Dorothy, quite possibly the only vegan in Upstate New York

So today I went to visit my eighty-eight yr old friend Dorothy. Dorothy and I have been friends for many long years; she hired me years ago when she fell one spring and hurt her leg; she hired me to garden for her.

Dorothy was one of the most inspiring old women I've ever met; she lived in a little cabin on a hill in the middle of nowhere; she grew most of her own food, using perimaculture methods (she was the first person to introduce me to perimaculture, among other things.) She was an old-school animal activist; she had stolen abused dogs from people in her younger days and rehabilitated them. When I met her, she was still taking in cats and dogs nobody else wanted. She was also the first vegan I'd ever encountered (oddly enough, she feeds her pets raw meats.) She was also the first person I'd ever met who relyed completely on homeopathy to treat her ills and the ills of her animals. In short, Dorothy is a complete oddity around here; in Portland, or LA, or any of the large cities on the West Coast, she'd be a member of a vegan community; she'd probably be involved in animal activist groups (well maybe not anymore, since she's now almost completely blind and deaf.) But here she was, all by herself, in little Prattsburgh New York, coming to these conclusions on her own, from her own convictions. That was a powerful thing for me to see as a youngish teen; today it was just as inspiring as ever. When I told her I had run out of money for midwifery school, Dorothy responded as she always did, with inspiration and love; "Oh no, you must finish school...the world needs you! So many young girls are being induced and having C-sections...this is no good; you have a lot to offer the world...you must learn midwifery; never give up!" Her blind eyes shown with a powerful light; she was also thrilled to hear that I'd learned a bit about homeopathy at my school. She told me an incredible story about how a midwife saved a mother with a rare bleeding disorder and a set of twins using some homeopathic remedy designed to stop bleeding.

Dorothy always seems so pure to me; she was my first wise woman guide and role-model. At a time in my life when all I cared about was getting high with my friends and making a little money to buy a dime bag, Dorothy began to teach me the fundamental truths of compassion and love. After a morning in her permacultured garden; I would sit down to a vegan lunch with her; she would teach me about this remedy or that, or some political happening, or some useful herb, or how to use grey water, or she would just tell me stories about all the animals she'd saved over the years, and insightful little personality traits they each had, as if to teach me that animals have souls too.

I miss working with Dorothy like this; I miss her gentle teachings, I miss her wise encouragement. I love Dorothy and I'm so grateful I got to know this wonderful old lady; where some see a strange old witchy-woman, I see one of my first and wisest teachers; Dorothy is the wise woman I aspire to be.

Love ya,
Carrot

p.s. Ian, I don't know how to contact you....cell phone coverage is spotty out here..I've been getting your messages weeks later...please call me on this landline # 607-522-5674. I'll be there for the next few days. Call me!