When making a quilt, there are
always little leftovers, scraps of fabric too small to do anything with, but
too colorful to throw away. True also when I’m writing my blog. Here are a few
scraps.
I needed a quick centerpiece for my
table one day, so I cut some English ivy from my deck and stuck it in a pretty
bowl of water. Added a lovely touch to
my setting.
Several
days later, I went to throw it out and noticed roots, tiny delicate white
threads already drawing nurture from the water. I planted it and put it in a sunny window.
I’ve kept
it as an object lesson, a daily reminder to keep putting out roots to draw
sustenance from my surroundings whatever they are, to keep living and
flourishing like the garden ivy.
#~#~#~#
His name was Oscar, and he’d come
to prepare the yard for grass. He was
from “Salvador” and his English was “small.”
I shrugged my shoulders and told him my Spanish was “pocito.” He laughed.
He worked
hard for two days, until the soil which hadn’t been tilled for 20 years, was as
fine as powder, the seed was sown, and a topping in place.
When he
left, he told me he’d worked hard and traveled long to come to this country,
that he had a Green Card, and was going to night school in order to become a
citizen. He pointed to his head. “America was here since I was small
boy. In here, I can always see
America.”
I wasn’t
surprised. When my granddaughter
Chelsea was four, she told me that in New York City she had seen a big, big
lady who held a magic light in her hand.
“You can see it all over the world,” she said. Oscar saw it in El Salvador.
#~#~#~#
A friend gave me an herb garden and
I killed it. I didn’t mean to, but it
died just the same. I tossed the last
plant out today.
Seems I
killed them with kindness—over-watered and over-fed them. There’s a lesson in there, I just know it,
but I’m not going to pursue it today.
There’s a package of butter toffee in the kitchen. Waste not—want not.
#~#~#~#
P.S. Kirkus Review has given my book Suicide: Living With the
Question a good review. Here’s the link:
Wonderful tidbits! Little morsels to savor throughout the day!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words. As I said, too colorful to throw away.
ReplyDelete