Memphis Democrat
January 30, 2003

Brrr! The weather sure has been cold. It has been especially hard for those of us who are still sick, or live in unfinished houses. But they say if you don't like the weather in Missouri, just wait a bit.

Now several folks have been asking about what I saw under the ice that I wrote about two weeks ago. Occasionally I see fish, turtles or bullfrog tadpoles. That day I just saw hundreds of immature insects, moving around in the water. The ice was maybe three inches thick, but had frozen so quickly that it was about as clear as window glass.

When we did get a nice day, Gare and Tom quick got outside and finally built the stairs up to the second floor grain bin apartment. No more climbing a ladder for Gare. And when the weather wasn't good for working outside, Gare got busy updating our website. Sometimes I wonder if he sleeps.

A whole carload of folks went to a movie in Memphis the other night. Then the next day Susan and I went to do errands. I had a nice visit with Dr. Donelson and Mary Ann. And I learned that the bacteria that causes dental plaque might contribute to other illnesses, including heart disease. So, as Mary Ann says, floss every day for good dental health!

An interesting thing about Dancing Rabbit that folks often do not hear about is that we have a local currency. When someone works an hour for someone else, they may get paid in a Dancing Rabbit Hour. Just like any other currency, we have an exchange rate, which is $7 to the Dancing Rabbit Hour. This automatically sets a minimum wage. We have paper money, checks and a bank, too. Many different towns and communities have instituted a local currency, because it encourages people to shop locally and keep money in the community. I pay Don in Hours for his vegetables and then he pays people who work in the garden in Hours. And then one of them might pay Tamar an Hour for a haircut. Right now our group is small and the possibilities are limited. But as we grow, and as our connections with other people grow, we hope that the Hour economy becomes diverse and large.

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