Okra

-So let’s think about

what to serve

with this rabbit.

Do you like okra?

-Yeah, sure,

whatever you want,

I’m not finicky.

-I didn’t ask you

if it’s ok, I asked you

if you like it.

-Yes, if it’s dusted

with cornmeal

and fried. Not so

much in stews.

-Good. That’s what

I’m fixing to do.

Let’s go cut some

in the garden.

Red’s garden looks

like a vacant lot gone wild.

Raised planter boxes

overflowing with a jungle

of tomatoes, squash, beans,

cucumbers, melons

various shrubby herbs.

-Here’s the okra.

cut about a dozen.

I’ll get some tomatoes.

-Do you eat all this?

Looks like enough to feed

a small village.

-Actually it does.

Everyone in Harmony

has a garden like this.

We take what we don’t use

ourselves to the community

pantry. A lot of it gets canned.

-Interesting. So how does it

get distributed?

- You take what you need.

Contribute what you don’t.

It all balances out.

Everyone grows something

of everything. We're diversified.

That way if my melons

get gobbled up by gophers,

I can still have honeydew

or cantaloupe for breakfast.

And if Cyril’s tomatoes

get raided by the crows,

he can still make sauce

for his pasta.

-I see. I’m beginning to see

how you got your name, Red.