"Sold out, but a few tickets may be available at the door"
If I read something like that and I was living in the U District, I would not have bothered. But since it was within walking distance from my apartment, I figured, what the hell.
Leaving work by bus at 4:30 pm straight to Benaroya Hall, I figured I'd grab a ticket if they had one, then stroll back to my place for dinner before the show. If they didn't have one...well, I'd stroll back to my place for dinner and no show.
When I arrived, a sign out front informed us
"Wendell Berry Ticket Sales and Will Call to take place at this window AT 6PM"
This prompted me (and about 20 other people) to ask the guy selling Seattle Symphony Tickets "Are you selling Wendell Berry tickets now? Are they sold out?". He politely pointed to the sign and responded as if this were the first time anyone had ever asked him this question.
"I'm sorry, sir, but those tickets will go on sale at this window at 6 PM". What a great guy!
I had an hour to kill. My options: walk back to my place and drop off my stuff or grab a bite out and come back at 6 PM. As I walked out the door, I noticed some folks who looked suspiciously like Wendell Berry fans walking in. "Oh no you don't" I thought, and popped back in to secure my place in line.
When 6 PM rolled around, I learned that there would be tickets available for the "Rush Line" at 7:25 PM, which was already forming outside the theatre doors. I "rushed" over and took the fourth spot in line.
It dawned on me that I was standing in line for Wendell Berry tickets. Not Star Wars. Not U2. Wendell Berry. It further occurred to me that on a Tuesday night in Seattle, a self-proclaimed back-to-the-land local food activist had managed to sell out a 2,500 person performance hall. No other show this week, or on the weekend, managed to do that. Something tells me the wave of urban agrarianism is swelling.
WB read a number of poems, followed by a story, and a few more poems. What he called a "prose sandwich". The story, about Grover and Beulah facing down the sale of the family farm to a developer, had me swearing that I would never let that happen to our neighbors. We'll outbid the bastards if we have to!
Afterward, he spoke a bit about what it means to be an agrarian activist. He said there are a lot of smart people leading from the bottom, and that it might be possible for some of the leaders at the top to help as well. "But I kinda hope they don't get wind of it and mess it up!"
He also introduced me to a new concept called "perennialism" (in lieu of "sustainability"). "In the 200 years of American History, we haven't been able to sustain anything."
Afterward, he was asked questions from the audience.
Q:
"What is the best advice you have for a young farmer?"
A:
"Listen to the old ones"
Q:
"What is the single biggest problem we face?"
A:
...(this one stopped him cold)...
Q:
"What is the second biggest?" (laughter)
A:
(now that I think about it, I don't think he ever answered this one)
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