Jack’s Winning Words  5/16/22

“In the Spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”  (Margaret Atwood)  The word dirt has its origin in the Old English, meaning dung, but dirt has also come to mean soil, that which makes up the dry surface of the planet.  Most gardeners probably want to smell like soil.  There’s an avid “dirt person”  that I know who even grows plants during the winter.  During the Great Depression many families  depended on gardens for daily food.  One family that I know of even kept a cow in their backyard to provide milk for the children.  Do you know of anyone who smells like dirt?  ;-)  Jack

FROM CPA MIKE:  Our neighbor, John Platte, owns and operates a commercial plant farm in Indiana. When in Florida he fills our neighborhood with flowers and plants that he purchases and plants himself. Sometimes I think that I have seen more of his backside than his face.   His labors create an environment that we all enjoy everyday.   We are grateful to have him as a neighbor.===JACK:  I’ve been sitting on the patio this morning watching the backsides of Joan and her daughter, Rachel, as they’ve been planning their garden.  It’s an every year ritual.

FROM SALON SUZY:  I did yesterday. Worked in the yard all day💪🏼===JACK:  I never was a gardener, but I now envy those enjoy that work and are able to do it.  There are some things that I might consider if life had do-overs.

FROM DR J:  in the summer …my FEET almost always smell like dirt :-) ===JACK:  No matter what season, mine always smell that way. 

FROM WILLMAR REV:  Not sure about 'dirt' but have smelled a few who seemed like they hadn't bathed for a few days?!?! 0;-/===JACK:  I can't imagine Jesus turning away from someone because of their smell...The same for a community chaplain. 

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  my father in law was a very good farmer from Martin County MN.  he, on occasion,  smelled like dirt.... or at least his bib overalls...===JACK:  In retrospect, the country church that I served was made  up, in large part, with people who wore bib overalls.  Those were great days being among great people.  One of the "funniest" plays I've seen was titled, "Barn Smell."  

FROM THE SCIENTIST:  . I smelled like dirt this weekend after digging around in the garden. I also ended up with sap in my hair and leaf crumbles on my shirt. But progress was made!===JACK:  One of the expressions I heard as a child was this: "You look like dirt!"   Was that a criticism or a compliment?

FROM ME IN NEWPORT BEACH:  Both of us garden every day.===JACK:  Flowers or vegetables?===ME:  Flowers in an extensive fairy garden that includes art and sculptures and continues throughout front and back yards. 

FROM BLAZING OAKS:   AFRAID IT'S NOT ME! I'M NOT MUCH OF A GARDENER;  i BUY HANGING BASKETS FOR FLOWERS.DEPEND ON THE GROCERY STORE FOR FOOD! wHEN THE KIDS WERE SMALL WE TRIED HAVING GARDENS BUT THEY NEVER AMOUNTED TO MUCH! :-( ===JACK:  Didn't you ever have a Victory Garden while growing up in Moline during WW 2?