Good and Evil in the Garden

"Let us never forget that the cultivation of the earth 

is the most important labor of man. 

When tillage begins, other arts follow. 

 The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization." 

Daniel Webster

Mother Rabbit with a snack of dandelion leaves

Yesterday, three of our baby bunnies went missing.

They were taken by neighborhood kids, who were overcome by the cuteness of our wee little rabbits. Can you blame them? I may have done the same, 20 years ago. (Gah! So old!)

Trouble is, the baby bunnies are not yet weened. Taking them from the mother rabbit is a death sentence. Of course, the kids didn't realize this. On a hunch, two friendly gardeners made a visit to the kids' grandmother and explained the situation.

By this morning two of the three baby rabbits had returned. The third, I'm sorry to say, will not have survived this long away from the hutch.

 We run a community garden, and happily share our knowledge and harvest with our neighbors. We have greens and veggies and gourds aplenty! For the most part, our neighbors have been friendly and supportive of the garden. We've canvassed the neighborhood, introduced ourselves and invited everyone to stop by and take a look (and some food) whenever they're free. There are no locks on the gates, and plenty of food and flowers to share. Good communication has helped the garden. Some neighbors are protective of the plot when we're not there, and are happy to have a robust garden on their block. After two years of toiling in the dirt where abandoned houses once stood, we've been accepted as a part of the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, not everyone has been so welcoming. When people become suspicious or feel threatened they resort to selfish, hurtful acts. The garden has had its fair share of  anonymous, destructive events. Last month, we found a long fluorescent light bulb smashed and hidden amongst our tomatoes.  This is not the first time a stranger has tampered with the rabbits, but it is the most egregious.

evil tomato by jv9ufxcy on DeviantArt

 I don't know if it's the election, or the books I'm reading, or just my own paranoia, but there seems to be an awful lot of evil in the world, these days. I'm not exactly saying that today is worse than yesterday, or last year, or the last century... but it is NOT any better. Rather than think critically and make independent choices, more and more Americans (Earthlings, really) have fallen in to the mass media / consumerism trap. You cannot easily blame these "Sheeple" when everything they've been told to think and do has lead them into this trap. We can't think and speak independently in this "modern" world. There's too much information being thrown into our faces, so quickly we find it impossible to successfully synthesize and process. It's easier to tune out, or rather to tune into something more palatable and mind-numbing.

WHY IS THIS SCHMUCK'S WORK-OUT ROUTINE NEWS?!?!

 There are so many seemingly-important news stories that it can be hard to keep up. And why keep up, anyway? Increasingly, I feel like I can't make that much of a difference. Our most powerful tool to bring about change is our vote, but I feel as though my vote is increasingly marginalized.Some say you can vote with your dollars, which is true, but also largely ineffective. What we need to do is start TALKING to each other about things that really matter. We need to stop staring at our computers and smart phones and start looking into the eyes of people around us. Talk to your neighbors, co-workers, family and friends. Find out what's important to them, and what they think of our current state. When we're afraid and distrusting of one another, as well as our news sources and government, who else can we turn to but ourselves?

We are constantly barraged by "unbiased" news stories and the opinions of others. In this sped-up globalized world, what's important is often overshadowed and quickly buried by the latest political mumbo-jumbo and gobbly-gook. We often forget about the details of the last article that seemed so important, which is what "they" want from us. Quiet consumption and little actual action makes this oligarchy's job far easier.


Enough about "us" and "them," though. I won't go all Bilderberg on you, today.

When we stop listening and thinking critically, and stop talking to one another about where our society is headed, what will become of us?

((edited 10.15.12))

Tuesday Morning with TJ

Allow me to introduce you to

The Amazing Atheist.

TJ Kincaid.

You might think he's just another privileged middle-class white guy

with the inability to keep his controversial opinions to himself.

I think you're wrong.

I don't mind listening to this guy holler every once in a while.

He's usually saying the same things I'm thinking.

Sometimes he's a few steps ahead of me.

This is all that I have for you today, I'm afraid.

I think it's enough.

This week I'm focusing on making things out of paper, not the interwebz.

Reinforcing the Glass Ceiling

Swirling about in my mind are numerous less-than-pleasing issues, problems, ideas, and worries.

• Does going to an excellent and highly-ranked grad school mean that I must choose before academia and a large family?
• Why is it that I am only enthused enough to exercise after I eat so much food, I fear that moving will be rather impossible?
• Can I finish all of these darn papers? Does my thesis have a point, even? Does anyone care about an academic approach to the American Girl dolls? Do I?
  
• Will my ex stumble upon this blog, and sift through it for some off-hand mentions of him, as I would if I were to find his? Does this make me completely contemptible?
• Why am I so horribly fascinated by Russell Brand and his too-tight leather pants? How is it that this man can wear higher heels than me, or most women I know?
  
• Was I too quick to judge my boss?
  
• How many saltines would I eat tomorrow, if all I consume is coffee and crackers?

I think that I'm setting myself up for failure. I've partially applied to this wonderful east-coast college that I can't quite afford. I intend (sort of) to finish the application process tomorrow by sending them my writing sample, along with a revised statement of career objectives and a brief explanation of my rather unusual writing sample choice.

I'm not sure if I'm trying to sabotage myself or not, but to meet the requirement of an academic writing sample, I'm sending their history department a personal essay that I wrote a few months back. It's about preservation, and does have historical significance, but it's a mix of narrative and expository sections. I believe (sort of) that it's a creative approach to identifying myself as an interdisciplinary student of both history and English. I believe that it also expresses my interest in and passion for preservation, and public historicism. The essay is definitely not what the committee is expecting, and I'm not sure if it will be well received. Thus, I am sending that brief explanation. But if the sample needs an explanation, is it good enough? Shouldn't it be able to stand alone?

Too late now. I've decided.

But what of this whole grad school "thing," anyway? The plan is/was to pursue a Masters in Library and Information Science (or possibly a MA in History) combined with a certification/specialization in archives management. I've adored my experiences of working with archives, and know that I'd be happy continuing in this field.

Is up rooting and moving to Boston the best plan, though? We're getting married in October, here in Michigan. So if we can find jobs and whatnot, we'd have to jet back out here in a matter of months to pull off The Wedding in a single weekend. That's stressful. But that's not the big issue. Boston is expensive. I hardly think we could afford it. And why should we leave Michigan when we both have multiple job opportunities to follow. For gawd's sakes, his fallback is a full time position at his university. Salaried with benefits, if I'm not mistaken.

I can't back out of the application process now, or I'd never live it down. I'd be mortified to explain it to my parents, my friends, my family, and the six wonderful individuals who were kind enough to write letters of recommendation. But I just don't want to. I think.

I'm done rambling about this. Read what you'd like in the title of this ramble. I feel as if I'm degrading myself in more ways than one.