heritage.  The Merikens were enslaved in the southern US, and fought with the British in the War of 1812, with the promise of freedom, and eventually resettled in the southern part of Trinidad.

36m Ariel and Kamaya, two of the little girls of St Mary’s, cooking at Noriga’s

39m Bob Marley “Coming in from the Cold”

44m Anouck, another person who came as part of the One Family Farm work exchange, talks about her trip across the Atlantic.  findacrew.com is a boat hitchiking website that Aiko and Anouck both used.

55m Billy Joel “Downeaster Alexa”

I unexpectedly spent 6 weeks of the winter in Trinidad, warmly welcomed to One Family Farm in Moruga. I had meant to join my friend Mika on another Caribbean Island, on his homemade bamboo boat, but when he got blown away at sea, I went on workaway.info and found the farm and went there instead. Wow. Can’t wait to go back.  I had wanted to interview Giselle, the most hospitable farmer ever, but didn’t manage to.
2m: Kevin’s heart
11m Skinny Fabulous, Machel Montano & Bunji Garlin sing Familaylaylay
23m Chronixx sings “Who Knows”
29m Noriga (and Mikayla) on natural fresh food, i.e. baji stalk drink
41m Ras on healthy local food
47m Buju Banton sings Hills and Valleys