Welcome to 2026 and year five of Stories and Journeys. This time of year I get to experience and celebrate light in the midst of darkness. There is my personal experience of aches and pains somehow helped along by the cold of winter, and then relief from pain whenever that happens.
Then I have been reliving my approximately 10 years as a founder and co-cordinator of Minnehaha Avenue Community Garden. For several years during that time I would put out a call to any gardeners who wanted to gather in the community room of Gandhi Mahal restaurant to celebrate the return of daylight known as winter solstice. We would share favorite memories of planting, growing and harvesting from the just completed season. We would share our visions for what we would like to plant, grow and harvest in the new season.
For me, my recently completed season is the harvest from three of the four double-high raised beds in my back yard consisting of sweet potatoes. For this harvest I am grateful for the help I received from Lucas, the son of my nextdoor neighbor. The photo for this column is my sweet potato harvest suggested by my partner in getting the draft of each column ready to submit for publication, Eric Hart.
With the return of daylight, I am already starting to feel the itch to plant, grow and harvest. If Lucas is on board again, I want to grow sweet potatoes and green beans. Also, I want to pay more attention to insects. I think I am starting to learn that if insects are in crisis then humanity is in crisis. So, dear reader, do you think insects are in crisis and are you starting to experience your own itch to plant, grow and harvest? Tell yourself, tell others or tell me in writing via tesha@tmcpub.com. Itch or no itch if you have read this far you have taken the plunge into the river(flow) of life experiences which is Stories and Journeys.
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION IS NOT OVER.
Nov. 16 thru 21 Twin Cities PBS delivered filmmaker Ken Burn’s six-part, 12-hour series, “The American Revolution” which focused in depth on the birth of America. I watched and was deeply moved because I realized, dear reader, that I would not be here were it not for my parents, of course – and the American Revolution, which as the last episode highlighted at the end, is not over. This is why I ordered the DVD so I can start out 2026 by watching it again. I will be paying attention to what haunts me as the “elephant” in the room: the role or fate of the Native American/Indigenous people.
Frankly I am asking myself are we not on the verge of needing to continue the American revolution. In that vein I am reading "The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party and a World on the Brink" by Thom Hartman.
THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION IS BEING HALLOWED OUT:
• Staff is being cut or re-assigned;
• Services are being slashed;
• Social Security experts are being driven out and replaced by artificial intelligence;
• and a whistle blower alleged serious data security breaches by DOGE which puts your personal data at risk of identity theft.
At Minnesota Social Security offices wait times are too long. Backlogs are too high. Policy changes are making it harder for beneficiaries to get the help they need. (And each month I am anxious when my Social Security payment doesn’t arrive on time.)
This is according to the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare which has its own podcast called "You Earned This."
ELDER VOICES (TELLING OUR STORIES/SHARING OUR JOURNEYS)
I have resumed my practice of asking attendees the following. Given that, unlike Native American culture, there is no rite of passage to elderhood in American culture, was there an event in your life experiences that caused you to think of yourself as an elder and maybe caused you to show up at Elder Voices? For me, it was retirement. The Elder Voices meet up is the last Friday of each month, 10-11 a.m. officially at Turtle Bread, 4205-E. 34th Street. Look for the Elder Voices sign.
Happy Solstice!
Donald L. Hammen is a longtime south Minneapolis resident, and serves on the All Elders United for Justice Board of Directors.
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