Tom's Blog on Life and Livingness
“Every afternoon, 68-year-old Kathy set up two folding chairs and a chalkboard on her porch. Rain or shine, she’d write, “Homework help. Free. All ages.” Her neighbors in the quiet town of Cedar Hills thought she was wasting her retirement. “Kids today have tutors and iPads,” muttered Mrs. Jenny, watering her roses. But Kathy had a reason. Her husband, a former principal, had passed last year, leaving her his favorite quote “A mind left untaught is a door left unlocked.”
The first visitor was Manny, a 9-year-old who’d missed three weeks of school after his dad lost his job. “I don’t get fractions,” he mumbled, kicking a pebble. Kathy handed him a cookie and drew a pizza on the chalkboard.. “Let’s split it into slices. Your turn.” By sunset, Manny was grinning. “So that’s how it works!”
Word spread slowly. A single mom, working nights at the hospital, left her daughter Lily with Kathy. A shy teenager, Jake, slunk over to “borrow notes” but stayed to learn poetry. Kathy’s porch became a mosaic of mismatched chairs, dog-eared textbooks, and laughter. Retired engineers taught algebra. A former librarian read stories aloud. Even Manny’s dad joined, brushing up on Excel for job interviews.
Then came the letter.
“CEASE & DESIST. Unlicensed educational activity.”
The town council called it a “safety hazard.” Kathy’s son begged her to quit. “You’re risking fines!”
The next morning, 30 kids and parents crowded Kathy’s lawn, holding protest signs, “Our brains need her!” “Where’s the harm in kindness?” A local reporter filmed Jake reciting a poem he’d written, “Her porch is our castle. Her chalkboard, our shield.”
The council caved. Sort of.
“You can use the old rec center. But no budget. Fix it yourself.”
Volunteers transformed the crumbling building. Teens painted murals of books. Carpenters built desks from donated wood. A grandmother knitted cushions. They called it “The Open Door Learning Center.” Teachers donated supplies. Parents traded shifts for snacks.
Last week, Lily won a statewide essay contest. Her topic? “The lady who unlocked my world.”
Kathy still sits on her porch some days, sipping tea. The chalkboard now reads, “Knowledge is a seed. Plant it anywhere.”
Ten years ago, I learned the truth about our food system and it broke my heart. But it also planted a seed that changed my life.
The Radical Garden is my current passion project, or maybe it’s more of a mission. A living, breathing response to the ecological crises we face and a personal act of resistance and regeneration.
I first learned about the scale of environmental destruction while studying at university in Wisconsin. Like many, I was shocked by the reality: climate change, deforestation, mass species loss and at the center of it all, the industrial food system. I felt overwhelmed, anxious, even hopeless. And perhaps worst of all, I felt I was participating in the problem every time I ate.
Alongside that despair at the same time, I discovered a lifeline. A solution so simple and powerful that it changed the course of my life: growing our own food. I joined a local community garden and began learning from my first mentor, Wes. From there, I dove into studying regenerative agriculture, working on organic farms, WWOOFing, and taking permaculture courses.
All of that has led to this: The Radical Garden.
A small-scale, regenerative garden (just 50 x 50 feet) designed to show what’s possible in a fraction of an average American lawn. This is a living experiment in what any family can grow and manage with intention and consistency.
It’s a closed-loop system, a soil-building, biodiversity-boosting, food-producing powerhouse. My goal is to generate at least 80% of the compost needed from within the system itself, and to grow enough food to feed myself and my partner year-round. (Honestly, I think it could feed more.)
But this isn’t just all about food. It’s about reclaiming power. Healing disconnection. Taking real, tangible steps toward a more regenerative way of living. My hope is to make this as replicable as possible to share with others.
The Radical Garden is really my simple message to the world. It’s where I turn eco-anxiety into action. It’s where I become the kind of person I believe the future needs.
And I hope it inspires you to do the same.
Click to view the video: https://x.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1928112644982010319
Informed consent is the term given in law and commerce to describe the condition of a person having all relevant information known to them prior to making a decision.
There are various statutes that proscribe how this is to be applied – insurance terms and conditions, investment prospectus, health regulations, even nutrition information panels on food products.
This is to ensure that people making decisions are fully appraised of all factors, for and against, and are not blind-sided by factors that would have affected their decision if they had known them prior to making the decision.
These different pieces of legislation came about as a result of various unsavoury activities – from withholding information all the way up the scale of dishonesty to deception, lies, fraud, confidence tricks, covert attempts to harm or kill etc. Any means by which a person could be led to make a decision not in their best interests.
As we have experienced during the Great Covid Con, even governments, their agencies and medical authorities, let alone educational and medical research institutions, big Tech, big Pharma and the media have all been guilty of abusing this principle.
OK, that’s all about ’the other party’. What about you and me, the person making the decision. What’s our responsibility in this?
Well first, we have to be prepared to look at the actual facts of the situation. Not what we’d like to see, not what we hope to see, not what was there before, not what we are told is there, not what is inferred to be there, but what is actually, observably there, here and now in present time.
Only by looking at what is there can we be fully informed for our decision.
“No argument!” you say, “Makes perfect sense.”
Oh yeah, but do you do it? How well do you apply that principle of “Informed Consent” to your decision making?
Do you read the political platform statements of the representatives for whom you vote come election time?
Do you read the nutrition information panels of every food purchase you make?
Do you know the health risks of every food additive, colouring, preservative and flavour enhancer you allow in your diet from ultra-processed foods?
Do you know the 20 different names by which aspartame is called on food labels?
I don’t pose these questions to make you wrong but rather to illustrate the point that we can all do better in applying this principle in our lives. And be better off for doing so.
Now I know what most will think when reading this, that it’s all too hard. There is so much to know and I am busy enough already.
But as I have in my personal email footer:
Our most formidable enemies are:
Personal and collective ignorance,
personal and organisational out-ethics,
lack of personal integrity and
lack of self-discipline.
What we don’t know and what we know we should do but do not discipline
ourselves to do are two things that will kill us. Gradually or suddenly.
Self-discipline is a skill and just like any skill, it improves with practice.
On what are you going to practice yours today?
To your being better off!
During the production of “Murder, She Wrote” (1984-1996), Angela Lansbury’s generosity changed the course of a struggling actor’s career. The young performer faced severe stage fright, leading to multiple retakes that frustrated the crew and raised concerns among producers. His role was at risk, but Lansbury personally intervened, inviting him to rehearse privately. She helped him refine his lines and manage his anxiety, ensuring he delivered a steady performance. Her guidance not only salvaged the scene but also reinforced his confidence. Years later, the actor credited her support as a pivotal moment that saved his career.
Lansbury’s dedication to nurturing talent was deeply ingrained in her approach to acting. She understood the pressure of the industry, having started her own career at a young age. Her breakthrough role in “Gaslight” (1944) earned her an Academy Award nomination at just 19. Throughout the years, she worked with numerous struggling actors, often mentoring them on and off set. Her belief in fostering new talent was evident in “Murder, She Wrote,” where she advocated for casting lesser-known actors, giving many their first major television roles.
Her kindness extended beyond individual mentorship. She often took the time to acknowledge the efforts of crew members, ensuring a supportive working environment. Many co-stars recalled instances where she stepped in to mediate conflicts or spoke up for underappreciated colleagues. Her commitment to fairness even led her to negotiate with network executives to secure better pay for cast members and crew. Unlike many leading actors who focused solely on their performances, Lansbury viewed television production as a collaborative effort.
She once recalled how early in her career, she had witnessed seasoned actors dismiss or belittle younger performers.
Determined not to repeat such behavior, she made a conscious effort to be approachable. On “Murder, She Wrote,” she would often spend time between takes chatting with guest actors, ensuring they felt comfortable. For those struggling with dialogue, she would rehearse lines with them rather than leave them to figure it out alone. These efforts created an atmosphere where actors, regardless of their experience, felt valued and capable of delivering their best work.
Her generosity also extended to financial assistance. She discreetly helped actors and crew members facing personal hardships. In one instance, she learned that a longtime crew member was dealing with medical expenses beyond his means.
Without seeking recognition, she covered the costs, allowing him to continue working without financial distress. Such acts of kindness remained largely private, revealed only years later by those who had benefitted from her support.
Even seasoned actors acknowledged her influence. Co-stars like Len Cariou and Jerry Orbach praised her ability to balance authority and warmth, describing her as a leader who ensured professionalism without creating an intimidating atmosphere. Some actors who had struggled in other productions found working with Lansbury to be a transformative experience, as she provided not only acting guidance but also emotional support during difficult moments.
Beyond “Murder, She Wrote,” Lansbury continued offering guidance to younger actors in her later projects. Whether on stage in productions like “Blithe Spirit” (2009) or in voice roles such as “Beauty and the Beast” (1991), she remained committed to supporting her colleagues. Her kindness was not a calculated effort to enhance her reputation but an instinctive part of who she was.
Angela Lansbury passed away on October 11, 2022, at the age of 96. She died peacefully in her sleep at her Los Angeles home, just five days before her 97th birthday. In her final years, she remained in close contact with many of the actors and crew members she had mentored, offering advice and encouragement long after their professional collaborations had ended.
Those who knew her best remembered her not only as an accomplished actress but also as a person who profoundly influenced the lives of those around her. Her generosity, both on and off set, left a lasting impression on Hollywood, ensuring that her legacy was defined not only by her performances but also by the countless people she uplifted along the way.