{"id":7627,"date":"2024-06-14T16:11:35","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T20:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/?p=7627"},"modified":"2024-06-14T16:11:35","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T20:11:35","slug":"youve-been-served","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/14\/youve-been-served\/","title":{"rendered":"You\u2019ve Been Served"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

THE OBSERVATION BOOTH<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

OP \/ ED & PHOTOS COURTESY ANDREA DIALECT<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, in today\u2019s culture, like the old saying goes, we place one shilling in, only to take two out. Now that those stockpiles are in dire need of replenishing, few of us are to be found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, selfishness is most definitely on the come up. So, when I come across those who opt to give of themselves, by putting those shillings in, I must pay homage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Mama Doris Brown always says, \u201cGive credit where credit is due.\u201d I opt to listen to my Mama. We must always show our appreciation for those who lovingly support us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our feature today is such a person. Ironically, before crossing our paths, the flowering bed had already caught my attention. I absolutely love wildflowers and weeds and things of that sort, and their placement was a breath of fresh air. It made for happy trails as I moseyed along Evergreen Street, heading towards Extra Supermarket to cop those turkey tails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a happy medium in the ever-boring fields of crumbling asphalt and mismatched pavements, among other unsightly things. It had made that record skip, and that jolt made me look and deeply gaze upon the sprinkled effect of beauty. This is what she said when I stumbled into her, once those turkey tails had been in tow\u2026 Enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BLOOM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

FEATURE: Lynette Johnson<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demographic: East Orange<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen it comes down to it, I do it for no pay. It\u2019s from the goodness of my heart, that\u2019s why I do it, and I love it. I just love it. It takes the place of everything that is wrong as far as I\u2019m concerned. It\u2019s silent beauty, and we all need that in the way we live in this world today. We need that silent beauty, and some peace of mind. I come here to get clarity and clear my thoughts. I decided to be the change because it\u2019s going to come anyways, so you might as well get prepared and be ready for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t consider doing this a challenge. When I lived in Boston, my backyard was bigger than this parking lot. So I have no problem doing this. This is no problem, and as long as I\u2019m living here, I will be doing this. Beauty and cleanliness of the community are very important to me. It is a standard to me, and we must follow some type of standard. I cannot deal with the litter and the filth and the garbage lying around. We have a big dumpster there, but seemingly nobody wants to use it. But I use it. I don\u2019t care whose property it is. I\u2019m doing this. People sit here, and they resonate with what\u2019s going on. Walking through here is a privilege, and if we don\u2019t respect this property, they could gate it, and we\u2019d have to walk around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have been doing this for about four years. It was a mess, and I didn\u2019t know who owned it. I stopped a lot of things from going on around here. Still, there are those who come and drop trash and stuff deliberately. A lot of people sit here who resonate with what\u2019s going on. It\u2019s peaceful here. It\u2019s so lovely here. It\u2019s beautiful here. I don\u2019t see why anyone would try to ruin it. Just keep the property clean, that\u2019s all I\u2019m asking. I\u2019m trying to show you something. Change is good. Most people here notice the change. It\u2019s a good change. Deliberately, there are those who, as soon as I clean up, they throw trash out here. \u00a0Things that fall naturally, like branches of trees and stuff. You have a tree stump to sit on. That\u2019s okay because I use it. Whatever, whatever, whatever. It\u2019s added seating. I use whatever. My landlord backs me (he owns that area where I planted the flowers), and the police back me. Now that I have permission to do it, you can\u2019t stop me now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis grapevine that\u2019s growing against the wall over there, I transplanted it over here. Last year they cut it down on this side, but you see how it\u2019s flourishing on this side now? She\u2019s coming back strong. The birds love it; you should see them enjoying it. These are my wildflowers, and I have some rhubarb growing here like I used to chew when I was a kid. My Mom used to tell us to stop eating that stuff because it grows wild, but it was good. We always ate them, no matter what. And these are onions; they were there when I got here. They\u2019ve grown some beautiful purple flowers. And these are just Morning Glories. I\u2019d been wanting them on my side for quite a while, and now they\u2019re here. I\u2019d been wanting them so bad because they\u2019re so beautiful. Now they\u2019re entangled with the grapevine and choking everything else around here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis one right here is just a weed, but I love her because I think she\u2019s pretty. She\u2019s pretty too. Those are my famous Marigolds that I love, that the Indian guy spoke highly about. I told him that he would see plenty of those because that\u2019s my plant, and I love her. The grapevine is growing everywhere. This one, I can\u2019t wait until she blooms. I\u2019m so impressed. I by what I\u2019ve done here, and I use no pesticides. I use whatever\u2019s here, and I don\u2019t buy anything. I just buy seeds, and that\u2019s it. I don\u2019t do much. I just give it the love and attention that I need. And this color, oh my God, I know that my Mother\u2019s with me. Oh, you should have seen her on Easter Sunday with her suit on. I can still see her. The water bottles, I stick holes in them and lay them right there so they drain out, and I don\u2019t have to carry anything out here. I learned that on Facebook, and it really works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DID YA KNOW THAT\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does community garden work?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some gardens have designated plots that are collectively maintained, and harvests are donated to local community food organizations. Others have plots that allow community members to pick from and enjoy freely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why aren’t there more community gardens?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why aren’t there urban gardens all over the place? Unfortunately, it’s not so simple. Decision-makers often prioritize profit over people – for example, buying up property for luxury apartment buildings or high-end shopping malls instead of affordable housing or community green space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DO YOU KNOW ANY OF OUR COMMUNITY ACCESS CONTRIBUTORS?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • IF SO LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY\u2019VE MADE THE CUT AND THEY ARE THE TALK OF LOCAL TALK THIS WEEK!<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • PASS IT ON!<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    THE OBSERVATION BOOTH OP \/ ED & PHOTOS COURTESY ANDREA DIALECT Unfortunately, in today\u2019s culture, like the old saying goes, we place one shilling in, only to take two out. Now that those stockpiles are in dire need of replenishing, few of us are to be found. Sadly, selfishness is most definitely on the come […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"yoast_head":"\nYou\u2019ve Been Served -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/14\/youve-been-served\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"You\u2019ve Been Served -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"THE OBSERVATION BOOTH OP \/ ED & PHOTOS COURTESY ANDREA DIALECT Unfortunately, in today\u2019s culture, like the old saying goes, we place one shilling in, only to take two out. 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