Deeply Rooted ... Again

So much for Cinco de Mayo. It's Siete de Mayo and right now, at this very moment, a combination of rain and snow are falling upon our roof and into our yard. It makes sense, then, that today I revisit a post I made on December 20 of 2009. In "The Link between Humanity and the Earth" I wrote about several books I was reading at the time, one of which, Deeply Rooted: Unconventional Farmers in the Age of Agribusiness, I quoted.

I mentioned that I would likely carry that book along with me to Baltimore while I visited my sister over Christmas. I didn't. There were just too many items to haul on my back and tote in my hands. I opted for thin, lightweight magazines as carry-ons instead.

I didn't finish reading Deeply Rooted until early March. It wasn't that I didn't like it but, rather, that it touched me deeply and I needed time to soak in the words, thoughts, and feelings of these farmers that Lisa Hamilton profiled. I keep a journal in which I record my thoughts and impressions about books I've read. Here's what I wrote about Hamilton's book:

     What a wonderful, encouraging, inspirational, educational, salutational read! Hamilton excels in telling the stories and highlighting the trials and triumphs of three very different farmers from three very different parts of the US: African-American Harry Lewis, a dairyman in Texas; Virgil Trujillo, a tenth-generation rancher in New Mexico; and the Podolls, two white brothers in North Dakota who are breeding new varieties of plants.
     I loved this book! though it took stamina to read. Truly, it is the story of my father and my father's father. It is the tale of farm families who are so rooted to the Earth, so spiritually sustained by the land that grew them, that they continue to search for ways to stay on that land and outlast--or outwit--the culture of corporate farms that seeks to plow them under.
     Hamilton is an excellent writer. She skillfully weaves together these diverse--yet similar--people of the Earth who speak up for a cause greater than money and no less vital than the survival of our Earth, her resources, and the survival of humanity.

I felt such gratitude that Lisa Hamilton was willing to take on such an enormous task that I sent her an email of thanks. I visited her website, http://www.lisamhamilton.com/, and wrote, in part:

     Thank you for being a voice for the people in the world who go about their work quietly as they raise our food and tend to the land. Thank you for reminding us that there are still farmers who do their jobs with a strong--dare I say, spiritual--awareness of the Earth that nourishes them (and all of us).
     Thank YOU for the work you do in the world, too, for without your words and pictures, your hours of listening and learning, following and questioning, and coming to know the ethics and values of these brave souls, agribusiness and the media might thoroughly convince us that there are no other options left in the world  of farming....

I was startled, and yes, surprised to receive an email in response from Lisa Hamilton some five weeks later which made me feel glad that I had taken the time and made the effort to convey my thanks. She concluded her email with these words:

I must also tell you that your timing was wonderful--uncanny, even. I received this during a period of muddy thinking, when I had become unclear or unsure of what I was writing about and why. Your words helped remind me that I already knew the answer--I already knew what really mattered to me--I just had to believe in it. So thank you for that!

I've read hundreds and hundreds of books over the years and enjoyed and cherished many of them. This was the first time I actually followed through and wrote an author. Lisa's response reminded me that we can all use a good word now and then as we offer our work to the world. I'm happy that my words made a difference to someone whose words made a difference to me! How's that for a "what goes around comes around" moment?