East Wind, East Wind!

Edited from an e-mail sent to my family.

So, I'm at East Wind Community in Missouri. Its a commune that was started in the late 1960s, some of the founding members are still here. We work in the garden and should start on the ranch tomorrow, but not many community members work with us. Most of them work in a nut butter factory that supports the community financially.

Its nice here, we're staying in a tent underneath a mimosa tree where little hummingbirds hang out in. There's a river to go swimming in, and plenty of hammocks to rest in. We get every meal for free, and they're pretty plentiful. We make breakfast and lunch on our own, but dinner is made by a group of people for the whole community. Last night there was quiche, a few nights ago there was pizza. Its always tasty.

For the most part Melanie and I have just been weeding a garden that is very overgrown. We've harvested beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and today we should be gathering some basil grown in the garden. Like I said, not many people work in the gardens because its pretty hard work, so most of it is done by the managers and the visitors.

We've been finding out more and more about the community as time goes on and people are more willing to open up to us. Originally East Wind was an offshoot of a community in Tennessee called Twin Oaks, and they both made hammocks sold at Pier One. But after 25 years of hammock making, P1 pulled out and East Wind began to rely on their nut butter company, which quickly expanded.

People are definitely hippies here, but, for the most part everyone is very accepting and friendly. I'm having a good time! I haven't worn deodorant in days, I'm rolling around in the mud all day and constantly using my body. I go to sleep at 9:30 and wake up at 6:30. Life is good down here in the Ozarks. I'm like a child again.