Memphis Democrat
September 23, 2004

Alyson here again. With all the meadowlarks flocking in the field these cool mornings, I have a feeling the birds may be preparing to leave us for the winter. I wonder what the final signal is, that will send them on their way.

I have some sad news to share with those of you who know Alline. Alline's mother, Joan Anderson, died peacefully in her own bed on Sunday morning, September 5th. In an email, Alline told us that she had enjoyed a fun evening with her the night before, and that her mother had been in good spirits. Alline and Kurt and Alline's father Gilbert are together in Fremont, CA, dealing with the sadness of loss and also the relief of knowing that Joan, who had been ill for a long time, is no longer suffering.

Anyone who wants to send a note to Alline or Kurt can send it c/o Dancing Rabbit and it will be forwarded to them in California. Alline's mother had also requested that there be no funeral or flowers; a charity important to her is the Saint Anthony Foundation (121 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102, website: www.stanthonysf.org).

We've been thinking of Alline a lot, and missing both her and Kurt. This place is just not the same without them and Baloo. But family is important, and it's easier to bear their absence knowing that they're able to share this time with each other, and to be with her mother so much toward the end of her life.

I particularly missed Kurt and Alline this weekend, and I bet I'm not the only one. Alline's cheerful, energetic, enthusiastic presence (not to mention Kurt's backseat driving!) has been a mainstay of the Rutledge Fall Celebration for many years. But the shoe kick, the chicken-chip bingo, and the blindfolded cone-dodging were capably handled by others, and somehow we Rabbits managed to get through our musical repertoire without her mouthing the words to us from the front row. One of my favorite things was watching little Tray and Ann Brown square-dancing. The wonder and excitement on their faces were priceless.

We came home from the celebration and continued with our own party, which we dubbed "the Progressive Fiasco". Party-goers gathered between Rachel's and Stefanie and Arjen's houses to kick off the evening with a dip in the hot tub and a sampling of banana cream pie. Then the people (and the mosquito-repelling tiki torches) progressed to Thomas's cozy wigwam, where we squeezed in 23 people and a dog, if I'm remembering correctly. In the course of the evening, people bobbed for apples and had their fortunes told at Laura's, jumped on the trampoline, ate flatbreads and played a game beneath the candle-lit osage tree at Chad's and my place, danced and ate salsa and chips in Jacque's festively decorated room, enjoyed a multimedia Grateful Dead experience and ate popcorn in Tony's room, drank that sweet water from Bluestem's cistern, hung out talking and listening to music at Penn's cabin, and ate lemon drops at Ted and Sara's house, enjoying their newly oiled earthen floor and new furniture. Phew! Our communities-movement friend Geoph Kozeny was here for the evening visiting; I wonder if he thinks we do this every weekend. If so, we might see an interesting description of DR in his next article for Communities Magazine!

Other highlights of the week included the return of Thomas and his partner Nicole from Buffalo, the return of Tony and Rachel from their vacations and meetings, our community dinner Friday night, where Tereza (the birthday girl) and Tom were treated to a candlelight dinner for two (complete with four elegantly-dressed servers), and the kickoff of the Sandhill sorghum harvest season on Thursday, where a bunch of Rabbits got their muscles sore and their hearts energized by chopping down half a field of cane beneath the bright blue sky.

As it gets colder, we're thinking of warmth--and insulation. The Ironweed folks (Tamar, Sara, and Ted) would like to request that if you have any extra wool, including dirty wool, give them a call at 883-5718. They'd like to use it to insulate their kitchen roof. Thanks!

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