In the Christian tradition there is a story around sheep and goats. The sheep are the kind ones and the goats are the selfish sorts and so they get left out of God’s kingdom. In today’s story, the sheep are all of us, and the goats are a few of us, and the only difference is the GOATs are trying to get you better food.
In early November I traveled to California to Paicines Ranch, and there I became a GOAT. It’s not a spiritual affiliation (Don’t freak out mom!), but it is part of a calling. The Gathering for Open Agriculture Technology is not a collection of the unkind, rather it is a coming together of people who build. GOATs build farm equipment, from software to hardware and much more. Right now GOATs are building tiny robots and drone style tractors — all of this is for the small farmers, the ones who are managing way less than the several thousand acres of our hosts. These small farmers are the small businesses, the struggling, hustling, bootstrapping growers of food.
Now, let me tell you, there is a lot to be said for the small things in life. The small luxuries, the tiny pleasures — we know we love them. There is also something to be said for the big and fabulous, which is what you find in Paicines. The grounds are big, the skies go on past the ridge and never hit a tall building. The place is grand despite feeling understated, which is why, like a lot of farms these days, they host weddings. In fact, they even hosted Judy Garland when she married Sidney Luft in 1952. That was of course, a long time ago.
For Garland and Luft, Paicines Ranch was part of their new beginning, and a reason why the film, A Star Is Born, was even made. That 1954 film version gave Judy back her career, which had been floundering since she had left her big time contract at MGM. The marriage between Garland and Luft was a great collaboration until it broke up in tears and accusations, resulting in divorce by 1963. The film itself was a great success, except that no matter how much money it made, it couldn’t recoup the costs. Believe it or not, this type of business reality isn’t limited to Hollywood.
Arriving at GOAT I met a computer scientist with a passion for permaculture, her blue hair in braids. I met Farmer Dave, whose wife had been battling cancer all the while he was trying to perfect a new kind of tractor. For the next few days I met person after person who was innovating and helping others do the same. You wouldn’t believe how much paperwork is involved in growing food these days. From getting it certified to getting it processed and into the markets, there are more forms and data than one would imagine. There is much more business in farming now than ever before, and this requires help from devoted folks.
Technology and food might seem like their opposed but it’s they’re not. Just like goats and sheep might seem to be different in key ways, until we realize, somehow they’re not. Sure, they’re not the same beasts in either case; but they are complementary, and share traits. Sheep follow rules better, and that can be nice, but sometimes you want a few goats in the mix, for giggles as well as practicality. Maybe in heaven we only want one kind of grazing animal, but in the here and now we need it all.
In the real world we want diversity, and we want to feed ourselves from diverse food sources. In the real world we also want and need incredible partnerships that go well beyond a single all consuming one. We need lots people to believe in us, and for us to believe in them. We need this kind of reciprocity to help birth our dreams, to help make our rising star stories into the stuff of positive not tragic lore. Judy and Sidney didn’t last forever, but their marriage made an impact on the world. The gathering at the ranch didn’t last more than a few days, but it might just have some lasting impacts, too. Separate out the good from the bad, and you’ll see that on this plane, they’re intertwined.
Regulation is important but it can be stifling. Partnerships can create dedication and structure, but imagined too rigidly can lead to arguments over control.
In today’s story there is no clear path or winner, there are only people and the actions they take. Everyone does their best, and goes into these things, these various life-altering relationships with those best intentions. It usually starts with a party, and ends much later, back in the real world.
It is later, within the pressure cooker of the general population, of the massively mixed up thing we call society, that our dreams and intentions turn into something for a little while, and during that while it can inspire others. Nothing lasts forever, not even golden partnerships. Sometimes that’s just the way life wants it to be, the way it has to go. Leaps of faith don’t come with assurances. Control is only one form of getting things done.
At Paicines Ranch at least one GOAT was born in November. I even have the t-shirt to prove it. Stay tuned and you may want to be one too. I promise it won’t impact you at the door at the Pearly Gates, well at least not badly it won’t.
And while we’re at it, take a moment and enjoy Lady Gaga singing from her edition of A Star is Born, which proves that some stories repeat as much as they change.
and here is the trailer from Judy’s version.
Now go out there and have a great day!
I always learn something new from you! And oh Judy....what a voice. What a life. Joyous holidays!