Roots

Sometimes, a girl has just got to get acquainted with her roots- in all senses of the word.

While visiting Santa Cruz the other weekend, I had the pleasure of touring my grandfather's backyard vegetable garden. As an Oklahoma native who survived the Dust Bowl, Great Depression, World War II, and even a plane crash in the desolate mountains in which he was the sole survivor, my grandfather is one tough dude. Even at age 89 he is still working away in his personally designed wood shop, planting and harvesting delicious fruits and vegetables in his garden, and making delicious pies and jams with his hand-picked harvest.

Under my grandfather's careful supervision, my mother and I pulled up some potatoes and onions to bring home. He also picked some choice blackberries from the vine for us to sample. As we discussed his past on the farm in Oklahoma, I was reminded of just how much we can learn from previous generations. After all, my grandfather was, and still is to a great extent, living a sustainable life- growing much of his own food, repairing tools and furniture instead of throwing it away, and creating his own identity instead of buying it prepackaged from a designer or store.

As I devoured the freshly harvested potatoes back home, I was filled with a vision for a new generation- one that has the sense to use the wisdom of our ancestors, as well as the ingenuity to incorporate it into modern design. Then this summer's Boho magazine caught my eye, and I realized that this generation already exists.

Thank goodness! I know we've got a great future ahead of us.