I am convinced there is a revolution happening. A subtle revolution. One that won't be on the 6 o'clock. One that won't come up in general conversation amongst the norm. Because it is happening on a personal level. You know, the cliche changes they say start with the man in the mirror, which of course creeps me out every time I see him over the shoulder of the only person I can actually influence the change of, which is to say growth of... me.

Yes, this is the kind of revolution that does not explode so much as it materializes. One moment it is everywhere you look, suddenly and completely, like chlorella, like an algae, like a sunrise. Last nite in Vancouver, I snaked my way up the twinkling light stairwell from what we called the Chill Room, up the hallway, squeezing between dreadlocks and hand sewn skirts, through elaborate lipstick nymphs and just plain amazing people. i threaded them like a necklace, getting caught almost constantly in another's open, friendly and direct gaze, stopping for a moment to learn a name, ask a few questions, then, repeating their name, continue up to what we called the Rage Room. You can not convince me that the warehouse was not the coolest place in Vancouver to be last Saturday nite. A regular bar or dance club can't provide this. As a touring performer, I absorb intimate artistic moments like these. You see, I am one many young dark bohemians who decided privately on a personal level to be a leader in revolution of health. Choosing it on my own, just like the other funky people I see. At least the cool ones. We are all choosing health and many of us are entirely sober. A warehouse full of people who have learned that how they feel normally is their favorite way to feel.

So here I am. I'm a raw foodist and I'm choosing health and Vancouver seems like a great place to do it. Where organic produce is absolutely mainstream - every downtown market, even the small one, offering a remarkable selection of organic greens, gourmet olives, sundried tomatoes and often even young coconut. It was strangely delicious mingling amongst the average population in a regular super market, wanting for a health food store not once. And on Granville Island, surrounded by glass blowing studios, wood carving shops and candle pouring kitchens, was a farmer's market to spoil any vegetable-lover rotten, with all the leafies and fruits (from which I am presently abstaining in yet another personal experiment) a girl could want.

You see, it has been three weeks of perhaps three months that I have been eating a green diet; consuming only uncooked greens and fats - omitting all simple sugars, including fruit. Therefore, I won't be able to write a sonnet about Raw Health Cafe's Raw Chocolate Cake, made of dates, blueberries, raisins and soaked nuts, Icing: avocado, banana and carob, yes, making my fruit fast seem a little extreme from behind the dessert case glass. I also won't be able to dictate prose in praise of the 4 year established vegetarian/raw cafe's smoothies; color of easter eggs dipped in strawberries, blueberries, mangos and raw hemp protein powder, for that full nutty flavor (I'll have to assume). But this Jolly Green Giant Creature can speak with authority and approval about a spinach based House Salad, drizzled in sesame oil, and decorated generously with cubed avocado, cucumber, tomato and red onion. Happily, the owner himself, the chef, the cook, Oliver, personally sprinkled it with sliced raw almonds at my giddy request. As well, and of special note, was one of Oliver's prized creations, the Raw Falafel Burrito; a sprouted chick pea/sunflower seed belly that is best wrapped in the crunchy purple cabbage bowl it is served in.

I really relished Raw Health Cafe's open air kitchen; a clean sunshiny work space with no walls, allowing for conversation and curiosity from over the counter on all four sides. And in West Vancouver, where the unspeakably wealthy spend every afternoon sitting outside of little restaurants sipping espresso martinis making sure everyone knows who doesn't have to work for a living, I can only assume that a majority of the raw cafe's business derives from organic juices, exotic teas and the idea of raw being a "specialty" cuisine. All the while, Oliver maintains a delightfully affordable menu and an authentically warm hospitality.

No disposable utensils are used. Recycling is prominently offered.

And with the help of a certain website set up by British Columbia's raw community, www.rawbc.org, it was effortless for this traveler to find a raw cafe as well as the weekly potluck hosted there at which a dozen raw foodists, out of respect for one anothers' lives, feed each other of the highest quality ingredients as if to say being sober and clean is pretty good just the way it is.

What a revolution! Feeling healthy is my favorite way to feel.

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