July 2007 | From the Editor

Everyday Superheroes

So I’m sitting in Mani’s Bakery on Fairfax chatting with Amanda Barrett, one half of LA-based acoustic folk-pop duo The Ditty Bops, when it dawns on me: pre-kids, there are really only two kinds of serious relationships. There are those (few and far between) like Amanda and her girlfriend and bandmate Abby DeWald, for whom coupledom is a fertile partnership of creative productivity. And then there are the couples (far more common) for whom the greatest regular achievement is making it through a Netflix rental queue.

From the vantage point of my couch (where my beloved and I can often be found training for some ambitious movie marathons), The Ditty Bops seem busy on a level approaching the superhuman. Not only have they created two successful albums, a way cool website, a regular comic strip and an annual themed bikini calendar; Not only did they bike over 4,500 miles across the country on tour last summer — but as if that weren’t enough, this dynamic duo managed to start a nonprofit, the aptly-named You And I Save The World.

And honestly, I wouldn’t put it past them to make good on that declaration. Well-matched sidekicks, with a penchant for playing dress up, The Ditty Bops seem to have the talent, ingenuity and vision to make their big dreams happen. What could be more super-heroic than that?

But if all this gushing is making you want to retreat to your couch to drown your defeat in Netflix, consider that some of The Ditty’s most epic accomplishments are in their everyday choices. Riding their bikes instead of driving, turning their carport into an organic veggie garden (see left), and bringing their own reusable bags, napkins, to-go containers (and even chopsticks) wherever they go. Daily feats of daring, well within the reach of you or I.

At the time of this writing, close to 800 people have signed the plastic ban petition and accepted the challenge posed by YouAndISaveTheWorld.org. Read more about the site, and the good work of its fearless creators.

Here at Whole Life Times, we do our best to highlight the folks who are making our city — and our world — a little brighter. And we hope that their stories inspire the everyday hero in you.

—Eliza Thomas, Editor in Chief

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