squeaks

On Sunday I played at the Food and Faith Festival at the Steckle Farm in Kitchener, and my belt squeaked.

You wouldn’t think this would be a big deal, but you have to understand – I’m playing a new guitar (built by Phil, a friend of mine) that is astonishingly resonant (I have to wait around all morning for the last chord to finish ringing before I can make myself some lunch)… and I’m also wearing a new belt that I bought for $5 at the Markham Fair (the old one is falling apart, so not very useful anymore, at least for holding up pants)… and it turns out that the leather on the belt is remarkably resonant as well… and I couldn’t help but wonder if those squeaks I was hearing from my side of the guitar were being amplified through the instrument… and again through the mics and speakers…

Nobody mentioned it to me (the people were very kind), but I felt self-conscious all the same…

The Festival was great, by the way. Prayers and songs and stories and workshops and conversations – all about food, where it comes from, how it’s grown, distributed, consumed… why it matters… And I got to try out a few new songs too.

Brenda Knechtel, who runs a thirty member CSA ("Community Supported Agriculture" organic farm) near Wellesley, shared this quote that she came across somewhere:

“You’re only as healthy as the food you eat, and your food is only as healthy as the soil where it’s grown.”

And the Food Localism and Food Globalism workshop asked this question: "Can spending more for food really be better for everyone, including me?"

Hmmm…