It is an axiom that great art requires suffering. And John, you have
suffered and produced art.
When your message came in I noted it's length and put it aside for when I
had more time to savor it. (As you note, it is spring and time to be in the
garden.)
I am sorry I waited. That was a fantistic piece of writing. And I am
astounded that there has not been a flood of reaction from the list, but
that will come as they return from the garden and catch up on their mail.
John, you brew an incredible mix of poetry and the prosaic. You catch the
scent of spring and then are able to scientificly analize the aroma, a
combination I have never seen in any other writer.
I am genuinely sorry for your problems. But I have mixed feelings. If it
brings you to sharing your talent and insights with the rest of us . . .
well, I hope you heal, and quickly, but not too much. Well, no, I hope you
heal totally, but please stay with us.
Duane Campbell dcamp@epix.net
http://www.epix.net/~dcamp/
I get the list in digest form and don't usually save them but did with
the one with John's post, so I could read it again. Yes, John, heal
quickly and completely but keep posting. And some women actually DO find
compost piles romantic. They are steaming and fertile, and have great
potential to produce growth... the compost piles, that is.
Michele
> It is an axiom that great art requires suffering. And John, you have
> suffered and produced art.
(snip)
> I am sorry I waited. That was a fantistic piece of writing. And I am
> astounded that there has not been a flood of reaction from the list, but
> that will come as they return from the garden and catch up on their mail.
(snip)
> Duane Campbell dcamp@epix.net
> http://www.epix.net/~dcamp/
Dunae,
I also expected to see a flood of approbation but John short circuited that
by causing all "replies" to go directly to him and not be posted to the
list. That humble devil :^) didn't want to clutter the list with shouts of
approval. I, for one, would like to express my admiration for that post.
I also would like to wish him a speedy recovery but would certainly like to
see more of those thoughtful and thought provoking writings.
Bob Blakely
rblakely@infoave.net
Actually, I'm glad that John has set his mail to the list to reply
directly to him. That way, when I bring up my list of newmail, I
can see that his are specifically from him, and they don't come under
the generic gardens heading. This way I don't accidentally delete
his messages, as I often have to mass delete because of lack of time
to read them all at work. I'm sure I miss quite a few interesting
posts because of my having to delete so often.
John, if you ever write a book, put me at the top of the list to
receive a copy! Autographed, of course!
Lee Ann
In article
says...
> At 11:19 PM 3/30/98 -0500, you wrote:
> It is an axiom that great art requires suffering. And John, you have
> suffered and produced art.
Duane, you are embarressing me. I'm about to cut off an ear (of corn). Anyone
want to come to Tahiti, I mean the Skunk Works, with me? But thank you for
your comments.
Not approval, I wanted to wallow in selfpity:) But I do want to say thanks
to all who wrote in case I forgot to reply directly. I will get better in
time. But after watching the Utes lose, I decided I got to get back to full
court, full contact basketball again. Pretending I'm on national TV, .5
seconds, down by two, I shoot a 3 pointer. The crowd roars AIR BALL, AIR BALL..
-jam
Well said, Duane.
I am new to this list as of last summer, but there are certain folks whose
posts I look forward to reading. John Mertus is of course one of those
people.
I once broke an arm in April, so I know the feeling of being shorted a
season in life. But something good will come of his leisure, and I too
selfishly hope it includes more posts to us.
I'll grow a dandylion for you, John.
Amy O'D
> I am sorry I waited. That was a fantistic piece of writing. And I am
> astounded that there has not been a flood of reaction from the list, but
> that will come as they return from the garden and catch up on their mail.
I wanted to respond, but I couldn't think of anything useful to say (I bet
I'm not the only one). I've thought about it several times since reading it,
though.
Thanks for a memorable post.
David Smith
I was on jury duty last week, and out of town part of the week before,
and somewhere in the over 1000 messages I had to wade through, I missed
John's post. If someone has it, would you please email it to me?
Thanks,
Harry
Harry Boswell hboswell@netdoor.com
USDA Zone 8 (Mississippi USA)
Home Page: http://www2.netdoor.com/~hboswell
I think we need to start a thread on disabled or handicapped
Gardening. If there is anyone out there I bet we could all do
with some advice or hints since we could have problems to
someday.
bsk
*****************************************
GailR wrote:
> John ---
I once broke an arm in April, so I know the feeling of being shorted a
season in life. But something good will come of his leisure, and I too
selfishly hope it includes more posts to us.
I'll grow a dandylion for you, John.
Amy O'D
-----------------------------------------------------------
John ---
I enjoyed your post but am sorry for the reason for it - hang in there.
I was in a serious car accident last July and have just started Physical
Therapy last week. Luckily, I was blessed with still being able to walk, but
have daily back and neck spasms and the use of only 1 shoulder. Still, I am
able to get around and go outdoors which I am thankful for every day. I have
empathy for someone who can't do the things they enjoy and need to feel
fulfilled - I no longer have full use of my hands and before the accident I
was a fulltime craftsman for over 20 years. In just a few seconds on a
beautiful, sunny afternoon, life as I knew it was completely changed. I
truly believe that when one door is closed for us, another door will be
opened. I am amazed and reminded daily of the unexplored and unexplainable
power of the mind to transcend difficulties and what some might consider
obstacles. When I take my walk this afternoon, I will delight in the smell
of my hyacinths and think of John. Looking forward to sharing your posts.
GailR
upNY/Zone 5
garusll@msn.com
There are several organizations on the internet that deal with
gardening and the handicapped. I have not checked them out, but remember
someone on this list and on Alpine-L making inquiries not too long ago.
If one pays attention between the lines there are a few on this list, I
feel sure.
Personally, I am retired on disability. Neurological disease or
disorder, they are not sure which, in my feet legs and hips. I garden and
go on with life, just have to be careful how much I do at any one time and
how I go about it. There is a constant discomfort or pain as a reminder to
do things differently today.
Gene Bush Southern Indiana Zone 6a Munchkin Nursery
around the woods - around the world
genebush@otherside.com http://www.munchkinnursery.com
----------
there.
> I was in a serious car accident last July and have just started
Physical
> Therapy last week. Luckily, I was blessed with still being able to
walk, but
> have daily back and neck spasms and the use of only 1 shoulder. Still,
I am
> able to get around and go outdoors which I am thankful for every day. I
have
> empathy for someone who can't do the things they enjoy and need to feel
> fulfilled - I no longer have full use of my hands and before the
accident I
> was a fulltime craftsman for over 20 years. In just a few seconds on a
> beautiful, sunny afternoon, life as I knew it was completely changed. I
> truly believe that when one door is closed for us, another door will be
> opened. I am amazed and reminded daily of the unexplored and
unexplainable
> power of the mind to transcend difficulties and what some might
consider
> obstacles. When I take my walk this afternoon, I will delight in the
smell
> of my hyacinths and think of John. Looking forward to sharing your
posts.
> Not approval, I wanted to wallow in selfpity:) But I do want to say
thanks
> to all who wrote in case I forgot to reply directly. I will get better in
> time. But after watching the Utes lose, I decided I got to get back to full
> court, full contact basketball again. Pretending I'm on national TV, ..5
> seconds, down by two, I shoot a 3 pointer. The crowd roars AIR BALL, AIR
BALL..
> -jam
This is MUCH better than the crowd roaring HAIR BALL, HAIR BALL.....!!
Robin
Alexandria, Va
zone 7
> There are several organizations on the internet that deal with
> gardening and the handicapped. I have not checked them out, but remember
> someone on this list and on Alpine-L making inquiries not too long ago.
One of the internet resources is the ENABLED mail list, usually fairly
quiet unless someone has a problem to solve: home page at
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/1945/index.html.
Kathleen Yeoman's 1993 _The Able Gardener: Overcoming Barriers of Age and
Physical Limitations_ is very good. She's an RN with extensive experience
in rehab medicine, talks a lot about designing a garden that is easy to
take care of (raised beds, mulch, tools, etc.), and about exercises and
ways of moving to take some of the sting out of trying to garden with the
creaky-groanies. That's the first book I think I'd recommend to someone
who has just discovered that even though you mentally feel 25, your body
has gone ahead and aged just to spite you. There's also a lot of
information in it that would be of value to someone who has had a stroke,
or similar rapid-onset problems and is coping both with a new medical
condition and gardening.
Gene Rothert's 1994 _The Enabling Garden: A guide to lifelong
gardening_ has more attention given to different sorts of disabilities
beyond movement disorders, though Rothert himself gardens from
a wheelchair. The section on plant selection for low maintenance
gardens is especially good, and it ought to be the second book
on the subject you read, imo. Rothert is a horticultural therapist
who runs the Chicago Botanic Garden's Learning Garden for the Disabled
program.
(ps: the vertical gardens in Rothert's book are a lot of fun,
whether or not you've got enough land you don't *need* to garden
vertically, or whether or not you bend.)
Yeoman's book is out of print, I understand, but Rothert's book
is a nice investment at $14. Note to Public Librarians: if you
don't have these titles, order them. Very useful, and not too
expensive.
Kay Lancaster kay@fern.com
just west of Portland, OR; USDA zone 8 (polarfleece)
Hi all,
I enjoyed John's post as well as many of you did. He does, however, deserve
his injury, though maybe, just maybe, not as badly as he did get hurt. Full
Contact Basketball is not a mature man's sport. In our household we have
already gone through 2 sets of broken ribs and a messed up ankle, not to
mention the bruised ribs he, my husband, is nursing now. My husband is known
to lay on the floor for weeks nursing a sore back only to get up to play a
game of Bball and re-injure himself. I no longer have any mercy.
Missing Spring is another matter. No gardener deserves to miss out on Spring.
Not being able to run the dirt through his fingers. Not seeding the ground
and seeing the first tips of the new seedlings burst through the soil. Not
being able to sit outside and enjoy the sun on your back as you weed the
perennial bed. That is my definition of pure Hell.
Keep writing John. Your posts are more entertaining than most of the
Gardening related books I have read. I truly hope your back heals soon.
Anne in FL
