January 16

Sander Houk prepared a Chinese dinner for us at the Linesville farm tonight. We watched a documentary titled Guns, Germs, and Steel. Don charged up the Massey Ferguson tractor and the Thomas Skid Steer, took many pictures inside and outside of the pole barn, including carpentry and electrical work recently done there. Don also removed a load of wood and steel (door, trim, scrap wood, bed frame, etc.) from the Suburban and stored it in the pole barn. Don, Lynnell, and Sander have mainly been working on SALT projects and ideas for developing and marketing SALT overall. Lynnell finally got around to taking down the Christmas tree today. Sander was making some pleasant sounds on his mandolin this evening.

We were all saddened today by the news of the suicide death of Aaron Swartz. This represents a miscarriage of justice and a reprehensible move on the part of MIT and the U.S. Attorney Generals Office. This 26-year-old man was not a felon. He was not a criminal. He was terrorized and abused by his own government. He was actually providing a commendable service to ordinary Americans. The big ruthless and bullying agents of the system (the partnership of government and corporate evil) have struck again and slaughtered an innocent lamb. Do you really wonder why this nation has so little credibility when it comes to human decency? When are we going to join hands and demand an end to citizen abuse by the system?

A canned letter

We here at SALT know that many of you are very busy making this world more informed and more just. We know that you have many important options to consider, in terms of participation or promotion.  but I hope SALT might interest you and that you will take the time and make the effort to investigate us further.

My name is Aleksander "Sander" Houk and I am a Bennington College student working with a couple (named Don and Lynnell Brian) to start a commune in Pennsylvania. Here at SALT we want to start an alternative living/shared housing arrangement for diverse senior activists. It will be used to support the Occupy movement and act as its own strain of direct action activists who want to uncover the ills of our politico-economic system. It will be an environmentally sustainable community where all members will be encouraged to pursue their own interests, continue their work outside, build something here, and come and go as desired. There will be a gym, a dining hall, a library, a publishing house, a yoga barn, a green house, an organic garden, and other facilities. Decisions will be made collectively through direct consensus and any conflicts that may arise between members will be resolved through mediation. This last week we have been working to collaborate with #Occupy organizers, and activist artists. Also, I will be meeting shortly with Noam Chomsky. If you would like to hear more, or join us, please do not hesitate to contact us. It would be greatly appreciated, especially given the profound work all of you have done and continue to do every day of the week.

About Lynnell

"Growing up an only child in a small extended family in Meadville, PA  I learned to entertain myself and work alone.  However, much of my time was focused on lessons of one kind or another.  I took several different instrumental lessons, a variety of dance lessons, and classes at the YWCA  while at the same time  attending to the academics of public school.  Thus most of my interaction with peers was in a controlled setting.   In high school I was active in choral groups, thespian performances, sports, and church youth groups.

I graduated from Allegheny College, a small liberal arts school, with a BS in psychology and continued an extra year after graduating to earn my Pennsylvania elementary teaching certificate.  I then taught school for two years before marrying my husband.  We recently celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary.  We both entered graduate school at IUP during our first year of marriage.  I was in a master's level program studying to become a guidance counselor, and he was in doctoral level program in psychology and school curriculum and administration.

During this time we became the proud parents of our only son. He will soon be 40 and lives in NYC.  Over the next 5 years we made several moves living in Baltimore, MD, Meadville, State College, Huntingdon, and Pittsburgh,PA; Ashtabula and Rock Creek, OH; and back to Meadville.  During this same short five-year period my husband and I started a state-licensed private school and training center for autistic children and adults.  Here I worked as a therapist and teacher.  I continued my graduate studies at Edinboro with an emphasis in Special Education.  With my new study concentration and  experience I returned to the public school classroom as a tutor and full-time special education teacher in Ohio.  After 26+ years in this position I retired from teaching.  It had been a challenging but very rewarding assignment.  Watching those frustrated young students experience the joy of learning and success, despite all of the obstacles that they faced in a system that not only did not meet their needs but failed to make accommodations, made my efforts worthwhile.

Even before I made my decision to retire from a career in teaching I had launched myself into a new enterprise.  I opened a bed and breakfast.  This new endeavor requires that I wear many hats at once to keep Wynken, Blynken, and Nod up and running.  With only Don (my husband) and I on staff we must try to be bookkeeper, banker, baker, landscaper, launderer, housekeeper, consierge, and more.  The B&B has allowed us to meet hundreds of wonderful people who have come as guests and left as friends over the past dozen or so years.

Now the next chapter in my life is a vision on the horizon.  I want to create a "family" of unrelated seniors who can share their talents and tasks while living in shared housing. Members will hopefully encourage each other to live a healthy lifestyle as well as adhere to a healthy diet.  Together we may be able to enrich our own daily experiences while contributing to a more just and promising world.  I believe that as we age we still have much to give to others and to society as a whole.  However,  so much that we cannot accomplish single-handedly can be managed with ease with just a couple extra hands or insights.  I hope we can see this vision become a reality."

-Lynnell Brian January, 8th 2013