December 20, 2010

Of gardens, winter, death and life



"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." Those lines from the Gospel of John have been on my mind this weekend, as four generations of my family headed to Columbus for the funeral of my favorite aunt.



(And, yes, we did hit a White Castle on the way home.)




Only a week or so before, I planted garlic in our garden. The idea that anything put under the ground in such wicked weather could sprout, grow and thrive months later seems impossible, but it happens.

I broke up the ground with a spading fork, pushed garlic cloves into the dirt with freezing fingers and covered it liberally with old hay and goat manure. Unless something goes wrong, new life will emerge from dirt and decay.

When I try to think in a purely rational way about what happens to us after the Big Checkout, I've always found it as hard to believe that nothing comes after it as it is to believe that anything comes after it.

In the absence of knowing, I'll stick with Bruce: "Everything dies, baby, that's a fact/but maybe everything that dies some day comes back."

ZOMBIE ECONOMICS. Bad ideas are hard to kill.

LEFT BEHIND. Here's a profile from the Charleston Gazette of a miner who died in Massey's Upper Big Branch mine and the widow he left behind.

NO SHOW. WV's newest senator ducked out of controversial votes on the DREAM Act and repealing don't ask/don't tell.

NEANDERTHALS apparently used human bones as tools.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

4 comments:

Hollowdweller said...

white castle.

He! He!

Elizabeth Gaucher said...

Put your make up fix your hair up pretty, and meet me tonight in Atlantic City.........nice post. I'm sorry for the loss of your aunt. I'm quite sure if she was one of your favorite relatives, she was a complete bad ass. Thanks for sharing your memories of her.

El Cabrero said...

Hollowdweller, You know from experience that El Cabrero does not joke about White Castle.

Elizabeth,
Thanks for the note! It was a great song and she was a great lady.

hollowdweller said...

El Cabrero,

I know they are an important sacrament to you.

You partake of the flesh of the golden calf to bring it's strength into your body. :-)