Have you ever met Mel? Got pictures?

Have you had the privilege of meeting Mel Bartholomew in person? If so please share your pictures and tell us a bit about the experience.

OR even if you haven't MET him, can you share how SFG has impacted your life? We all know SFG is simpler, but has it made a BIG impact on your life? We've had people share about taking SFG overseas, helped them whip a chronic illness or brought them out of depression. What's YOUR story?

Let me start off with one of my favorite Mel pictures from this past week:



Mel at Caldwell Country Store in Lake George, NY - June 29, 2015

I first met Mel back around 2006 or so when he spoke at a gardening event in Orange County, California.

Instantly recognizing him before the program began, I barged up, introduced myself, and showed him pictures of my SFG.  Though amended several times, there were huge clumps of clay, some nearly too heavy to move.  I also explained that my garden was surrounded on three sides by two- or three-story buildings.

Mel was quite gracious, though.  He did tell me, "You really DO have a problem" and told me about ANSFG.  I bought a copy after the program.

During the SFG lesson afterwards, he asked if anyone knew how vermiculite is made.  I answered the question correctly, having read the original book several times.

I next met Mel in 2008 at the Eden instructor certification class.  At one point, we had a fairly lengthy chat about many different subjects.  I learned to appreciate his dry sense of humor.  

Perhaps we'll meet again someday.  I'm hoping that he'll visit Oregon sometime soon.  There are several CIs here, although apparently I'm the only one in Central Oregon.

I haven't met face-to-face, but have had telephone conversations since being Admin. He is a nice person.

Sanderson,

I really enjoyed meeting and speaking with Mel--both times.

I think anyone who has met him would agree that he's got a great sense of humor.

I swear that guy " Mel " is getting younger each time I see a recent picture of him ....... happen it's ANSFG that's the culprit. 

I spoke to him briefly as a call-in on a radio program.

I would love to meet him to shake his hand and tell him how much I have appreciated his incredibly wonderful books and PBS series, and as emotional as I can get, I will probably have tears in my eyes when I do eventually meet him.

This comes from somebody that doesn't think it is anything to regularly have had contact with people like Barry Zito, Rickey Henderson, Pekka Rinne, Will Perdue, Eddie George, Marcus Mariota, or Garth Brooks.  They are all nice people and all that, but Mel is different.  Because of him, I discovered healthy eating, and that greatly affected my life at a time when I needed guidance back in 1982-83.  That makes 33 gardens where organic produce was consumed from the source.

As a former general contractor, I would also like to discuss engineering as well.  It would be easy to believe that he would be equally interesting and make engineering sound simple as well.

LOL the only name I recognized on your list was Garth Brooks.

sfg4uKim wrote:LOL the only name I recognized on your list was Garth Brooks.

Just for you Kim:

Barry Zito: Former Cy Young award pitcher with the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants.  He is trying to make a comeback with the Nashville Sounds, Oakland's AAA minor league team.  He is also a fairly competent musician who could try to make a go in the Music City, even though his music is not country.  He is into yoga and probably would approve highly of SFG.

Rickey Henderson: Hall of Fame baseball player mostly with Oakland, and the all-time Stolen Base leader in the history of the game.  He is now a roving instructor for the A's and just spent a fortnight in Nashville working with the Sounds.  He will talk your ear off, but he is a nice guy.

Pekka Rinne: All-Star NHL goalie for the Nashville Predators

Will Perdue: Former Center for the Chicago Bulls during the Michael Jordan days and currently a very outspoken sports commentator.  I knew him when he played at Vanderbilt in the 1980's.

Eddie George: The all-time favorite Tennessee Titans football star and former Ohio State University Heisman Trophy winner.  He lives near us when he is in his Nashville home.  He is also into yoga and organic eating, as he can frequently be spotted in our neighborhood Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.  Both he and his incredible wife are super friendly, even to Michigan fans, to some extent.

Marcus Mariota: The reigning Heisman Trophy winner from Oregon and first draft pick of the Tennessee Titans.  He has taken this town by storm, and I met him during the recent organized training activities the Titans held in June.  He is from Hawaii and likes durian, which is an acquired taste that I have not been able to acquire.

Garth Brooks: He only hit .214 in Spring Training with the Padres 10 years ago.  He was a little slow, didn't field well, and had a weak arm.  I guess he had to stick to his day job.  Seriously, my dear sweetheart worked for him for 3 1/2 years.

Mel Batholomew: He hit 1.000 in the Major Home Gardening League.

Oh, THAT Garth Brooks. I knew that!

Mel Batholomew: He hit 1.000 in the Major Home Gardening League.

He certainly did.