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Here again, I write about my dinner!

Posted at 1:42 PM on August 21, 2008 by Timothy Baird (7 Comments)

I'm tired of writing about food.

There, I said it.

I want to return again to the premise of this project. The 15 of us were to discover what it takes to obtain, prepare and eat a sustainable, regionally based diet. In truth, this is only part of our charge. To this we must add one important thing. We were also tasked with writing about the experience.

Honestly, the eating isn't difficult. I suppose I don't really care enough about food to notice that I'm not eating avocados and that apples have become more a fantasy than a food. I just eat what's local. If that means sausage, green pepper and locally made pasta every lunch for a week, so be it. If it means endless cantaloupe - fine. If it means buying four local items so I can buy one bag of oatmeal... big deal - I'm 80%. I suppose it would be nice to report that we were having incredibly diverse and wonderfully fulfilling meals three times a day. This is not the reality. But this is also not the struggle for me. It is the writing that is a burden.

For me, it has become exhausting to sit down and come up with a few hundred words about food every few days. To recognize the idea for a post, to capture it, put it down, fret with the wording, and present it to the world - it's like planning a wedding each time.

When I began this project, I wanted to be a part of an enthusiastic message that eating locally was viable, and affordable, and wonderful. The early entries were a pleasure to write and a welcome departure from the academic scribbling that fills my days. But we've been doing this for nearly 8 months now and the novelty has entirely worn off. For me... this is like writing about brushing my teeth.

In my other life, when I'm not eating, planning to eat, thinking about food, buying food, writing about food or feeling guilty about not writing about food, I have some other things going on. So it's been a good few weeks since I've posted anything. I wish I could say that it's been great to get away from the keyboard...but really I've felt ashamed for not holding up my end of the bargain.

The gardens are now beginning to wither from the heat and the weight of the summer growth. Such is the case with my writing as well. Like a poet and his muse, I once relished the tender dance that food and I shared... now, food... mouth... whatever.

Comments (7)

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Tim: Your loyal readers will also accept interpretive dance and/or other performative maneuvers. Upload the video. Your audience awaits.

Posted by Amy | August 21, 2008 1:59 PM

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Understandable, Mr. Man, understandable. I've been requested to consider writing a blog--and I've avoided it to date for exactly those reasons. I imagine myself staring at the blank screen (likened to the proverbial "blank page") with an equally blank mind prodding myself along with encouraging words . . ."write, damn it, write!" That said, let me say that I've appreciated the journey with you over the past 8 months. Your diligent & deliberate effort at eating local has certainly been filled with learning--not only for YOU, but for those of us who have followed along (albeit sporadically). I'll bet I'm not the only one who's asked themselves "how much am I eating local? How much COULD I? Do I WANT TO?" Oh, and let's not forget "How much would it COST ME?"

And with ALL THAT said, I have to admit . . . It's much easier just to eat and not worry/think/ wonder/comment about it. More often than not that's what I'VE been doing over the past 8 months.

Posted by Tim Duffey | August 21, 2008 3:13 PM

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But that's the beauty...

You see, Tim, that's the beauty of it. That's what this project is all about. I too would be hard pressed to write about my weekly food intake, or my tooth brushing for that matter. Why? Because these are just the things I do. Nothing special. I more easily write about the special things - new research, my trip to Lapland, songs I'm working on...

What your latest entry tells me contextually is that eating exclusively local food is not a big deal. Once you're used to it, the process becomes second nature, and mundane to write about. It sounds like it's no major imposition to eat locally.
So why aren't we all doing it?

Posted by Greg Taff | August 21, 2008 3:58 PM

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Amy,

Three somersaults and then a running leap into a rose bush. I'm trying to get Morgan Freeman to do the narration.

Best,
Tim

Posted by Tim Baird | August 25, 2008 3:39 PM

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Thanks, Tim, for the encouraging words.

Certainly, the greatest changes are ones that take place in the mind.

Funny that there have been moments when I can't stop thinking about not thinking about food.

Cheers,
Tim

Posted by Tim Baird | August 25, 2008 3:44 PM

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Greg,

Your comments are like a haiku. Simple, elegant, true. You've cut through my cynicism to articulate a wonderful point.

Thanks for this and all your thoughtful contributions along the way.

Best,
Tim

Posted by Tim Baird | August 25, 2008 3:49 PM

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Dear Tim,

I am with you.

With guilt and writers block,Vera

Posted by vera schabicki | August 29, 2008 4:19 PM