Grandmother's Legacy�

2002-05-29

This entry has been in my mind since I started this diary. I think I owe my grandmother my green thumb. I never really thought I had a green thumb until people started to tell me so.

My grandmother lived on a quarter acre lot in Whittier, CA. All of my childhood I remember going to her house and playing in her yard. The games were the same games I played at my parent's house. 'I am Tarzan' (never Jane). 'I am a Lion.' I just had more space to play in. I need more space to play in.

My grandmother grew all kinds of plants. Some of them quite difficult to grow. But they grew under her care. At the end of her tenure in this garden, it was quite overgrown. A condition I aspire to. Abundance. Disorder. A place for nature.

Sometimes when my family comes to visit me they tell me "This reminds me of Grandma's house." I say, "Thank you."

Thank you, Grandma. You've given me something I cherish. And something I will never forget.

Your family came to California the hard way. I'm still not sure what this journey encompassed. We all know that your family came through Donner's Pass. We're just not sure when. Before or after the Donner's? (Or during.) I can't ask you now. And I'm not sure that my father knows the answer.

Either way, our family survived. Mom out of Michagan, Dad, less than a mile from where I write this today.

You gave me, and continue to give me, life. You nurtured your own children, your grandchildren and your great grandchildren.

I can only hope that your care for the green and growing things lives on in me. I truly hope it does. Our planet has enough humans. Way more than enough humans. People are in no way in danger of extinction. I want to be a person that supports other forms of life.

There are just too friggin' many humans on this planet.

�