Get the feedLive and let live
Friday, Jun 05th 2009
We spent most of Memorial Day working in the yard, which means I spent most of the day with a lyric from the Talking Heads repeating constantly in my head: "How Did I Get Here?" I don't like yard work; at least that's been my historical position. But lately I've started warming up to the idea. At a minimum, if the basic premise of our modern economy -- specialization and exchange -- breaks down, I at least want to be ahead of the curve in growing our own vegetables (even if it seems to cost more for the tomato plants than it costs to buy fresh tomatoes at my local grocery store). I must confess that in spite of my decades long aversion to working the land, I found the day in the yard with the family to be tolerable and almost fun.
Our day in the yard was like being the new sheriff in a town long controlled by scoundrels and ne'er-do-wells. We employed swift western justice to all living things that crossed our paths: weeds -- unredeemably evil and must be destroyed; worms -- gross, but useful; apologize for the temporary disruption, assure them things will be better in the future, and relocate to more suitable ground; grass -- good as long as it knows its boundaries; if not, to be yanked out violently by its roots and cast aside; snails -- unsure; granted temporary reprieve until further research could be done; flowers -- the long suffering and oppressed; thank them for their continued efforts and liberate them forthwith; ants -- take a moment to appreciate their organizational capacity, but then get out the Raid; spiders -- live and let live.
Our day in the yard was like being the new sheriff in a town long controlled by scoundrels and ne'er-do-wells. We employed swift western justice to all living things that crossed our paths: weeds -- unredeemably evil and must be destroyed; worms -- gross, but useful; apologize for the temporary disruption, assure them things will be better in the future, and relocate to more suitable ground; grass -- good as long as it knows its boundaries; if not, to be yanked out violently by its roots and cast aside; snails -- unsure; granted temporary reprieve until further research could be done; flowers -- the long suffering and oppressed; thank them for their continued efforts and liberate them forthwith; ants -- take a moment to appreciate their organizational capacity, but then get out the Raid; spiders -- live and let live.
John Wunderli
John Wunderli is a Harvard trained litigator, retired little league baseball coach, and supporter of all University of Utah Athletic teams.
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