Howenstine says, "I am very concerned about major projects being left undone or half done."
Johnson gives a vague reply.
Rex Rystedt
Members of the Emma Goldman Finishing School (clockwise from bottom left): Mitchell Johnson, Parke Burgess, Addy Adwell, Sheldon Cooper (founder), Darlene Johnson (friend of the commune), Thea Schnase, Jamie Lee Northern (standing), and Katie Howenstine.
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"Could you address my concern about what I said?" demands Howenstine.
Johnson shrinks and speaks as if from the bottom of a well. "Some things are really straightforward, and I can just do it. Other things just languish."
Berkman raises himself up on his elbow. "Since I stopped getting concrete, it hasn't been happening. It's our number one priority, and it's not happening."
Burgess looks intently at Johnson. "We did agree to do these three wall work parties [last week]. I was the only one who showed up. The work party was a complete bomb. I don't know where you were, Mitchell, all week."
Berkman brings up a solution that the group has considered previously about how Johnson can be forced to fulfill his "quota" of 118 hours a month. "We talked about imposing a work schedule—having the in-house quota be more like a job," he says.
Adwell says, "I liked the idea of imposing a work schedule."
Johnson says he has a schedule already. "Fixed schedules are a great idea. Mine are Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. All day—from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m."
The group gripes a little more, but Johnson has outmaneuvered them for the moment by making a claim that no one can refute.
Ten days later, on my final visit to the commune, the cement wall in the backyard still isn't completed, but Johnson is excited about a handheld crane that he has constructed to help him build the wall.
At the beginning of May, Amazon.com reported that its net sales had increased 20 percent to $2.28 billion for the first quarter of 2006. The revolution next door is moving much more slowly. Burgess just announced he is joining Emma's largest constituency—former members—by moving to Tacoma to live with his girlfriend. It's almost certain that most of the current members will likewise depart because of love or money. Joining Emma's is like joining a monastery; it is a choice freely made to severely limit your personal freedom in order to pursue a higher purpose. Given all the temptations of postindustrial capitalism Seattle-style, there aren't that many people who will stick with it. Yet after 10 years and so much turnover, Cooper is not discouraged; "We try not to get worried about the glacial pace of progress. Social change isn't easy." He smiles. "I'm just wired as a hyper-optimistic person."
ghowland@seattleweekly.com
