There Is Goodness

Last Saturday night Carol and I attended The Community Kitchen First Annual Local Harvest Dinner.

Sounds quite granola like, no? It wasn't. It was spectacular.

Our friend Jason is on the board, it was a fund raiser, he invited us and we went.

It was outdoors in a beautiful country setting by a lake. Tables covered in white tablecloths, set with china and silverware, a gorgeous summer night, semi-casual dress, which felt good - no jeans, most of the woman were in dresses, I got to wear my treasured 100% silk Tommy Bahama shirt.

Music. Some dude and his guitar. He did a great job. No Zeppelin though.

Dinner was fabulous - bacon wrapped pork, damn delicious chicken, awesome potatoes, veggies, fresh salad, build your own sundaes for dessert, beer and wine.

Here's my point.

I am a realist. I point out the negative things in the world, the negative things about life, and they outnumber the good stuff exponentially. I despise phony optimism. I tell it like it is.

Every once in a while I come across something that excites my soul and stimulates faint hope.

The Community Kitchen is an organization based in Keene, begun in 1982, committed to providing meals to anyone who needs them in a safe and friendly environment.

They do not just hand out boxes of food. They provide as much fresh produce as possible so people can actually pick and choose what they want.

Gleaning. They are in to gleaning. What the hell is gleaning? When I heard the word I thought "Here we go, a bunch of granola loving tree huggers with some weirdo post hippie thingy.

According to TCK's brochure: "Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest. Some ancient cultures promoted gleaning as an early form of a welfare system."

Nine farms participate in this program. TCK gets lots of fresh produce.

Very, very cool. They are committed to providing healthy and nutritious food. They are not just handing out Kraft macaroni and cheese and Spam.

They showed us a brief film regarding their history and their philosophy. Everyone we met who is affiliated with the program was way cool.

Except Jason. He is the token misfit. But there is hope that in time he can be softened up.

All we see on the news today is killings. Cop killings, cops killing, children being slayed (you haven't forgotten about Newtown please!!!!), mass shootings followed by suicides, racial hatred and violence.

It was a warm and revitalizing feeling last Saturday night to learn about this program, the people who make it happen, to dine on a gorgeous summer night in comfort on an extravagant meal even as we were reminded of the many people who cannot afford to eat healthy.

It is so good to know there are people out there willing to put in the effort to take care of those who are less fortunate or going through a difficult patch in life. People who are committed to putting out extra effort to provide healthy options.............and dignity..............to those who need it most.

I have been harping about my commitment to making the most out of this summer. Last Saturday night was a highlight.

There is goodness in the world. The kind that keeps hope alive.