Today is our Labor Day edition of our blog. And a very busy last two weeks or so it has been. We have had 44 visitors to Farscape Farm these past 12 days. Our good friends the Eastman’s who came to visit from Israel with their oldest Josh, his wife and their children. Avi and Ruth have four boys. All have been deployed as members of the IDF the latter three spending way too much time in Gaza these past two years.
These boys almost grew up in our home. Every Ravens away game was chili Sunday at the Leventhal’s. I made a 12-quart stock pot of chili of varying types and heat for the neighborhood boys. I tried my best to make it so hot that they’d all stop after one bowl. Never succeeded. And by the end of the game the chili was gone. We’d typically have somewhere between 8 – 10 boys sitting around our big screen TV cheering on the home team (mostly) for many years when we lived in Baltimore from 2002 – 2012. Those were happy and relatively untroubled times.
I don’t care what anyone’s “side” is in a war. War is horrible. The physical injuries are devastating. The psychologic injuries are as bad if not worse. I was deployed in Desert Shield in 1991. I have seen my share of the physical and psychological effects of battle. And if you don’t know what they are, count yourself lucky. When you see a man, whose eyes are dead but the rest of his body lives, you will understand what I mean. I hope and pray for the end to the Gaza war with the safe return of Israeli hostages. It is time for the killing to stop.
Why am I going over something so un-Farscape Farmish?. Well, today we hosted a farm event for the Road Home Foundation. It is run by my brother and pledge master, Alex Marrocco. His son was the unfortunate recipient of the devastating effects of war. So, what did Alex do? Instead of looking inward, he looked outward. Rather than watch, he did. The Road Home Foundation for Injured Warriors and Families is committed to identifying and responding to the needs of the active duty, veterans, and families in need of assistance. They have established initiatives in housing, transportation, education, quality of life issues and referral services where the military has fallen short. In just a few years they have raised and allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars.
We hosted a group of 12 motor cyclists, who were raising money for the Road Home Foundation. These men and women were really new to farm life. They got to feed the goats, tour the farm, check out the gardens and sit down to a farm-to-table dinner of Texas smoked brisket, grilled chicken wings, Farscape Farm potato salad, Thai coleslaw, same day picked corn on the cob, and three melon salad topping home-made peach sorbet. All produce was either grown here or sourced locally. A grand time was had by all. They came amidst the roar of a bunch of motorcycles and left friends of Farscape Farm. We doubled last year’s group and hope to double it again next year.
So, why tell you all of this? The mission of Farscape Farm is to bring the love of the land to people who have never seen what farm life has to offer. And most men and women from Staten Island are new to our way of life. And I can think of no better way than to spend my Labor Day
doing what I love. And that is teaching people about farm life and sharing a home-made meal. It is one of the things that brings me true pleasure in this world. And to help out my brother, my pledge master, Alex Marrocco bring aid and comfort to the men and women who served our great country, in their time of need is a special merit in and of its own. Safe ride home my brother. Hope to see you next year.
Pops
4 Responses
Thank you, Ed and Mesa for the unique experience you provided to our group this weekend. Not only was the food incredible, but your entire way of life on the farm was eye opening. We thoroughly enjoyed your hospitality and food and we will definitely visit again next year on our second annual motorcycle run to the flight 93 Memorial Park. Word is spreading about this ride, so next year you’ll need to come up with a bigger menu for what will hopefully be a much bigger group! FAIR WARNING!
Thank you both for opening your farm and home to us. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour. What a wonderful experience. I have lived in cities my whole life and have never been exposed to the farm life. I can’t say enough about the food. Amazing! Looking forward to next year.
Thank you Ed and Mesa for an awesome experience and for your hospitality in opening up your home to us. From the tour of the farm to the excellent meal you prepared (all home grown or locally grown) and how everything works on the farm – everything was perfect. You are both wonderful people who truly go the extra mile. Say hello to all my farm animals, and of course, all the cute cats. I look forward to seeing you both next year.
Thank you Ed and Mesa for such a beautiful day at your home. It doesn’t get much better than that. The day was just perfect as was the meal you both provided for us all. You could definitely taste the difference from farm fresh and the corn . Well I could have been happy with the whole pot. 🥰 The grounds of the farm are just beautiful, the animals and feeding them was so much fun. Love everything about the farm life. Once again thank you for the opportunity to share your home and farm with us all.
See you next year. You are wonderful people ❤️❤️❤️