True story...... I was talking to an old friend a few months back. Not just any old friend mind you. You see my friend Bruce was my first friend in Florida after I moved here from New England. I moved here when I was 17 after going to school with the same 54 kids from 1st grade through 11th. If I remember correctly all 54 kids were white, Catholic and used to snow days. When I arrived at Deland High School in 1983 it was a completely different world. Bruce, originally from Florida, befriended me and taught me things I've never considered or seen. Like skipping school so we could spend the day at Daytona Beach. Back in New England the beach didn't have quite the same attraction! After (barely!) graduating we became plumbers together, got married, had kids and our families were tight. Now we didn't become just plumbers together, we became the best, toughest, hardest working, smartest and manliest plumbers together. Not the fat plumber that you call to come fix your leak under your sink with his butt crack hanging out. We were that guys boss. No, we were new construction plumbers. The ones that plan, design and install the plumbing in your new house or office. We were tough & smart. We could dig all day installing pipe in the Florida sun , carry a 300lb tub to your 2nd floor bathroom and party afterword and then do it again the next day, and the next day, and then the next day. Tough, smart & tan. Manly men.
Well as time went on, divorce, age, drugs and life changes happened and I moved to Ocala and didn't see much of him. As the past 15 years have gone by we've stayed barely in touch, growing farther and farther apart.
Hence, the phone call.
Bruce said, "So, haven't seen you in awhile......do you have any hobbies?"
Immediately I started thinking "Ummmm, I'm 42 with 4 kids, a struggling business trying to survive, I don't have any hobbies.......I suck!..... Oh wait! My garden!". So I said "Well actually I garden"
The Manly Man Plumber said, "Oh..... garden....... that's pretty cool, what do you grow, tulips and flowers"?
Feeling kinda girlie I said, "No, no (actually yes) I grow (a more manly) vegetables, like tomatoes".
"Oh, tomatoes. Very nice.", the manly man said.
Trying to justify I said, " Yeah, you should see how much digging is involved"!
"Cool" he said and we moved on to another topic and then hung up.
After the phone call I started to think "You know I love gardening. I love growing veggies for my vegetarian wife. I love not paying grocery store prices for veggies and I love the spiritual connection I get from tilling the ground".
I'll always love ya Bruce, but I've moved on to growing Manly Tomatoes.
August, so far.
4 months ago
There is lots of manly things to do in the garden for sure. From construction to hauling yards of compost to getting covered in muck. You also can't forget about all the tools, steel, wood, chippers, tillers, mowers.
ReplyDeleteWith all these manly things though, I must admit I like the flowers too.
Just stumbled across your blog after I had been bouncing from garden blog to garden blog and asking myself, "Aren't there any gardeners out there who are not liberal???" I Googled "Conservative Gardener" and here I am! Anyhow, wanted to tell you that I've really been enjoying your blog. Of course, I'm way up here in MN and am kind of jealous of your January garden.
ReplyDeleteAlso, my Grandpa was about the manliest man I could imagine--he was a carpenter, a trucker, he cut off the tip of his thumb with a saw which meant he didn't have a thumbprint OR a thumbnail, AND he had the most amazing garden I had ever seen as a child! So you are in good company. Enjoy that garden!
Dan & April - Thanks for the comments! I notice both of you are from up north, you'd think there'd be more Florida blogs with the growing season we have. Since I'm from New England and visit quite often, I've taken note of who grows more gardens. And by far up north folks do! What a shame more people in Florida don't take advantage of the weather here.
ReplyDeleteOkay, this may come across as "hippie, liberal, peace and love person" talk but maybe if you had felt safe enough to tell him that you were passionate about gardening, he would have felt comfortable telling you what HE is passionate about!! Okay, so I am a liberal, peace and love person--but I ain't no hippy!! LOL
ReplyDeleteTrust me, I know what he's passionate about. :(
ReplyDeleteOh and by the way......conservatives are "peace & love" people too. We just define love as sacrificing yourself for others, putting their interests in front of yours. Not how we feel about someone.
ReplyDeleteWe love peace as well, but we know it is rarely achieved through an absence of conflict.
LOL Wow I could totally get defensive about what you said, but actually it sounds like you want the same thing that everyone I know wants--and everyone I know is a liberal and/or gay liberal!! LOL Strange how our differences are not that much!!
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ReplyDeleteThroughout the winter. Here is a wonderful recipe for acorn squash that is easy, looks beautiful, and is a delicious side dish to any Thanksgiving, fall, or winter meal.
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