A Community Garden

THE PISGAH VIEW COMMUNITY PEACE GARDEN

PISGAH VIEW, ASHEVILLE, NC

JANUARY 13, 2009

Today Greg and I met with Bob White and Lucia Dougherty, a husband and wife team who are the catalysts for creating a community garden in an area that was once known more for drug deals than plant exchanges. 

It was a cold day by Asheville standards and Bob met us with a cozy fire on the edge of the garden. He recalled the first time he and a volunteer tried to till the tough clay soil and how much garbage had to be cleared from the former baseball field before a single plant could be introduced. It's difficult to believe looking at the garden now, even on this wintry morning. It all began with a voice.

One day, while listening to some Miles Davis music, Bob heard a voice inside him telling him to build a community garden. This was not something he had ever been involved with before. Bob had been a member of the Black Panthers back in the 1960s, worked as a carpenter, owned a bookstore and travelled around the country searching for answers to questions about racial disparity in America. At one point, after feeling like he was working hard but never getting ahead, he pretty much dropped out of society. He chose to become homeless and went on a different path.

Lucia appeared in his life at this point, a woman who's inner light and beauty can be seen a mile away. How could he resist this beautiful, intelligent young lady? Lucia voluntarily became homeless to be with Bob. They worked as community activists side by side until Lucia became pregnant with their first child. To make a long story short, they've been together since 1998 and have three beautiful daughters together. Lucia comes from a family of activists and was  accustomed to working for positive change in this community, particularly for members of the homeless community.

So when Bob told Lucia about that little voice in his head, Lucia wasn't really that surprised. She encouraged Bob to follow through with this idea. That was back in the Spring of 2007. Now, barely two years later, the Peace Garden is a place where people from all backgrounds come together. The Peace Garden is supported by lots of hard work, donations, and volunteers.

In this city where local farming is celebrated, the Peace Garden of the Pisgah View Community is a place filled with hope and renewal.

It was an honor to meet Bob and Lucia.

Up the Mountain Again

January 12, 2009

What is it here that makes me look forward to each day's adventure? Some people say it's the Magic of the Mountains. I think the people themselves are pretty magical.

Last week, Greg and I - with Lafayette in tow - tried to visit artists Toni De Lisa and Gregory Dunn. They live way up on a mountain near the lovely town of Black Mountain, only about 13 miles outside of Asheville. 

Now, I have to preface this by saying that I'm a nervous passenger, especially when it comes to winter driving and hairpin turns on mountainous roads. During our "engagement tour" up and down the California coast, I was a mess. We ran into another couple who were the reverse of us. She was the driver, he was the nervous passenger. There were "falling rock" warnings all along the treacherous roads. And the guy said, "Right now, a rock to the head wouldn't be such a bad thing." I agreed. As gorgeous as it was, it was difficult for me to enjoy the drives. Somewhere we still have a map where Greg wrote in the name of location: "Vomit Rock." Well, you can guess what happened to me there.

Anyway, I was really trying to put my fears aside. This time, Toni offered to meet us in town and drive us up. But Greg still wanted to do it on his own. I think a part of his manhood was at stake. So I rode with Toni and Greg followed. This time, I looked at the road through my camera and it was much easier. 

Toni and Greg Dunn are a wonderful couple who left Miami to live in the mountains of western North Carolina doing their art. Toni was a potter years ago and returned to that. Greg Dunn now makes tribal masks. She put out an incredible spread, starting with authentic Italian antipasti. We were joined by two other artists, Leo - a transplant from LA who creates paper sculptures, and Joan who is a fabric artist. Here we were on top of a beautiful mountain, so far away from the so-called art centers of the world, having what felt like a salon of artists meeting and talking about their work. When I was a kid reading about Paris in the 1920s, or Florence in the Renaissance, I yearned for that kind of life. But I thought I'd missed the boat and was born in the wrong time and the wrong place. Toni said she manifested this house in her mind over 20 years ago. Maybe I manifested this moment as well when I was a kid dreaming of living and working with other artists, having stimulating conversations and exchanging ideas. Ultimately, I realize now, I was searching for a sense of community, for a spiritual and physical connection to a place and people that shared some of my basic ideals. I know there are pockets of this all over the world. But for whatever reason, this area is more than a pocket. 

Greg Dunn told us that a lot of New Agers are attracted to these mountains; crystals are abundant here and many people find it to be a place of healing and rejuvenation. Maybe that's part of what makes me excited to wake up every morning these days.