Texas -- the seemingly monolithic heart of Big, Conservative America. Yet, as we looked deeper, we also see Big, Beautiful and Diverse. Conservatives, and Liberals abound in George W's home state.
We call poet and author Naomi Shihab Nye a "Preservative." Her latest book, "Going Going" tells the story of how one teenage girl starts her own anti-chain campaign, to preserve Mom & Pop.
We chatted with this Palestinian-American dynamo over some Texas tea and a couple of New York City independent bakery cookies that she had carried back from the Big Apple that same day. She told us about why she thought the world was ready for the activist message of "Going Going." And we talked a bit of politics, despite their political differences, Naomi said she got along famously with George W. Bush -- the Texan governor. Especially after he heard her poem about endangered small town Texas [excerpt from "Mint Snowball" Anhinga Press, reproduced with the kind permission of the author]:
"It's hard to know how well a town is when you only swing through it on
suspended Sunday evenings maybe twice a year. Deserted streets. The
dusty faces of stores: elderly aunts with clamped mouths. I like to
think Monday morning still buzzes and whirls -- rounded black autos
roll in from farms, women measure yard goods, boys haul empty bottles
to the grocery, jingling their coins. Nothing dries up. I want towns
like Poth and Panna Maria and Skidmore to continue forever in the
flush, red-cheeked, in love with all the small comings and goings of
cotton trucks, haylifts, peaches, squash, the cheerleader's sleek
ankles, the young farmer's nicked ear. Because if they don't, what
about us in the cities, those gray silhouettes off on the horizon?
We're doomed."
George W. Bush, when he was governor, came up to me the day after
hearing that piece and said, "May I tell you about some of the programs
I have to get economic development back into the small towns?" Then he
told me, kindly, with interest, about some of the projects. It touched
me that he took the time.
Clearly, this podcast is a must-listen, and while you're at it, check out "Going Going" (Naomi reads an excerpt near the end of the show).
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