Seeds of Truth

There was an interesting exchange among friends on Facebook recently about Whole Foods putting a store where there used to be farmland here in Lancaster County. One friend commented about the irony of it. Another mentioned that he bought his produce from Central Market--the oldest continually operating market in the United States. A decade ago I was not real impressed with the stands because there was a lot of crap there like candy and Lancaster County knick-knacks. Now, it has a much healthier and hipper vibe. I commented on the Whole Food post that I grow my own produce in my small backyard, even the magical Kale that is all the rage everywhere. Radical!

My Dad left a voicemail today commenting how I was probably out for a run or eating Kale which explained why I did not pick-up his call. I reminded him when I called back that I drink Kale--grind it up with V-8 into a smoothie and drink down the concoction. No fruit. Straight vegetables. Right now, I am attempting to grow Swiss Chard outside in my "geothermal garden." That is, a hole in the ground where I have a storm door on top. The idea came to my like a vision when I considered the costs and inefficiencies of building an above ground greenhouse, plus all of the permits with the local municipality. It wasn't much of a cognitive leap to consider taking the garden below ground. I am not sure the experiment is going to work.

After digging the hole, I had about 400 pounds of dirt. Rather than just leave it in a dissipating mound of earth out back, I decided to buy some steel large trashcans and grow herbs inside my kitchen with a fluorescent bulb the size of a Star Wars light saber. Shipped directly from China by Amazon, I am wondering if the bad boy is even legal in the States. I also ordered a massive amount of organic herb seeds through Amazon (pic above) after I discovered the local garden store shut down for the season.

Say what you want about Amazon. It has created access to goods and services quite unprecedented in human history. Only the most sentimental idealize the days when one had to go to store to store looking for a product. Only to come up empty, have to put in on back order, and pay a pretty penny for it. Book publishers and book stores despise Amazon. Again, I say, remember the days when finding a book you wanted was akin to a existential Easter Egg Hunt. As an author, I also received my first royalty check from Amazon. 58 bucks. Last Friday, I split my white khakis. Since I am a tall man, finding a replacement in a brick and mortar store is nearly impossible. With Amazon, it is literally a click away.  

The Herbs are coming along as is the Swiss Chard. I fear the local cops are going to kick down my front door one of these days under the assumption that I must be growing marijuana in my kitchen. "No, officers, these are Herbs, real Herbs." "Sure" says bonehead with a badge (can you tell my impressions of the police is that they are not too smart and on  a power trip?). I know not all cops are cretins I just have met my share in not so favorable circumstances in the last decade or two--where I have been the innocent and aggrieved party treated as a scofflaw-- that has given me the career trajectory of high school bullies and ex-jocks.

Gardening and growing has really taught me a lot about truth. I am about half-way through teaching the College & Career class at school and I envision my task of growing ideas and imagination in the gardens' of my students minds. Like this wonderful Mr. Rogers mash-up music video. I played this video for the kids the first day of class. I know it was a risk because treating teens as children can be tricky. We want to be older when young and young when we are older.

Truth is that we all are children with layers of adulthood. The class has been wonderful. Quite challenging in regards to day-in and day-out, making each day for the kids as good as it can be. I am not content to just coast. If I grow something, I want it to be good. And much of that goodness is contained in my book. It has shown itself to be a rich soil in which to ground (literally) the class. God gives the growth.

Book, by the way, is also available on Amazon