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An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.


"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil—he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good—he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you—and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

First People - The Legends. Cherokee Legend of Two Wolves. November 16, 2004. [accessed April 7, 2012].

Monday, January 30, 2012

Slavery and Horticulture - A Slice of African American History in Prince George’s County



Slavery and Horticulture - A Slice of African American History in Prince George’s County
Lectures by John Peter Thompson
Slavery & Strawberries; Murders & Mysteries
A History of Salubria ~ An Oxon Hill Plantation

Location:          Oxon Hill Library
                              6200 Oxon Hill Road,
                              Oxon Hill, MD 20745;
                              See map: Google Maps

Time:  Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - 7:00pm

Slavery and Horticulture:  A History of Salubria ~ An Oxon Hill Plantation
February 15, 7 pm
Join the discussion about the economic, political, horticultural and social history of one of Oxon Hill’s largest plantations, Salubria and its international recognition in the development of many plant species.

John Peter Thompson, historian and lecturer on American and European histories; his presentations have included discussions on the U.S. Supreme Court, modern management concepts and techniques gleaned from Civil War battlefields, and “First Ladies” of the White House.

John Peter  Thompson studied music composition and historical linguistics at the University of Maryland.  He left the University to successfully operate his own night club business for ten years.  He returned to the family nursery and garden center business in 1988 starting as a warehouse janitor and finishing as CEO and Chairman of the Board in 2008.  During this time he managed the perennial production and sales and was awarded the Perennial Plant Association Retailer of the Year award in 2000. 

He is currently a self employed contractor and consultant working with USDA ARS, APHIS, Forest Service and the National Park Service, as well as the Africa Trade Office of Maryland (Parker & Associates).His areas of expertise include document aggregation and review, meeting facilitation and bioeconomic policy and regulatory analysis.

He has an appointment as an adjunct instructor with the Prince George’s Community College lecturing and consulting on the creation of an "Environmental/Sustainable/Green Jobs” Workforce Development Institute. And finally, he is a principle investigator for the North East Mid West Institute in Washington, DC having written a book on national invasive species certification policies.

John Peter as been reappointed to the National Invasive Species Council Advisory Committee (NISC ISAC) having previously served as Vice Chair and Secretary.  He  is the Maryland Nursery & Landscape Association liaison to the Maryland Invasive Species Council and expert subject matter member of the State of Maryland's Invasive Plant Council.  He also is an active user of social media ‘Tweeting” daily @InvasiveNotes  with over 6000 followers as well as writing essays about social, scientific and philosophic issues  on his blogs, Invasive Notes (www.ipetrus.blogspot.com) and the Prince Georgian (http://princegeorgian.blogspot.com/).  

John Peter works as a volunteer advocate to politicians and policy makers as President of the National Agricultural Research Alliance – Beltsville (NARA-B.org - 501c4).  In this capacity he works with Congress, local governments and policy makers on behalf of the people and programs of USDA ARS and APHIS, in particular focusing on the Henry A. Wallace Agricultural Research Center (BARC) and the National Agricultural Library (NAL). 

John Peter is a former Chair of the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce as well as former founding director and President of the Mid Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council; and former President of the Maryland Nursery & Landscape Association.  He currently serves as a technical advisor and national credit steward for the LBJ Wild Flower Center’s Sustainable Landscape Initiative (SSI or SITES).  At a community level he serves as the Vice Chair of the Prince George’s County Historical Preservation Commission; as a trustee of the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System; and director of the Prince George County Community Foundation

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