JUNE 30, 2023 ON MY CORNER ASK YOUR VENDOR What's the best ice cream flavor? WAITING — Pony Bush, #305 Chocolate. — Denise Shearer, #485 Ben and Jerry’s “Everything But The…” — Mansel Williams, #96 Superman. — Todd Smith, #607 Depends on where I go. Lemon soft serve (at 6 mile and Wyoming), butter pecan (at home), soft serve chocolate and strawberry (at Dairy Queen) — Felicia Wilbert, #234 Vanilla. — Roberto Caballero, #347 Double chocolate marshmallow. — Tony Schohl, #9 Chocolate. — Ken Parks, #490 Butter Pecan. — Teresa Basham, #570 Butter Pecan. Then strawberry. — Joe Woods, #103 Neapolitan. — James Tennant, #174 Proud to be an American Revolutionary Back in my Detroit days, I was invited by Linda King, commander of a National Guard unit, to their Kwanzaa celebration in Highland Park. Linda and I met through Marge Bursie, the first African American to get a degree in social work from the University of Michigan. Marge founded the Youth Advocacy/Anti-Hunger program on the east side and had a large community of volunteers, supporters and graduates. Linda and I took her advice to meet and connect. The Kwanzaa theme of the day was community economics. Linda organized a circle of everyone in uniform, about 20 people, with me at the end. Each of us introduced ourselves and said whatever came to mind. The first person said “I am proud to be an American.” I immediately felt some inner resistance to those words. which entered my mindstream: “LUCHAR POR LA REVOLUCIÓN SOCIAL EN LA AMERICA, NO ES UNA UTOPIA POR LOS LOCOS Y FANÁTICOS, ES LUCHAR POR EL PRÓXIMO PASO EN LA AVANCE DE LA HISTORIA.” The English translation of this for KEN PARKS Groundcover vendor No. 490 I had studied much and worked two and a half years in West Germany with German Christians who were active in the anti-fascist movement in the Third Reich and the Cold War. Gossner Mission was an industrial mission with roots in the working class and included a boys home. Living abroad is an eye opener and I learned even more about current affairs, especially civil rights and the war in Vietnam. I extended my service six months to be in a seminar of study, do factory work and take a trip to Poland. We learned that West Germany, with U.S. advice, had not settled WWII with Poland, so there was no treaty for boundary recognition, and that NATO was formed to target the USSR for destruction. Put that with the genocide of slavery and the Indian wars, and how could I be proud to be an American? Back in Highland Park, the next National Guard person began with “I’m proud to be an American.” By the time I heard that phrase the fourth time, I took a breath and entered a meditative state that took me to Cuba. In front of the University of Havana is a traffic circle with a small park and a monument to Julio Antonio Mella, a martyr for Cuban independence in the 1930s. There is a plaque with these words, Groundcover readers is: “STRUGGLE FOR THE SOCIAL REVOLUTION IN AMERICA, IT’S NOT A UTOPIA FOR LUNATICS AND FANATICS, IT’S A STRUGGLE FOR THE NEXT STEP IN THE ADVANCE OF HISTORY.” I had heard “I’m proud to be an American” some 20 times and now came my turn. I let my heart speak, “I’m proud to be an American, and the America of which I speak is not only from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but also from the Arctic to the Antarctic. That is North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean, which is the center of the first maps of the new world.” I learned this in Cuba where I also learned about community economics, the Kwanzaa theme of the day. My heart spoke, “There are two kinds of markets, one is the natural market, which exchanges goods and services for mutual benefit. The other is the commodity market which is ruled by profits." I’m learning to combine the American revolution of 1776 with the Bolivarian and Cuban revolutions. Now I can say, “I am proud to be an American Revolutionary,” doing something to advance freedom, peace, human dignity and solidarity. I study, communicate and go to work, “Detach from the Trance of Unworthiness” as Roshi Joan Halifax and Tara Brach discuss so beautifully. To tell the truth about your life is the beginning of the revolution; it continues as you share experience, analysis and make collective decisions on the next step. HEATHER FEATHER Groundcover vendor No. 45 When I was a child, I heard, “You get a headache; you get hooked! You might never stop or you might never come down.” That was my war on drugs. Today's war on drugs is that there is nothing left to try! If you do drugs today, you might never see tomorrow. Fentanyl has taken over. When various kinds of street pills were tested, 42% contained at least two milligrams of fentanyl. If you are wondering how fentanyl got here, it was first used in the 1960s as an intravenous anesthetic and then in a pain patch. Fentanyl is now popping up in marijuana! People trying marijuana for the first time might die from fentanyl. There really is nothing left to try. GROUNDCOVER NEWS There's nothing to try no more! There’s been a decrease in overdoses because of naloxone. If you are using drugs, carry a bottle of naloxone! It might save your life. Better yet, just don’t pick up the first drug. The fact is, it is here! And I am really concerned. I hope you're there when I get back to Ann Arbor. Love, your Heather Feather. 3
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