Let's see...
Over the last couple of months, we've navigated our way through continued political activism and organizing at the local level, planning DeKalb County's Earth Day celebration, photographing a wedding and getting the resultant images ready for viewing, and learning all about how to manage dog diabetes. And then there are our arts and crafts projects, which have become our mainstay mechanism for coping with all of the above and everything else.
Huddle Upper Cumberland has become a regular thing for us, and seeing people come together to network, collaborate, and take action is very empowering. Bi-weekly meetings are well-attended by a diverse group of people from DeKalb County and neighboring communities, and while our numbers aren't growing by leaps and bounds, people contact us for more information or to be included on the e-mail distribution list on an almost daily basis.
Last meeting, as luck would have it, the DeKalb County Reagan Day Dinner was happening at the same time we were huddling in an adjacent room at the community complex. We learned well in advance that Congressman Diane Black was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the event, which is a fundraiser for the local Republican party. Several members of our group contacted Diane's office in Washington DC as well as her district offices in Tennessee to request a few minutes of her time prior to the dinner. We presented a consistent message of opening a channel of communication with our elected representative and assured her staff that we had no intention of being hostile or confrontational, that we merely wanted ten or fifteen minutes of her time to meet and talk with us and acknowledge that we have concerns. We filled out the appropriate request forms and actually thought for a hot second that she might actually poke her head into our meeting room, but the day before the dinner, we were notified that she simply didn't have the time or flexibility in her schedule to meet with us.
So, we protested. We weren't loud or disruptive. We were present.
Initially, we were just going to hang signs in our cars in the parking lot, but then people from other Indivisible/Huddle groups from across the region showed up with signs, and things just came together from there. Much about the afternoon had the feel of a surprise party - we were surprised when other people showed up, they were surprised to find a local group already taking action - in our very own room with pizza and cupcakes, and the Republicans who attended were surprised to see us quietly standing in protest of our current POTUS' policies and Congressman Black's unwillingness to make herself available for public town halls and constituent meetings during the spring recess. Diane didn't even come though the front door to walk past us, but she knew we were there, and that's what counts.
When we were packing things up and heading to our cars, pretty much everyone in the group exchanged hugs and contact information and the friendly energy in the air was thick and quite comforting.
When we were packing things up and heading to our cars, pretty much everyone in the group exchanged hugs and contact information and the friendly energy in the air was thick and quite comforting.
Hopefully our Earth Day celebration this Saturday will be as successful. We have some exciting things scheduled, but the weather forecast calls for an 80% chance of rain, and cautious optimism can only take you so far. Music, face painting, "make and take recycled art," representatives from TWRA, Smokey the Bear, a child literacy group, Girl Scouts, voter registration - we have stuff ready to roll, and maybe - fingers crossed - the weather will cooperate. If we do end up canceling the festivities, we at least have a good start on planning for next year and understanding the process.
Here on the home front, Jack and I are understanding the process of managing Dudley's recently-diagnosed diabetes. We adopted him ten years ago this month (Wow!!), and he has always been a good, reliable little house dog who does his business outside unless he's sick, so a few weeks ago when he starting having major accidents in the house, I knew something was up. The water bowl we keep available for the dogs holds right at a gallon, and Dudley was suddenly able to nearly drain it in one trip, and I noticed that the urine we were cleaning up was unconcentrated - for the most part, odorless and colorless. Our vet suspected diabetes, and sure enough. His blood glucose level was over 500. Since then, we've had to keep everybody on a tight twice-daily feeding schedule, and Dudley gets an insulin injection prior to every meal. He started on 5 units per shot, but the re-check last week was still over 500, and he's been increased to 7 units at each injection. He seems to be doing better. In the last couple of days, Jack and I have both noticed that his water intake is returning to "normal," and he's having fewer accidents. He's pretty smart, though, and has quickly caught-on to peeing on the disposable pads we leave in all his favorite spots at night and when we have to leave the house.
In closing, I'll leave you with some of my recent art projects to peruse.
