a Week "On Island"

The Cape Cod/South Shore team is now officially done with our Cape Cod portion. We arrived in Wareham (Wear-ham? War-um? No one seems to agree.) yesterday after a long, sun-drenched, flat-tire-abundant, wind-turbine-adoring, Bourne-Bridge-crossing ride. We've truly enjoyed our time in the surreal vacationland of Martha's Vineyard, and I thought I'd fill you all in to our latest adventures.

Our time on Martha's Vineyard was a bit different from our experiences thus far. It was generally difficult to find folks who actually lived on the island, but people were generally interested in signing our petition and learning about what we were doing. We were lucky enough to attend an early-morning beach yoga session, join Tibetan Buddhist monks in meditation, watch them making a sand mandala, tour the FARM Institute, and relish in the wonder and beauty of the Vineyard, all served by marvelous bike paths. I can wholeheartedly recommend that, if you ever have the chance, you spend some time (and as little money as possible - good luck) on the Island.

But what I want to write about today is the symposium. Vicky and Lauren presented the Awakening the Dreamer symposium in the Oak Bluffs Public Library, a truly beautiful space, and while attendance was hampered by the beautiful beach weather, we met some folks who were interested pushing the movement further. Clearly, if we're going to get strong climate legislation, we need to increase and sustain pressure on Congress. And the best way to do that is to organize people within the communities who can help us keep it going. We found several people who were psyched to host Christmas in July organizing parties, to get more people involved and decide how they can have an October 24 event to further raise awareness and empower the movement.

And you? This is a model for further involvement. We need YOU to organize within your community. We can provide the tools, we can help you do it, but your expertise, energy, and enthusiasm are all needed if we're going to fight climate change. You can host an event, volunteer, sign our petition, write a letter to the editor, call or visit your Congressperson, support a local organization, and more!

As we biked down the hill from the library and back into town, we spotted a car painted with the Tribe Hummus logo. "Tribe Hummus?" I shouted at their open window. "That's our favorite hummus!" (I should mention that our group is, collectively, a hummus-eating machine.) We pursued the car, and it pulled over. I could hardly believe our luck as the driver handed Justin six coupons for free hummus. Dumbstruck and wide-eyed, we biked away. I guess it does pay to speak your mind, especially if you have an open window to speak into!

And if you didn't find that story interesting, I should add that on our way out of Edgartown to the ferry, we found 20 bucks on the road. Yes, seriously.