My Dream

The other night I dreamed that I was in a house that was burning. The fire started in the basement and was working its way up. I was with a bunch of people and there was no way we could get out in time. Someone suggested that I go down to the kitchen and put together a nice cheese plate: if we weren't going to make it, we might as well enjoy some cheese. I was arranging the cheese on the plate when the fire burst through the floorboards. Until that moment I hadn't felt the least bit afraid, and I quickly woke up.

I had the dream after a week with quite a few slow farmers' markets. There were also some busy ones and the week, overall, has really been okay. But the number of slow markets has made me realize that the farmers' markets really have been affected by the lousy economy. I was in denial about this for some time. It was easy to be, because the Ballard winter market actually has been growing, and until the summer season started it was one of my main indicators. I'm fortunate enough to vend at so many markets that there are enough bright spots to mostly balance the dark spots, but it's hard to deny that folks are thinking twice about spending money, even on good food.

I think the fire represented the current economic system. The cheese plate wasn't quite an antidote, but it was a reminder that in the face of everything, there's still so much great food to enjoy.