Urban Farming is Here.

Click here to view the TV Story from the Fox 21/27 10 O'clock news.

Roanoke has been trying to get in on the urban farm movement for some time now, and the city would have already been there had it not been for neighborhood uneasiness over urban chickens on said urban farm that would have been located on a portion of the old Countryside Golf Course.

If everything happens for a reason, then that happened so the farm, owned by the Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op, could land where it is now -- at the back end of the Center for Industry and Technology, and industrial center that is home to warehouses and light industry.

Though it's not exactly "urban" as in a vacant lot between two houses in an old neighborhood, or an abandoned industrial site, it is inside the city limits.  Add in a barn once used for the city's mounted patrol horses, a charming, if run-down log cabin and an organic agriculture expert named Sean Jordan and it is definitely a "farm."

Sean is already hard at work, raising chickens,  (inside  when we were there in November, but since moved outside.) and preparing the land for spring planting.  By this summer there will be a retail store where people who appreciate sustainably raised produce can come and fill their baskets.

By then, Sean hopes to be living in the old cabin -- which has been renovated so many times that it will be impossible to make "original."  At least it will soon have a foundation that is not crumbling, and a roof that has not been patched with Roanoke highway and utility signs.

I was most intrigued by the cabin -- which is a big part of our TV story.  As they begin to dismantle it, who knows what they will find?  What clues as to who has lived there and how since the mid 1800's?  (And why would someone junk it up with an over sized fireplace, complete with wall safe?)

On the cold gray November Day that we were there, the farm and cabin were more of a mystery than a reality.   It was hard to imagine rows of crops, hoop houses full of vegetables and fruit trees laden with apples.  It's difficult to envision the final status of the the cabin.  But with the potential of the rolling hills,  and a group that is determined that Roanoke should take its rightful place in the sustainability movement,  you get the feeling this urban farm will be both popular and cool.

Virginia Horsewoman to Ride in Mongol Derby

Lynne on Mercuric

To view the story that aired on Fox 21/27 click here. 
Note: the video story includes a night ride photo taken by photographer Becky Siler Pearman.


Somehow, a fun loving bunch of promoters with a distinctly European style have crept into Virginia's horse country.

The Adventurists sponsor all kinds of crazy adventures which you can read about on their website.  One of those adventures is the Mongol Derby.  (Click here for their promotional video)  It's a 1,000 K race across the Mongolian steppe.   The race re-creates the ride of Genghis Khan and his conquering forces. Participants must be invited and they must have the resume to support the notion that they can complete this race without dying.

That's where Lynne Gilbert comes in.  She has qualified to participate in this insanity and is actually excited about it.

As you'll see in the TV story, Lynne is an accomplished endurance rider, who with her horse, Mercuric, is a top finisher at "races" of 50 to 100 miles here in the United States.  She learned earlier this year that her application to participate in the Derby had been accepted.

From the Adventurists Website:

The Horses

Mongolian horses were the Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles of the thirteenth century. These indefatigable steeds once carried the all-conquering Mongol warriors across half the world. Diminutive, sturdy, fearless, wild and unbelievably tough, they're rightly revered in Mongolian culture,  and have changed very little over the centuries, free as they are from human interference.

 

This means she has earned the rights to pay the $12,000 entry fee so she can suffer immeasurably as she trades horses every 25 miles, and sleeps in local Mongol family homes while traversing the deserts, swamps, shorelines and hazard-filled countryside over the steppe during a period of about 10 days.

After which, if she survives, she will participate in: (again -- from the website) 

...Final dust expected to settle Sunday, August 13/14th, whereupon speeches will be made and holy vodka sprinkled.  And imbibed.  Riders will be transferred back to Ulaanbaatar on August 14/15th

 

This is either going to be the most painful experience since Khan's soldiers arrived on someone's doorstep, or one heck of an adventure.

I hope you'll check out the story on Fox 21/27 at 10 p.m. on December 18 or the Fox Morning News on December 19.  We had a great day shooting the interview and footage of Lynne as she and Mercuric galloped across the green fields of a Lexington Farm.  There were blue skies, and tall cliffs along the Maury River and just enough leaves on the trees to make it pretty.

When you see Lynne -- who can't weight more than 100 pounds -- if that -- you will likely think as I did, that you could not find a single person who is further in character from the famed Genghis Khan.  She is pretty, sweet and determined.  

Only 35 people are admitted to the Derby, and who knows where Lynne will finish.  I'm betting however that she WILL finish, and that's saying a lot.

By the way, each rider must choose a charity to support through the training and racing process.  Lynne's is the Wounded Warrior Equestrian Program.  Click here for their Facebook page.  The program provides both emotional and physical therapy to veterans using rescue horses.   

"I’m so excited that I found a charity that helps both animals and people.  I work with many veterans and have volunteered with HoofBeats Therapeutic Riding Program.   The decision was tough because there are so many great organizations that need funding but this one just seemed right for me," she wrote in an recent e-mail.  

If you would like to support the Wounded Warrior Equestrian program in honor of Lynne's efforts, please contact me at carlinagency@gmail.com.    

John Carlin's Virginia: Father/Daughter Team Restores Antique Boats

John Carlin's Virginia: Father/Daughter Team Restores Antique Boats: Bill Garrecht and his daughter Lily have spent the last two years restoring a boat in their garage.  This is a link to the story aired on Fox 21/27

John Carlin's Virginia: Roanoke River

John Carlin's Virginia: Roanoke River: Today in John Carlin's Virginia, we are knee-deep in the Roanoke River. Here is a link to one of my favorite stories.

John Carlin's Virginia: Touchdown Tommy

John Carlin's Virginia: Touchdown Tommy: John Carlin's Virginia: Touchdown Tommy
Here is a link to the Television Story on Touchdown Tommy.  Scroll down to find the blog on Tommy and additional information.

Lily's Boat

Click here to see the story that aired on Fox 21/27.


Lily Garrecht wants to study architecture in college, and she thinks the itch came from the time she's been spending with her father, Bill in their garage.  

Bill and Lily Garrecht work on their 1955 Chris Craft

There, they have spent countless hours over the past two years, lovingly restoring a 1955 Chris Craft.  This isn't just stripping the finish and applying new varnish.  This is a complete restoration screw by screw and board by board, and it's a true father-daughter project.

The Garrechts already have a replica wooden boat.

What struck me the most about this -- beyond the amazing quality and difficulty of the work and the expertise that it requires, is Lily's unusual love for the project.  You sort of expect a guy Bill's age to enjoy woodworking and motors and so forth, but how often do you see that in a 17 year old female high school cross country runner?  You can say I'm stereotyping if you want -- but stories happen when there is something unexpected -- when man bites dog.

The frame is original.  All the wood is being replaced.

Not only does Lily enjoy this work -- but she is atypical in the sense that she thinks watching TV is a waste of time.  Ditto for video games and most of the other things parents and society at large are complaining about with respect to teenagers.

"When I was little I always wanted to build things and I wasn’t the kind of person who wanted to be in the kitchen cooking or downstairs with my mom sewing.  I always wanted to be outside doing stuff with my hands," Lily told me.

This really is a great story at so many levels.  The father/daughter team, Lily's atypical approach and the boat restoration itself.  We cover that in more detail in the TV segment.

I hope you'll check it out and enjoy it for all the reasons I did.

For more information on wooden boats and the vibrant antique boat community at Smith Mountain Lake check out this report.  Also, many thanks to George Blosser who seems to have a bottomless supply of old boat stories.

 

Whatever Happened to Touchdown Tommy?

"I was having a nervous breakdown on national television and no one could see it."
-- Tommy Edwards in our interview for John Carlin's Virginia.

We interviewed on his front porch in Roanoke.

Tommy Edward's story is an intricate one.  We all live complicated lives, but few among us have lived so close to the edge as Touchdown Tommy.

Let me explain what I mean by "edge."  There's an edge we think of as the "cliff."  Right now the entire nation is watching the president and congress to see if we can avoid going over the fiscal cliff.  That would be bad.

Tommy has certainly gone over the cliff several times in his life as he has battled mental illness, drugs and alcohol.  But there's another "edge" as well.  And that edge is only seen by folks who have talent beyond everyday people.  Tommy's talents have taken him to places most people could never achieve.  His edges are often as close to greatness as they are calamity.

Tommy does a hand plant.

Not only is he a celebrated football player, he is also an artist and musician who has played with some big time names.  He is an entrepreneur who has started companies and foundations. 

Tommy has seen higher highs and lower lows than 99-percent of us.  He's led the league in rushing.  He's created his own skateboard company.  He's recorded multiple CD's from his part-time home in Nashville.  But he's also suffered from too many bangs to the head (from football and skateboard accidents).  He suffers from mental illness that has not always been under control.  He's been homeless.

This is a tough story to tell in a TV news segment.  Tommy's story really deserves treatment in a longer form  -- a documentary, reality TV segment or a book.

In tv news we interview our subjects, do some research, take some video and put it on the news.  Tommy's doesn't fit very well in that format.  There's just too much.

Tommy keeping life "in balance"

What you DO get from a tv story, however is a measure of the person, just by watching the interview clips that make air.  You get a certain sense of the person that can't be described by the written word or still photos. In Tommy's case you will also see him balancing on a roller board, playing guitar and singing a song he wrote.  Life on the edge.  Or with the roller board, as Tommy puts it, "Life in balance."

And now, with the internet, I can share additional information about Tommy's talents by providing you with links to his Heart of Virginia Foundation, or his music.  Click here for a You Tube Video that shows some of his football prowess and ends with his musical talents.

As I write this, Tommy seems to be near new levels of achievement in two aspects of his multifaceted life.  His music, which is getting more and more attention, and his advocacy for help for people with mental illness -- specifically with respect to the mass shootings that dominate the headlines.  Tommy avers that society needs to recognize, embrace and help the people who suffer from treatable disorders or we will continue to suffer at the hands of deranged individuals who somehow believe that killing others is the solution to their problems.

He's sharing the dark side of his story as a call to action.

The hook for the TV story was pretty simple: Whatever happened to Touchdown Tommy?  What happened to the kid who seemed like a lock for the NFL even when he was at Radford High School? The tv story answers those questions, but who knows where the complicated story of his life will go next?  One day the world may look at the body of his work and say, " Wow, he was also a pretty good football player."