Getting Back to Basics

Food. Water. Heat. Shelter. When I think of the basic needs for human survival, I also think of institutions. Like the World Health Organization. UNESCO. The United Nations. What do they qualify and quantify as standards for basic necessities? And, why on day two of a poverty challenge - does this seem to matter more? It probably shouldn't.  I know I have $50 over five days. Managing the budget might be tricky. And, yes, at the beginning and end of each day, the running balance dwindles. It is getting smaller. Two challenges have been a part of the balance sheet. Yesterday, my challenge was to simply do a "good deed".  Easy enough. Right?  I started thinking. Who would I do the good deed for? One of my three dogs? My partner, Mary Anne?  Or perhaps, I should do something nice for Greg, who was visiting us for a few days.  In any event, I would be rewarded with $2.00.  On any other day, $2.00 does not seem like a lot. It will not buy me a coffee at Starbucks. It will not buy me a bowl of soup. A chocolate bar, maybe. A small bag of chips.  On the first day of the challenge, it felt like manna falling from the heavens. I was going to add it to my daily allowance for Day 2, upping the ante to $12.00.

Day 2 has been busy. It started with a lengthy discussion in my head. You see last week, I came down with a flu/cold.  And, for most of the weekend, I stayed ahead of the sickness by propping myself up with Advil cold & sinus, cough syrup and Halls' cough drops. Yesterday, I was out of cough drops. I walked by the aisle with the assortment of lozenges for sore throats. I looked at my favourites - the honey lemon drops, the cherry drops...and then before picking up a package, I looked at the price. $1.50. That seemed like a lot. I stayed in front of those colourful packages for a few minutes. Should I put it in my grocery cart? Or not? What do you think I did? I passed on purchasing the cough drops. What would you have done? I don't think it would be very easy, to be sick...if I only had $700 every month for housing, transportation, and food. Not that being sick is "easy". But, I certainly can and do make myself as comfortable as possible. I steep loose tea. I add honey. I buy really nice "kleenex". And, that is the "long discussion" that took place in my head.

Now, it is day 2. I was pretty confident that my choices today were adding up to $5.00 or so for breakfast and lunch. Leaving a whole $5.00 for dinner. And, then along came challenge number 2. BANK CHARGES $3.00.  Hmnnn. Okay. I will pay the fees. And, that leaves me $2.00 for dinner. Homemade perogies it is. I am Ukrainian. I come by peasant food, honestly. And, I like it. I know how you can use cabbage and flour and rice and ground beef and onions and stretch it into a real meal. I like cabbage rolls and perogies. And, the list goes on - borscht (with beets), polenta (before it started trending in restaurants across North America), little buns with bread dough wrapped in beet leaves - these were all staples in my house, growing up. Our polenta was never cut up in neatly cut squares. It was always served up in a cast iron pot, steaming and bubbling with a pale yellow goodness.

And, before I stop thinking today. I am wondering why so many things that used to be traded and bartered for - now all have price tags. And, somehow the global market matters. Commodity? Since when is a side of beef, a commodity? Or corn? Or wheat? Well, it is - when that side of beef is raised along with thousands of others and are owned by corporations. Large herds of cattle in feed lots. It is when corn is more valuable, and trade deals secure a percentage of the farmer's yield, regardless of blight, bugs or bad weather. Ethanol? More important than food security. And, why can't I get a freshly caught fish right from a commercial fishing family at Whitefish Bay, just down the road from Black Lake? Why do I need to pay more for that "very same fish" and have it go through the processing plant, the grading facility, the inspectors stamp?  It will have traveled for hundreds of miles - before it gets back to me. And, then it will cost more, too. For my safety? I am told. For the good of public health. The literature says. I don't know. Common sense, tells me - it is still the same fish. Oh, well. I will try to figure out what "sustainable" means another day.

Which brings me back to the beginning? What if I did not have $50 for five days? Or, $40 to see me through to Saturday. What if my landlord had decided to raise my rent? What if my dog had needed medical attention this month? Or what if public transportation was not a viable option? In my real life, these three questions need not apply. I own my own home, on a small lake about 40 minutes from town. I do have a dog (three in fact) and my household income supports  their basic needs. And, I have two vehicles in the yard, so we can travel freely - knowing that our insurance, registration, licenses, and regular maintenance are all a part of our lifestyle choices.  Sometimes, life gets in the way. But not so much - that my choices are between food or heat or water.

And, on that note, I will sign off. I am thankful for the shoes I am trying to fit into. So far, so good. No big blisters. No, uncomfortable pressure points. Just a different kind of walk...