I spent my short break time continuing my winter yard upgrades. There is a narrow strip of wilderness on the north side of our house running the length of the property line. When we moved in, the wilderness was overgrown with blackberry, honeysuckle, and some kind of weed tree. I have been slowly beating back the wild and seem to have it on the retreat. In the process I have discovered that the area was a garbage dump for the previous residents. Two winters ago I disposed of four large garbage cans full of junk including beer cans, beer bottles, beer bottle caps, broken toys, broken tools, and sundry household items. I also discovered the remains of a fort of sorts.
This year I am working to excavate the remains of the fort and pull out some rocks for a landscape project I am working on. I found 14 caps from spray paint cans but no cans. I also found some linoleum, some carpet and lots of broken glass. Under all of that was a pile of rocks. When I say pile, I mean there is, in the middle of my little strip of woods, a collection of rocks covering an area about fifteen by fifteen feet and of as of yet undetermined depth. The five-year-old boy and the three-year-old girl helped me move some of the rocks but quickly got bored. I was able to renew the boy’s interest for another fifteen minutes by having him sort the rocks by color (he will gladly sort anything by color). Then he disappeared with a large stick and played with that for an hour. The girl used her shovel and pail in the dead vegetable garden patch.
Later the boy came to me said, “Daddy, you know how when humans die they bury them in the ground?”
“Uh, yes son.”
“I found a dead tomato and buried it. Then I drew an “X” over it in the dirt.”
I wasn’t quite sure what to tell him. I commended him for his creativity and sensitivity and assured him that the tomato’s family would have some closure. That got me thinking about graves. Just the day before at my parents for Thanksgiving leftovers, I had gone out to wonder my parent’s woods (I told you I spent a lot of time outside) and found my self-looking up at a tall, slender, and very dead pine tree that my dad wanted to take down. I stood at its base trying to figure out which way it was leaning to see if it was possible to bring down safely. Something shifted under my foot, and I heard something clink like too stones hitting together. Curious, I used my foot to sweep back the thick sheet of pine needles to reveal this:
Suddenly, a memory as vivid as it was distant came back to me: a little boy laying his dead pet hamster, Ivan III, to eternal rest at the foot of a young pine tree. The scent of the rotting vegetation, the sight of the black, root-bound soil, and the feel of the cold of the rich earth was so strong that I could see myself laying my pet in a small box underneath two red bricks. Years later, the tree that served as marker for Ivan’s grave has died. Even our graves die.
These thoughts went through my mind as I stood on a large pile of stones in the woods. What brought these stones here? Clearly, they were put there purposely by man. Could these stones be an Indian monument, a relic from the Civil War, or a grave?
We played soccer the rest of the afternoon.
Other Miscellany:
While at my parents, we broke out their new faux Christmas tree and decorated it. My daughter is very excited about Christmas this year and has no conception of time and she keeps asking if is Christmas. After three hours of tree decorating, it was time to go home. She was very upset to find out that we weren't taking the tree with us.
I was disappointed to hear about Kramer's offensive outburst but not terribly surprised. The offensive word he choose to employ has become ubiquitous in the current pop culture. Comics, rappers, and movies have made the word commonplace in an entertainment setting. My students (99% white) are growing up hearing the word continuously in daily use, and we should not be surprised to hear the word flowing out of the mouths of our children.
In my ten years of teaching, I have seen a steady increase in inappropriate racial/ethnic joking. While past racism in America was passed down from parent to child, I think a new racism is on the rise that is directly attributable to choices made by entertainment outlets and consumers. I am glad to see that a group of black leaders is seeking to end the black use of the word. According to CNN.com, "Black leaders on Monday challenged the entertainment industry, including rappers, to stop use of the racial slur that Michael Richards uttered in his tirade." For once, I agree with Jesse Jackson. This is a step in the right direction and may prove to be a positive result of Kramer's poor choice.
Peace
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