A note to Mom.

When I was accepted for a summer internship in LA, my mom 

was kind enough and crazy enough to agree to drive across the country with me. 

We laughed; we cried (really). 

We left in one car 

and arrived in another.  (As seen in the reflection.)

We made friends with a firefighter (and secretly snapped a photo).  

We spent five hours in Mason City, Iowa. 

We played 20 questions quite unsuccessfully by mixing up East and West relative to the Mississippi. (Good thing we were relying on the GPS for the actual trip.) 

We drove around Omaha. 

We searched for Ogalalla.

 

We took pictures of our feet.

We celebrated in a complementary upgraded suite in Vegas after a 15 hour day of driving. 

We gambled, rather, she gambled.  

We ate vegan donuts.  

We made friends at WB.  

We had a much needed drink in LA.  

Despite tow trucks, rampant rain, and little sleep we had a good time.  And it wouldn't have been such a good time with anyone but you, Mom.  Thank you.

A short food rant.

I abandoned ship... 6 months ago.  But last night I had a post-worthy experience.  So I'm back on board.

(And Chipotle is hosting free screenings across the country.)

Food Inc.  Such a powerful movie.  It's amazing to me how many people are content with being ignorant about where their food comes from.  Like most vegans, I'm often asked WHY?  "WHY would you give up meat and dairy?"  As soon as I begin to talk about where these products come from and the treatment of animals, I often hear "NO!  Don't tell me!  I don't want to know."  Everyone seems to have a sense of the cruelty of slaughter, but the neatly cut and cleaned, plastic wrapped animal meat at the grocery store hides these realities.

As soon as we left the theatre, B said, "But they didn't say what you SHOULD eat."  And I think that was the point.  The movie won't tell you to be an omnivore, a vegetarian, or a vegan.  It simply tells you to know where your food comes from.  Be accountable.  Don't be complacent.  We make important choices about our health, the well being of animals, and the well being of the planet three times a day.  Eat veggies.  Eat animals.  Eat whatever you want.  But eat wisely rather than ignorantly.