Apr
24
Make a Wish
Filed Under writing from home
The comedian Gallagher — yes, the one who smashes the watermellons with the sledge-o-matic — does this bit about weeds. He says it’s hard to teach a three-year-old about gardening, because they’re not sophisticated enough yet to know the difference between a plant and a weed… That if you water it and it dies, it’s a plant; if you pull it out and it grows back, it’s a weed.
Whenever I see dandelions, I think of that joke. But lately, I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s better to be a weed than a plant. All this nourishing and nurturing — it’s hard work. Perhaps it’s best to be the kind of person whose juice ignites the field in a mass take-over of yellow wish-potential.
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26 Responses to “Make a Wish”
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About Amy Derby
Formerly a corporate paralegal, I ditched the pantyhose to begin freelancing in 2004. I enjoy long walks to the coffee maker, never setting an alarm clock, and not wearing a bra to the (home) office. I can be reached at amy.derby (at) gmail.com.
weeds and croceroaches the only things tha just keep comming back.
mike golch’s last blog post..The Time Warp!
TOO TRUE! LOL
Weeds-kind of like apostrophe-s for plurals. They just keep growing no matter how hard we try to eradicate them.
No kidding!!!
Okay, so on Saturday, I have to gather up somewhere north of 6,000 dandelions and spread them all out on my front yard.
Why? Excellent question.
A friend of mine is out of town. It’s his girlfriend’s birthday this weekend, and the girlfriend in question really likes dandelions. So he wanted to get her a dandelion for every day she’d been alive. Problem: the being out of town.
Me to the rescue.
I just thought it was a coincidence with the dandelion post. I have nothing useful to contribute on the sort-of-person question.
Except, you know. Be tenacious. Like the D.
Tei’s last blog post..Finding Your Client’s Voice. Hint: It is Not In the Fridge.
Tei - You might be my soul twin. That is totally the kind of mission I would go on. Actually, I did go on a similar mission once. Ever made a dandelion chain? Well, my niece and I did. It was so long.
Must resist urge to -
Nope, can’t.
HOW LONG WAS IT?
Tei’s last blog post..Finding Your Client’s Voice. Hint: It is Not In the Fridge.
OHMYGOD, it was SO long. Like half the block. Ok, it wasn’t a LONG block or anything. But it was extremely ambitious. We had two huge brown shopping bags full that we picked from a huge field.
I just looked at your blog. You are nuts. I love it. I love your mean commenter, too. I had one of those and was secretly proud also. I was like “Woo hoo! FINALLY someone hates me AND can’t spell but is insulting me about my grammar!”
You are so my twin.
And your (real) first name is the same as my girlfriend’s name. Yeah, I’m nosy. I peeked.
That’s AWESOME. You should come and play over there ALL THE TIME, now that you’re taking a little breaky-break from this one. And then, when I want to take a break, I’ll come and play over here. It’ll be amazing. It’ll be like blog playdates for grownups.
Grownups. Hah. Heehee.
I made the mean commenter shut down his blog! I felt kinda bad about it, actually. I didn’t mean to! Oh, Oscar.
Actually, I just kind of like wistfully saying ‘Oh, Oscar.’ I don’t really feel guilty at all.
I’m going to bed now, so don’t be upset when I don’t come right back and comment. I will in the morning.
Dandelion power!
Tei’s last blog post..Finding Your Client’s Voice. Hint: It is Not In the Fridge.
Now I’m thinking “Oh Felix!” in sing-song voice. And you’re going to bed. All the Tays (I call her Tay) go to bed before I do. Bad grownups. (Do adults really say grownup? I’ve always wondered that.)
Ok, I will mock-pout more for you tomorrow.
Amy,
Yes, they say it to their kids. Kids make you say lots of inane things, like, “I’ve told you thirty times” and, “No means NO.”
Love the weed analogy. I never heard that from Señor Watermelon-Smasher.
I hope if I ever get watered, I don’t die of it, but I have been pulled out lots of times and darned if I don’t spring right back.
What does Maya Angelou say? And Still I Rise.
Nice post. I have a new appreciation for dandelions. I hate yellow, though.
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Tip of the Week: What Are You Doing For Me After Hours?
I think dandelions are beautiful.
Hello my friend, I hope that you are well today - I have some more pics for you tonight…
Talk with you soon - Brett
Brett Legree’s last blog post..why blogging for profit is like collecting underpants.
Oh, I have been called a weed-to my face- more than a few times. That’s what happens when you keep getting uprooted and pop back up.
I take it as a compliment, even when it’s said with a mistified look that means “how do you do that? I thought we got rid of your sunny, little smiling face…..”
Did you know that crab apples are actually a part of the rose family of plants?
You can be a crab and be a rose…but a sunny little tenatious flower is a weed.
Those *grown-ups* have it all upside down.
Dang…now I have to go find out what Tei’s real name is….
Wendi Kelly’s last blog post..Having Faith
Kel - I hate yellow too. I hate gold also. I only own white gold or silver. No clue why. I just think it is ugly. But I do like dandelions.
Brett - I will look forward to the pictures… Kiss the blondies.
Wendi - I have never heard that about crab apples, but I’m SO stealing that. *files away in mental filing cabinet, which is fortunately more organized than my apartment* I don’t think her name is a secret. It is posted on her blog in the “about” page.
Hey Amy, Will you get RSS comment feed, so I can keep track of the comment weeds?
A weed is simply a word devised by one who cannot appreciate plenty. Like crows. People say crows are weed birds.
Hearty surviving generalists.
Ellen Wilson’s last blog post..The Butterfly Effect
I’m very ill, that’s all. I am normally more of a night owl. Besides, by ‘going to bed’ we meant ‘write three pages in a journal and read the last half of a Dick Francis novel, because my Daddy got me hooked on paperback mysteries at a young age, the enabling monster.’
Tei’s last blog post..Finding Your Client’s Voice. Hint: It is Not In the Fridge.
Amy,
White gold only here, too. Are you a long-lost little sister or something?
Later,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Chapter the Next, Wherein the Author Gets Fan Mail
Young dandelion greens = salad spring greens = good for kidneys and maybe the liver. Roots used in detox teas, which taste particularly nasty.
Dandelion flowers–fun when white and blowy.:) Can you play the Butter Game with yellow dandelions?
@ Mer - That’s good. I like the liver context.
Ellen Wilson’s last blog post..The Butterfly Effect
Amy - the blondies have just been kissed, 10 minutes ago - pics to follow
Brett Legree’s last blog post..why blogging for profit is like collecting underpants.
My problem with gardening is that I could not always tell the weeds from what should be growing. The wild, out of control things held a particular beauty in my eyes. Like a remedial dimwit I just could not seem to understand digging up something that didn’t look bad. So, I would plant away but then my hubby would have to maintain. I’ve always had a fondness for the underdog. Go weeds!
Karen Swim’s last blog post..Student ‘Twitters’ his way out of Egyptian jail
Ellen - I like crows. Not sure why…
Tei - That is how I “go to bed” too. Funny… So, it is past Saturday. How did your mission go??
Mer - Interesting…
Karen - I suck as a gardener. I even kill indoor plants.
Brett - Kiss them again please. Those pictures were so cute. I can’t believe they could carry around those big logs!
Kelly - Sisters, maybe. I do have half sisters (dads side) who are older than you. None named Kelly… But ya never know!
Amy,
Kissed and kissed and kissed again. The cook is very stout, like his dad
(cook says “lady”)
Glad you liked the pictures - talk with you soon,
Brett
Brett Legree’s last blog post..do what you love, and the underpants will follow.
Missed accomplished most excellent well! She had a little dandelion path in my house leading into the kitchen/dining room, which was just heaped with the things, and there were dandelions spelling out ‘Happy Birthday Dida’ in the hall. I don’t know if it wound up being 7,000, but it was a lot, and my butt hurts today from crouching down to pick them.
Dandelion power!
Tei’s last blog post..Dandelion Hunting
That’s too cool.
I like crows too. There was this crow at the Potter Park Zoo who liked to have his/her head scratched through the bars. You can also teach them to talk.
Philodendrons are hearty house plants. As long as they get a little light and water they are fine. I get depressed without plants in my house.
Take care and I hope your writing projects are going well.
Ellen Wilson’s last blog post..Feed on Some RSS Fruit