The Old Man's Garden

[crfriend]

One of the things that confounds modern youth is why their fathers decide to "return to the land" as they age. The classic answer that one's progenitors give to such a query is, "You wouldn't understand." I posit that this is outright fraud. The youngster would understand -- he'd "get it" -- immediately; the reason is that his elders are trying to protect him from the hard fact that Junior is going to face a lifetime of getting scammed, cheated, and taken advantage of -- something that the earth does not do.

The earth either provides -- or denies -- according to one's own labours. It does not discriminate. Mother Nature, recall, has no pity; but she also bears no malice. One prepares, sows, tends, and, if Mother Nature graces one, one reaps. "Reaping" can be a bountiful harvest of nutrients or a glorious blaze of beauty; both are equal. But, effort needs to be put into the enterprise, and, all things being equal, Mother Nature is rather more accommodating than the sorts of vermin that inhabit the human world.

This is in stark contrast to what faces the young human as he sets forth into the world. He may well understand the pitfalls that exist around each and every corner, and he may be able to defend against many of them. In defence of his elders, they might not want to paint so pessimistic a picture for the youngster, but that's the landscape that the youngster will encounter as he makes his way through life. The manmade world is a nasty and unpleasant place with precious few islands of civility, tranquility, and honesty. Who in his right mind would want to portray such a morass to his children? So we lie. It's "just a little white lie"; however, it's ultimately a blatant corrosive untruth that can unhinge the unsuspecting once they leave the fold. It's pernicious -- poisonous, even.

My grand-dad was a great gardener, even if his children and grand-children did most of the heavy lifting -- and he never let on why he viewed gardening, nay, farming, so importantly. I read it as his boyhood talking to him through the lens of Alzheimer's Disease. I know better now; he was seeking truth and validation, and wasn't about to tell his children (and me) that the whole notion of society was just one damned scam after another. He was trying to "protect" us. Oh how I wish he'd told the truth from the beginning. It would have made life much easier.

And now I enjoy digging in the garden. Thank goodness I do not have children, because I would tell them the horrid unvarnished truth. In short, "life sucks"; and it's human nature that makes it so.

[JRMILLER]

Carl,
Life doesn't suck for everyone, life is what you make of it. That's what I told my children and what I believe. I have lived this truth and while I see others around me falling down and failing, things generally work for me. Sure, I have had my pitfalls, for instance, getting interested in skirts nearly undid my marriage. In the end, it worked out and we are both stronger for it! It is something I needed to experience its even possible its something she needed to experience. I view the entire multi-year incident as a growth opportunity and nothing more.

Life doesn't suck unless you expect it to. It's never about what happens to you, things will always happen to you, its your reaction and attitude toward those events that determine the quality of your life.

[Uncle Al]

Is that, th-th-that, Aristotle Plato Socrates

It appears that our own Skirt Cafe' philosopher has spoken
exercising his 'keyboard skills'. He has given us quite a bit to think
about, and I've witnessed some of this on a personal level.

I just hope my own children take heed to this kind of wisdom instead
of taking the bull by the horns, trying to imitate a stubborn Mule.

Thank you Mr. Philosopher, for your words to think upon and maybe
help guide those who are not well anchored within themselves, and
with their selves, surroundings and families.

Uncle Al

[crfriend]

Is that, th-th-that, Aristotle Plato Socrates

'Twas none of the above; that was a systems administrator exercising his "writing chops" (as Sapphire put it) following up on a thought that occurred to him whilst, oddly enough, gardening.

I was planting the last of the perennials, having left them way too long, before we started getting frost. I'd been on a slow burn about the general way things are going, and how often one encounters scams of various types, when the thought popped into my head that what I was doing couldn't turn 'round and do anything unscrupulous to me. The juxtaposition of that thought and memories of my younger years formed the kernel of the story; I thought it interesting and decided to write something about it.

It appears that our own Skirt Cafe' philosopher has spoken

I'm no philosopher; that takes years of (expensive) training and requires credentials. I'm a computer techie who sometimes likes to write. I used to get into trouble for it at work; my liking for words of more than one syllable kept making my (ex-, thank the gods!) boss look for dictionaries. (This is the same guy who, when showed the way I derived a numerical percentage for a report, angrily challenged me, "What's that hundred doing there?!")

]Life doesn't suck for everyone, life is what you make of it.

The inimitable Tom Lehrer once phrased it as, "Life is like a sewer. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it." Now THAT'S philosophy! (Even though he's a maths professor. Really.)

The "straw that broke the camel's back" this time was a fine-print change in the "rental terms" of a storage-locker that my wife and I rent that mandated "insurance" for the contents; this amounted to a 10-dollar rent increase per month -- a rental cost that's doubled in 10 years. Being rather "old school" financially, I take recurring non-discretionary expenditures very seriously and try to keep then to a minimum. Then there was the time that a schedule of charges was added to our telephone bell for services never wanted nor rendered that took months to sort out, and a host of other petty cheats and swindles that one must constantly be aware of and avoid.

And so I took a random connection of thoughts and stitched them together in what I hoped would be a creative manner. I was not trying to philosophise or offer "wisdom" (wisdumb?), but thanks, Uncle Al for the kind and generous words. (What was that fee again? )

Thanks, too, to the kind gentleman who sent me a very nice private message wondering if I'd come unhinged. SkirtCafe truly is one of those "islands of civility" in the world. Take a bow, gentlemen!

[ethelthefrog]

I always enjoy Carl's posts, and this one more than most. Not quite sure what I'll say to my own three offsprung (all under 6) as they grow up. I'll probably try to keep it to "please pass the salt".

Anyway, well written, Carl, and I hope the rest of the week was happier^Wless beset by morons...

[crfriend]

[...] Not quite sure what I'll say to my own three offsprung (all under 6) as they grow up. I'll probably try to keep it to "please pass the salt".

Obligatory disclaimer: I am not a parent. I don't even play one on TV.

I was very fortunate in my childhood that my father, grandfather, and grandmother were all well and truly engaged with me as I grew up (or tried to) -- and they did the very best they could. I was continually encouraged, challenged, and when the inevitable experiment went awry, consoled. Without that, I would be nothing like what I am today. And, in the increasingly rapidly receding view of the past, I am sorry that I never thanked them enough for what they did, for it was, based on my personality, a superhuman effort on all their parts.

It is my opinion, based on my upbringing, that children need to be challenged -- need to be asked "why" instead of them asking their parents the question -- they need to be taught to use that wonderful organ betixt their ears to actively question and investigate; to make connections; and to draw independent conclusions based on logic and analysis. One cannot bring that about by -- and I mean no offence -- asking to "pass the salt".

Critical thinking is not now, nor as far as I can tell ever been, part of the educational curriculum of public education here in the US. To teach such might well undermine the status quo, and, well, "we just can't have that, now can we!" Thus, it falls to parents to teach their children how to properly use their developing brains.

Bringing this train of thought back to skirts for guys, it comes down to those critical thinkers who actively ask the question, "Why is this so, and what are the consequences for defying convention?" Interestingly, in the modern world, which is so tied up in its own individually-internalised angst, it seems that the consequences are mostly minor and are easily refuted with cogent and articulate argument. But, if we lack the capacity for individual creative and critical thought, all is lost and we fall into the abyss of the lemming-world. (OK, so that's libel on lemmings, but I hope the reader gets the picture and the lemmings don't bring a class-action suit.)

Anyway, well written, Carl, and I hope the rest of the week was happier^Wless beset by morons...

Many thanks, kind sir.

This week has been pretty good save for the past five work-days where things were pretty well insane. Off-hours, life remains interesting. We're raising chickens now, and that's meant that I've had to fabricate an incubator and figure out how to run it and not cook the eggs within nor let them get too cool. This is a "live fire" exercise, and I just hope we get some hatching from the improvised device (the real one, pegged at precisely 99.4 degrees F should do well). News, perhaps, in another couple of weeks.

Critical thought: I think I'll have another beer.

[ChrisM]

Get about 100 miles off shore in a blow.

And then you realize that not all the insurance policies ever written, nor any collection of advanced degrees, nor any "must read" news about pending new legislation, nor emerging pop star, nor even the bills that are piling up on the mantelpiece, will do one whit to getting you through the storm alive.

I used to sit and ponder the vast difference between MY daily cares and those I would hear about on broadcast radio or the news. It was truly like living in a different world.

I miss it. Alas, now that I am beached in New Orleans to pursue this extra education, I am back in the 9-5 / bills-&-mortgage world. Soon though....


Chris

[ethelthefrog]

One cannot bring that about by asking to "pass the salt".

True words. I fear I was being somewhat facetious. Being a dyed-in-the-wool geek myself, I am keen to get the boys thinking for themselves, and have been known to answer the incessant "why" with "why do you think?" They're getting quite good at answering that one. Except Benjamin, as he's only 9 months old. I'll give him a little more grace before insisting that he types his own password...

I think I'll have another beer.

Best idea I've heard all day. Excuse me...

[crfriend]

Get about 100 miles off shore in a blow.

And then you realize that not all the insurance policies ever written, nor any collection of advanced degrees, nor any "must read" news about pending new legislation, nor emerging pop star, nor even the bills that are piling up on the mantelpiece, will do one whit to getting you through the storm alive.

There is something inalienably pure about that scenario -- something that cannot be denied; for that is the quintessential battle of man and his wits and skill against the raw power of nature herself. To prevail under such conditions must be humbling and buoying at the same time.

I miss it. Alas, now that I am beached in New Orleans to pursue this extra education, I am back in the 9-5 / bills-&-mortgage world. Soon though....

Do you require crew^W ballast? Where do I sign?