An unusually interesting profession!

Ever heard of anyone making a living out of old newspaper clippingsand other media? Well as a journalist one of my interests was to clip interesting and relevant news items from newspapers and magazines for future reference. But I had never thought or even imagined that someone could actually make a living doing newspaper clipping, till I read about Dallas resident W.K. Jeffus (61). I was intrigued when I saw a front page headline screaming "Yesterday's news is Dallas man's current occupation" and read the entire article spread across two pages.

According to the article Jeffus is passionate about the history of Dallas and is pained to see little being done to preserve the city's past. He is particularly sad to see that people in Dallas don't care much about history. He scouts through flea markets, garage sales and even houses under demolition to collect newspapers which is stores in a home in Oak Cliff, south of Dallas. The newspaper article talks about how frugally Jeffus lives, his office in Oak Cliff doesn't have airconditioning, he drives an old car and guess what his electric bill was: $1.85. I think it would be impossible to pay such a low electric bill even in India. I wonder how he survives the heat of Dallas in such circumstances. Jeffus makes about $1,000 a month, which is abysmally low by American standards and can't lead a decent life within that money.

Having read this much about Jeffus one would think that he is probably not educated to get a mainstream job or he is retired from work and does this as a pastime. Well the latter could be true, but Jeffus has a bachelors degree in Marketing from Texas A&M University and has worked in several places. But he has been associated with old news since long time.

Earth Day Celebrations at Dallas

Yesterday was Earth Day in America, a day when people remembered the importance of Mother Earth and talked about the importance of conserving the environment, saving the earth etc etc. When anything happens in Texas, it is always in Texas Size, likewise the Earth Day celebrations were also in equal proporation. Only in Dallas city area there were seven events conducted parallely and this was pegged as the biggest celebration in the US.

We got an invite from a India-oriented non-profit VT SEVA based in Dallas area for the Earth Day celebrations at the Lake Cliff Park in Oak Cliff, Dallas. Always to be part of any Eco-friendly event we went to take a look. Well, it was truly a multi-cultural, multi-faceted and colourful event and well worth visiting. According to the organisers 120 Plus businesses/ non-profits had put up their stalls. Most of them were from environment-friendly and green organisations trying to make people aware of how they can inculcate eco-friendly habits in various aspects of life. Water conservation, green electricity, organic T-shirts, jewellery, recycled picture frames, trekking, mountain biking etc were all being promoted.

The part I liked about the event was the showcasing of several myriad forms of music and dance at the venue. Two stages set up at the venue and parallel dance and music performances carried on throughout the day. Performances ranged from African Mambo Dance to choir singing and from Sanskrit Shloka recitation to Cheerleading. The performances were unique, elegant and very appealing. It is interesting to note that so many cultures exist oblivious of each other and when they come together it feels so beautiful and good. Problem starts when one starts saying we are superior than others. This kind of attitude hurts people and leads to a clash of civilisations.



Let me say something about the venue, the Lake Cliff Park. This park is one of the premier green spaces in South Dallas area. Nearly 70 percent of the park comprises of a large lake and rest of it is either sprawling manicured lawns, rolling woods with neat and clean walking and cycling trails. The park also has a dedicated chidren's play area, amphitheatre, several gazebos and restrooms.

Family that has shunned cars
I met Kenny and his cute daughters at the venue. Kenny is an ardent eco-advocate and loves cycling. He has a road bike and a mountain bike and both of them have a pannier/ side car to carry his little daughters. He stopped driving two years ago and he commutes "Solely by bicycle". I am impressed by Kenny's dedication and willingness to give up comforts of driving in a country where cars keep getting bigger and muscular. I am glad I met someone who shares my thought line, I am now more eagerly looking for a bike on Craigslist so I can join this small minority of cyclists who are pushing pedals for environment.