Time Spent with Meredith Baker: A Season in America

Cabbages and Carrots: good, clean fun.

As we take our last journey with Meredith for the season, we accompany her to her friends' home for some good company and, as always, a good meal. She contemplates the journey of age and adventure, reminiscing of her time as a vegetable artist, daisy picker, and cabbage laborer. Did you know that cabbage washes up nicely? What is next for Meredith? Perhaps she’ll tell us the story of her erotic carrots… “but that’s another chapter.”

For extra essays, citations of works referenced, and a transcript of this episode, head to www.timespentpod.com

Old Sweaters: gray skies and the warmth of old friends.

In our penultimate episode of the season, Meredith urges all of us to watch “Amend” a documentary about the 14th amendment, and fills her time by falling in love with Jazz. She moves through Florida to South Carolina and then to North Carolina, visiting her daughter, granddaughter, son-in-law and their noisy dogs. Then, leaving Snowball in Annapolis, thanks to some kind neighbors, Meredith hops on a plane to Seattle, finally heading home after five months away. She thinks of health, and love, and her home community over the past year, how people have shifted in their values. “time left versus time spent. These are the questions we ponder…”

Piano piece: 

https://freesound.org/people/ITheRealGooglekatClaire/sounds/570769/

Ragtime: Royalty free Music by Giorgio Di Campo https://youtu.be/DPdXvM7qJds

For extra essays, citations of works referenced, and a transcript of this episode, head to www.timespentpod.com

Quirks and Quiddities: farewell to Ocean Springs.

Leaving Gautier Mississippi, Meredith heads to a friend’s house spotting quirky signs and t-shirts along the way. When she arrives, they reminisce on old spelling words over carbonara, collards, and crunchy salad. She continues on with Willie Nelson as her traveling companion, heads East past Fortress Mausoleum & Tombs, & contemplates the upkeep of infrastructure. There’s a lot to think about when you drive...

For extra essays, citations of works referenced, and a transcript of this episode, head to www.timespentpod.com

Technical Difficulties: mental health challenges.

Waking up on a 23 degree morning, Meredith zips through the challenges of staying warm in frozen temperatures, considers how Texas is suffering in the unexpected cold, and what makes for good mental health. She shares with us her mother’s end of life plan and her healthy mental health qualities. How are we? Well, the proper answer to that question, according to Meredith, is “Fine”.

For extra essays, citations of works referenced, and a transcript of this episode, head to www.timespentpod.com

Bookends: a jar of spring daffodils and the pursuit of happiness.

It’s a chilly February evening as Meredith watches the egrets rise on the bayou against the setting sun. She compares our political landscape to the landscape of various trees before her. “A metaphor to learn to live together in the pursuit of happiness.” The news may flood our daily lives but hope breaks through like spring. “It always does.”

For extra essays, citations of works referenced, and a transcript of this episode, head to www.timespentpod.com

King Cake Baby!: oh my!

Tired of being cooped up in Shepard State Park through days of rain, Meredith wanders around Lowes and Walmart for something to do, feeling like something’s off. Hopefully, just the weather. She walks us through her “Camping in an RV cookbook”: Top Ramen, Quesadillas, raisin toast and butter, tea and chocolate, jazz and a drink… the list goes on. She considers the lack of Mardi Gras parades due to Covid as she shops for a King Cake to bring to her friends (she got the baby last year).

For extra essays, citations of works referenced, and a transcript of this episode, head to www.timespentpod.com

Pascagoula: soap, propane, and s’mores.

While accompanying her friend to the auto body shop, Meredith recalls our country's own “advanced collision”, or the insurrection at the capitol the previous week. They grab some Dr. Peppers to wash down the week.  Then after a failed attempt to wash her hair in the sink, she heads out to get propane for Snowball suds and all. She finally hooks up with a white haired man in a mask, the man with the propane, and he boasts about chasing away some difficult campers with a rifle. With a full tank, Meredith makes her way to Gautier Mississippi to her camp, awaiting the arrival of friends from Ocean Springs with a delicious moon pie. 

For extra essays, citations of works referenced, and a transcript of this episode, head to www.timespentpod.com

Woolgathering: under the sweetgum trees, a smoky fire.

Beneath the trees in the Mississippi Bayou brush, Meredith sits by the fire swatting away the “no see ‘ems”. She daydreams, “woolgathering” as she calls it, of who she was in her past lives, was following a cattle driver? A sailor who traveled around Cape Horn? An immigrant running to safety and freedom? She wonders who you are with? “Where is your heart tonight?” amidst the pandemic. She decides to stay in this camp ground for a couple of months and to make use of her time writing. She talks of the insurrection at the capital, trying to process, and remembers her old friend whose husband passed away, wanting to escape and find healing and joy on the wind of dreams. 

For extra essays, citations of works referenced, and a transcript of this episode, head to www.timespentpod.com

Jupiter and Saturn: align across the bayou sky.

A few days before Christmas, Meredith contemplates all of us coming together like Jupiter and Saturn above. As winds blow leaf circles on earth, she considers the great divide between humans and seeks mother Mary’s wisdom and comfort for our “collective unease”. So much work around Christmas time, baking, cleaning, and tired children. She wonders if Mary and Joseph had an oven to bake ginger cookies. What are we celebrating? Hope, hopefully. She tells us of her friend Frances who is expecting a baby while mourning the one she’s lost. And as Meredith stares up at the night sky above, at Jupiter and Saturn, she thinks, “how fortunate we are”.

For extra essays, citations of works referenced, and a transcript of this episode, head to www.timespentpod.com

Unexpected Visitors: who’s in my bed.

Falling asleep in glasses creates some uncomfortable evenings, but that’s not all. Waking with a start, Meredith discovers avocados rolling around under her covers. After ridding Snowball from some unwelcome furry guests, she receives a packet of notes and reflections from her brother and catches up with him over the phone. She recalls a cafe in Idaho she visited once, considers her shaggy appearance, and wonders if she was taking Francis Bacon’s advice and making a fool of herself. Later Meredith telephones an old friend and swaps memories accumulated over almost 50 years. Their stories mingle and one remembers what the other has forgotten. Each resilient like the  growth of the seed of a budding, rogue avocado. 

For extra essays, citations of works referenced, and a transcript of this episode, head to www.timespentpod.com