The Wiscoyotes

Another night of sweat, sand, beer, and laughs – Thursday night Wiscoy volleyball. Despite my co-workers' apprehensions about me going out there to visit, I have been having the time of my life. I am not shamed to say that one of the social highlights of my week is spending a few hours with a handful of (I'm guessing) 50-year-old men playing volleyball. These are not your ordinary men- they dance, dive, and drink while they play, and completely pause the game when the music runs out. (They dubbed themselves the 'Wiscoyotes' for their winter volleyball league team.) I consider them harmless (though they laugh and disagree) and would be hard pressed to find another group of guys this age I would willingly hang out with. The only scary thing about that night was when a tree frog jumped at me while grabbing the volleyball out of the weeds.

After the lights turned off the moonlight sank in and nature’s song let itself be known. Stories of old 4th of July parties and conversations about glowing larvae and fungus hilariously followed.

Jim told me the story of the sauna that is very interesting. Turns out Ibrahim, one of the co-op members, intended to build it for a house to move up on the ridge. As it neared its completion, the other valley members convinced him to turn it into a sauna. They all pitched in with resources and time to make it happen. Jim said it best: “We’ve created our own little reality here.” It sounds as if the Wiscoy co-op is the materialization of the dreams of many.

Making one's dream a reality is a destination not many people reach in their lifetime. Usually dreams stay just that – dreams. These individuals are so in-tune to their values, passions, and selves that they are eager to make long-term investments to seek out the manifestation of their visions.

Bob was another sweet soul I met that night. In conversation he told me that he has a daughter who was born in the same year as me- the “Year of the Rabbit.” He said he loves people that were born in that year, very strong, confident, and nice. Bob is a very reinforcing and refreshing person to talk to.

Jim will be going to an IFOAM conference in Italy this week to run for the world board. The guy knows way more about organics than I can comprehend as he has written organic certification manuals which many organic certifiers currently use. I would never imagine somebody who is running for an international organization's world board to be so down to earth, friendly, and willing to help others learn as Jim is. Given the nature of his job, he is very generous with his time as he travels the state giving speeches, gives tours of his energy efficient house, takes local couples fishing, and still has time to play volleyball with his buddies in Wiscoy.

This attitude is completely reflective of their community at-large. Nobody is too busy to give you the time of day and delight to share their wisdom and advice. They live simply, consciously, humbly, and take pleasure in the simple things such as the vibrant moon's reflection on the pond or a good beer.

I see nothing but good things coming from these Thursday evening ventures to Wiscoy.