White House Victory Garden

Victory Garden Poster

Ruth at synch-ro-ni-zing inspired me to post this item she found at Slow Food Nation.

Michael Pollan, author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural history of Four Meals” and Knight Professor of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote an open letter to the President-Elect Obama last October. He outlined many of the food-related challenges Obama will face as president and proposed a strategy to tackle them. One suggestion that will not cost billions of dollars of taxpayer money is to use five of the eighteen acres of the White House lawn to plant an organic fruit and vegetable garden. Eating locally shortens the food chain which can reduce our dependence on foreign oil. 

This is not a new idea. In 1917, President Wilson ordered a “war garden” to be planted at the White House to grow vegetables for the Wilson’s meals.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a “victory garden” at the White House In 1943 , spearheading a movement that inspired over 20 million home gardens that supplied 40 percent of the produce consumed in America.

San Francisco’s victory garden program was one of the nation’s finest. The first victory garden was planted in 1943 at the Civic Center site. Every park in the city had gardens, Golden Gate Park could boast over 250 garden plots, and many vacant lots were used for growing vegetables.

To hear Terry Gross' Fresh Air interview with Michael Pollan click here.

The Obamas could inspire millions of Americans by their example.

At Last

Other than the clock striking noon, when Barack Obama officially became the President of the United States, this was my favorite moment of inauguration day:

It was all perfect: The song, Beyonce, Michelle's dress, Barack in white tie, The First Couple gazing into each other's eyes...

Did it look like Barack was saying “How about that?” to Michelle? Is it considered eavesdropping when you read someone’s lips when they are dancing? I hope not.

Photo lifted from here.

Obama Inaugural Breakfast

Today at noon EST, the Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States. I was surrounded by friends as we watched President Obama deliver his inaugural address. As always, he set his hopes high:

“…We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”[1]

Having lived through the discrimination against ethnic Chinese in Indonesia, racism was foremost in my Chinese father’s mind when we emigrated from The Netherlands to America in 1966. He even made the last-minute decision to settle his family in San Francisco instead of New York City because he heard that San Francisco had the largest Chinese population in the nation. I recall having watched the turmoil of the American Civil Rights Movement on our television in Amsterdam. After our arrival, we witnessed the assassination of those who gave their lives defending the inalienable rights promised in the Declaration of Independence.

Today, I am bursting with pride that my adopted nation has not only survived the bloody turmoil of those years, but that now the headlines around the world will shout out that Barack Obama is our president!

I am also proud that this is the beginning of a new era:

The above keyring belongs to one of the guests at this morning’s inauguration breakfast.

Thank you to Dakota Angel and her husband for sharing this historic moment with us.

Did you watch the inauguration? Where were you and what were you doing?

_________________

[1] A full transcript of the prepared address is here.

From George Washington to Barack Obama

 Getty Images

With the presidential inauguration one week away, it is a good time to celebrate the genius of our constitution.  I find immeasurable comfort in knowing that I can wait out a presidential term to have another opportunity to vote in a new president -- without bloodshed. Good, bad, or indifferent, here are 44 of the many reasons why we live in a great country:

Plus it is always a good time to listen to Maurice Ravel's Boléro.

A Defining Moment in History

Oh what a night!

The ever-gracious Mor Mor Kris hosted the historic election night in her beautiful home. We ate gourmet cheeses, delicious chili, and Obama cookies:

We shared our voting stories. One guest drove a colleague to her precinct in East Palo Alto yesterday. The precinct worker told the colleage that she could not vote because she did not speak enough English. Fortunately, our friend was able to reach an attorney on his cell phone and within a half hour, the colleague was able to vote and the precinct worker was ejected. YES! Obama’s campaign had a pool of 5,000 lawyers available for all voters. Evidence of another stone that was not left unturned in Obama’s amazing campaign!

It was a long, hard campaign, but now victory was ours, fair and square. There were tears of joy, shouts of triumph, clenched fists of victory, and lots of champagne!

I am thrilled that I can travel abroad now without having to apologize for our administration. I wish Barack Obama wisdom and strength as he embarks on this historic journey.

Speaking of the future, I am honored to be nominated to run alongside tangobaby in her administration of 2012. I am looking forward to making lots of patriotic arrangements and bouquets and readying the compost bin ;-)