From The Garden Gate
Musings by Dr. Dick, the only man we know with a Ph.D. in weeding
The “doctor” is in!
Doctor Dick, the garden doc, who thinks he knows much but knows little, has returned to the garden. It all happened late one sultry spring afternoon, when Diane found him sitting on a Memorial Garden bench with a bemused look on his face. (Diane, his wife, is the real garden expert.) What’s up Dr. Dick,” said Diane, “you haven’t been putting much time in the garden recently. The weeds are proliferating and the leaves are mounding up. Where have you been?”
“I have been having a mid-life crisis,” said Dr. Dick. “Instead of weeding I was thinking of buying a bright red convertible and spending my afternoons at the beach.”
“A mid-life crisis??” exclaimed Diane. “You are 71 years old and have to visit the dermatologist after you have been out in the sun for more than five minutes. A bright red convertible and the beach?”
“Well, maybe it is a ‘late’ mid-life crisis,” said Dr. Dick. “The beach probably isn’t a very good idea, but I could use the bright red convertible to get to all my doctors’ appointments.”
“Have you considered that weeding provides you with excellent exercise and this might cut down on all those doctors’ appointments. And it saves money, as you don’t have to go to the gym. I think that I was even seeing some ‘six pack abs’ developing,” she said slyly. (Diane crossed her fingers behind her back, thinking “is there such a thing as two pack abs?”) Then came her final and most convincing argument. “If you don’t work in the garden, you no longer will have the title of Dr. Dick, the garden doc.”
Dr. Dick sat and pondered his late mid-life crisis. Diane had made a convincing argument, but he would still like to have that bright red convertible.
“I’ll tell you what,” said Diane. “Come back for a week and see how it goes. If you still are having a late mid-life crisis, then I will buy you that convertible.”
Dr. Dick agreed and went immediately to work. Diane did not worry about convertibles. At Dr. Dick’s age, by next week he will have forgotten all about convertibles and moved on to sensible shoes.
Dick Happy