4 jun 2012

the guy who lives next door likes to have a vegetable garden in his backyard.

he's old. he can't dig. he can't lift. he can't plant or water or do much of anything except stand around while his allergies act up.

but, he likes to have a vegetable garden in his backyard. so, we dig and we lift and we plant and water. today we planted 10 tomatoes. 10 -- for one man.

yes, of course, we will get tomatoes, too, and there is a gentle satisfaction that comes from eating something that grew from something that you planted in the backyard next door... a gentle satisfaction which is a world away from the bright shiny satisfaction that comes from hard-fought accomplishment or contested achievement. a soft, contented feeling of having earned something not in-opposition-to but instead, in-conjunction-with.