The Lawn and other Musings

Last year I used a weed and feed on our lawn.  The bag read, "Kills More than 200 Different Weeds." I may have mentioned then that I think I found 5 or 6 that it didn't kill.  So this year I tried a different brand.  Both were national brands and this year's switch didn't turn out any better.  Oh, they both were OK on dandelions, but only OK.  I still had to dig out half a dozen yellows yesterday.  The grass itself, though, is green and looks nice--if we ignore the weeds.  I wonder if those companies like Tru-Green work any better.  Hmmm......  Maybe it's time to try.

And I finally was able to get most, not all but most, of the backyard mowed this AM.  Michael does the front yard.  (Is "backyard" one word and "front yard" two words?")  There are still some patches that are a bit too swampy to get mowed/mown.  I slopped through some areas, too.  But it was so tall, well over ankle-length in most places and thick.  It's supposed to rain, heavy rain, tonight and tomorrow into Mon AM.  So I figured it was today or...or when?

I know it sounds crazy, but I enjoy mowing, usually.  It's like winter snow shoveling for me.  I get to be outside.  I get to do something physical.  And I like what I see when I am done.  Ask me if I still enjoy it when the temperatures reach the 80s and 90s!  Heh Heh.

Sometimes those old white males have things to teach us.  Plato once wrote, "Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something."  I think I have spoken to/written about that several times in a slightly different context.  I was reminded of Plato a while ago when someone asked me, "What are you going to do?" in the face of a situation.  I said, "Nothing."  "How can you do nothing?" I was asked with some incredulity.  I replied, "What should I do?  Tell me."  This time I was met with silence.  Right.  I could think of nothing to do to alleviate the situation, so I opted to do nothing.  So far, doing nothing is working.  During the Obamacare debacle in Congress, I remember the Wall Street Journal advising Congress, "Don't do something, just stand there."  It was a great take-off of "Don't just stand there, do something."

Very few people I know like to engage in conversations like the following.  OK, I do have some friends (Yes, I know that surprises a lot of people, but the emphasis is on some.)  Are kindness and greatness two very different qualities?  That is, would you put your life or the life of a loved one in the hands of a doctor who is a cruel person?  Would you assent to having a man like Picasso, hardly a candidate for sainthood, be your king?  These are some of the questions I am taking away from my re-readings of Chaim Potok's Asher Lev novels.  Maybe I'm flighty, but I think they are questions well worth pondering and discussing.  I think I will next week on some of my runs.

In the same vein, to extrapolate those types of ideas to reality--that is, to make them relevant (and doesn't everything we learn have to be relevant or at least on the state tests?)--does character matter?  Do we or should we separate behavior from accomplishments?  In studying and teaching history, I am confronted with this frequently.  Let me take two recent examples:  John Kennedy and Bill Clinton (perhaps two men cut from the same mold--or mould!).  I happen to think that character does matter, that it should be counted in evaluations.  Perhaps, though, I am old-fashioned.  I guess I am willing to concede that.

How frustrating it is to see efforts, if not in vain, at least in danger of being in vain.  Trying to teach right from wrong is not always easy.  There are so many forces out there getting in the way.  But, still, working to demonstrate, to teach, etc. what is good and what is not good and then seeing the tottering of that......  I know each person is individually responsible for such determinations and then must also be held accountable (although many people are not held accountable) for subsequent actions based on those determinations.  But sometimes, when we are wavering or others are wavering with what we've tried to teach, it's not pleasant.  Do we then question our own values and principles?  Maybe.

I'm not one at all upset that Obama has given a Wall Street speech in return for $400,000.  More power to him!  I wish someone would give me $4,000 for a speech!  If he can get $500,000, go get it I say.  My only hang-up is what he says and what he does are two different things.  But perhaps we can't all be consistent all of the time.  Perhaps......