The Saturday Market

I managed to make it to the Saturday Market again this week, to get some veggies for my weekly pot of soup.

The market is set up in the parking lot of the sports arena in South Anchorage, and is just down the street from my house. I could actually walk to it, but since I have to go to the zoo each Saturday for my Discovery Tour it just works out best if I go by car.

There are perhaps a dozen different farms represented at the market, selling anything from bread, fresh veggies, or jams to sod, flowers, and even tractors. I like it because it hasn’t turned into a tourist trap like the one downtown: full of plastic toys made in Taiwan, elbow to elbow with crowds of people, and not a veggie to be seen.

I wandered thru, surveying the wares for sale, and finally settled on some really good looking organic Kale. While waiting in line to pay, I looked up from admiring my bundle of green to find a lady looking at me with an inquiring look on her face. She pointed at me and said, “You’re an Amgwert!” at the same time I pointed at her and said, “You’re a Remple!”

Turns out, she and I grew up together out in the valley. Well, at least our families did. She is probably more my older sister’s age. But the family resemblance is unmistakable in both our cases, so it was fairly obvious who we both were.

That made me feel twice a good: not only am I buying fresh, local, organic food – thereby reducing my carbon footprint - but I’m also supporting a local farmer who also happens to be a family friend!