Public Story
Texas, February 2021
This is all possible both due of sheer luck of the draw and because of one family's choice to truly care in tangible, needed, slightly-OCD-yet-makes-sense-NOW ways, long before this crisis, or the devastation of the pandemic even, ever entered the picture. They understand community better than many ever will. In that spirit, whether inadvertently or not, they created a well boundaried web of sustainable interconnectivity in their own back yard. And this choice of theirs to use their privilege and resources in this way? Well, we all constantly joke about what the neighbors must think about our "commune but not weird commune" style set up. Right now though, all joking aside, it is proving to make all the difference and pointing a way forward.
It didn't occur to me until today to pick up my camera and document. Handling the immediate has taken obvious precedence. When I did, it was a a constant visual reminder of both the devastation and the beauty, the need and the ability, and a window of warning to our future if we do not face the reality of our past, but also one of hope of what we can build when we do. I didn't photograph long, honestly. I had to stop and tuck myself away. Tears of grief and gratitude over it all obscured my view. They were inevitable.
On all fronts, this is the world we've made, as seen in Texas, February 2021.
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If you would like to help those in desperate need in Texas during this crisis, please research and consider the following mutual aid funds: @austinmutualaid, @feedthepeopledallas, @mutualaidhouston.