This is was gonna be short (o.k., I got carried away), and maybe not so sweet to some, but…...perhaps the cheese curd can ease any discomfort.
I think it's absolutely fantastic that Fighting Bobfest is back in a rural Wisconsin setting. There, I said it. This, I admit, is projecting my own personal feelings onto an issue that might not mean much to some, and be mildly irritating to others. It's just what my intuition tells me; not scientific at all, but I do feel it deeply. It will mean travel for some of our urban sisters and brothers, but it's often enough the other way 'round.
I feel that past Bobfests at Baraboo were a valuable conduit for connecting Wisconsin's urban progressive community with Wisconsin's rural progressive community……Wait! Wisconsin's "rural progressive community"? Waddaya talking about?
It was during the 2011 Wisconsin uprising (links unnecessary) that I found there really had been no need to question if I'd made a huge mistake transitioning from urban life to the rural community to which my family has long had ties, back in 2007. Those were some pretty lonely years between; I was starting to feel the emotional weight of isolation. Bobfest pre-uprising wasn't just politics to me, but a welcome relief from just talking to people through a phone or computer, or to myself…a lot.
My gramma was born near Princeton, my mom in Green Lake and my grampa worked at Lawsonia Estates nearby – as a groundskeeper. I still have his plum-brown single-barrel break-open hammer-action 410 Springfield shotgun marked Chicopee Falls, Mass, which he kept with him at work and often provided the only meat, squirrels and rabbits, that my mom and her 7 girls-only siblings had for dinner.
Today I live within 10 miles of John Muir's boyhood home, and that means a lot to those rural folks who gather every year to celebrate his birthday by seeing who can pick up the most trash from the brush and the roadsides near the park that honors his legacy and connection to this special place in a special state. Our County newspaper's reporter is quite the John Muir historian, having family ties reaching back to his.
While having made several trips to Madison to join the protests, it became unmistakably obvious to me that we're all in this together. (Red Green's been a big influence on me) Remember the farm tractor convoy on one of the finest days of political protest this nation has ever seen? Some of my most cherished pics of that time were of the smiles radiating from atop those tractors that had ambled through the Wisconsin countryside while anticipation built, on both sides, for their triumphant slow-motion arrival. As those rural machines rumbled around the Capitol, it was as if worlds didn't collide as they often do, but fused together into some new hybrid that had the power to grow change, not just crops & cattle. Damn, that was a proud moment for those, us, all of us, folks.
One of my personal proudest moments came when I helped coordinate a rural Central Sands visit from the fine folks, you know 'em, you love 'em; we all do - Overpass Light Brigade. Though local law enforcement embarrassed us and themselves that night, there was a bond set that crystal-clear evening that lives on indefinitely.
But wait! How could OLB possibly staff this out-of-town event? There were the usual essential core regulars (who were practically celebrities to us), enough urban dwellers willing to travel into the unknown to make illumination of passers-by happen, maybe half the gathering. But where on earth did the rural "stand-ins" come from? Well, that's what explains how it came to me that I didn't really make a mistake by retiring to this place of unusual natural grace out in the boonies; I just hadn't completed the transition to a new journey.
Yes, there actually are progressive people living out here! It bucks the stereotype, but it's true, and it took the uprising for me to find them, and us to find each other; we're just a little more spread out than our urban counterparts. But we still managed, and while many of us were still getting acquainted, to open a recall office in a rural town of 1500 mostly, by anyone's account, Republicans, and predominantly honest, conservative citizens. It was quite the big deal here. And our operation gathered a lot of petition signatures, many from passers-through who just didn't get the chance elsewhere, but many locals who cared as well. I got to carry one of our boxloads into the GAB one fine winter day in Madison. (Choking up a bit here) Let's not forget that this is every rural Wisconsin county's story as well.
Now that we've found each other, one couple has opened a fine organic store/café in sight of the only stoplight in the county, where many of us stay in touch, many more show interest in real issues which find their way onto bulletin boards, the walls or the front window, and everyone around can watch the lib'ruls and wonder, "is something goin' on here?" And yes; it is. We enjoy the best organic coffee and carrot cake around…..You want some of this? C'mon in….we'll discuss. We'll even let you express your own opinion on open mic Fridays, between the folk, Celtic, Irish, blues, original and whatever gets ya goin' music. And don't miss the poetry slam now in planning stages. There's something about rural Wisconsin that inspires creativity, and we see and hear the beauty as well as the harshness of our environment in its works.
The County Democratic Party, though long on commitment, still suffers from scant membership, but some of that's because we're losing, or never really translated the recall enthusiasm into that connectedness we should have with the DPW. Personally, I see that as a two-way street, and I wish there was some way to get that all hooked up so we had, or maybe even could provide the best choices available for state office. There are highly qualified candidates among us, and some have, and continue to courageously run against entrenched long-term Republicans, against all odds, and occasionally even won and improved the quality, if not tipped the balance, of Wisconsin's legislature.
There's prairie restoration being done among some of my progressive local "founds", and one of the finest seed sources for native prairie plants is not far north of me, near Westfield. The owner is quite a passionate and impressive progressive speaker as well, in my opinion – a bit more low key (though I haven't heard him before 100,000 people), but just as inspiring as that Tony Schultz farmer guy who spoke so eloquently at the uprising such a long political road ago. He might not be too happy if I nominated him for office here, so…..
Next month I'm going to….no, actually I'm helping at an August 2nd fundraiser for Friends of the Central Sands, which is fighting some of the most important ecological issue battles facing Wisconsin in an age of CAFO's, factory farms, frac sand mining, and the reversal of the sacred ethic to keep our water clean and safe. Fresh for Life Organics, run by my newest progressive friends around here, is the setting for this Farm to Fork Dinner. And we're bringing on the music there, too! The MORE Organic Café in Montello will be showing the Milwaukee-based 371 Productions' film on the Penokee Hills mine controversy this summer; we're working on that right now. I get to do the A/V gigs around here…gladly!
I'm certain we will continue on this path of rural progressivism, in part because now that we’ve found each other out here we want, maybe need, to stay together.
And you know what? I now love my life "out here".
But we don't want to be isolated from urban progressives, who we well know share our values. (and supply some of our tastiest beer) I feel that Bobfest made and maintained those connections during it's previous run in Baraboo. I was at most of those, though it's only slightly closer to me than Madison. It felt great, and appropriate, to experience the Chautauqua outdoors at a county fairgrounds; it was very warmly unsterile, if that makes any sense at all. And we (I) felt proud that some rural "quaint" (I hate that Gonzales so abused that word!) hospitality could help maintain a valuable connection among all progressive constituencies of our great state.
I can't wait for that connection to get a well-timed boost in September….that is....if you all show up. Do it; you'll love it! We'll love you back….promise.
Meet me down in comments later for: What about a Kossak meetup at Bobfest? What should we do there? Sit a spell and chat over a grilled Wisconsin cheddar sandwich? (they better be there!) Marvel over the latest trends in political illumination? (hint, hint)
I'll be away for a bit this evening – the MORE café (btw, that's for "Mobilizing Our Rural Environment") open mic runs about 7 to 9, but I hope to read your thoughts (and commitments) on making the trip to attend Fighting Bobfest back at it's place of origin. You get started, I'll join you shortly.
Remember, "we're all in this together", but there's no room for "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" here!
Update: And please check out these outstanding candidates from Central Wisconsin who reflect the values of all Wisconsinites; give them a like on Facebook and maybe drop a few coins in their ActBlue accounts.
Joe Kallas for 41st Assembly District
George Ferriter for 42nd Assembly
Margo Miller for 81st Assembly