Sunday, July 22, 2012

Dishing the dirt

 I watched the neighbor across the way get off his riding mower and sink a shovel into the ground. He'd been yanking weeds out of the parched ground for an hour. I assumed he was going for the roots. I watched in disbelief as he unearthed a thick blue hose. He wrestled that thing like a mighty snake hunter, twisting and turning and tugging. I figured it was his underground watering system. When it wouldn't surrender, he got on a little back hoe tractor and sunk the metal teeth into the earth, snapped that blue hose and launched it airborne. He wiped the sweat off his brow and flung that hose and probably a swear word or two.

I recognized his feeling of success. There are times when I struggle with my writing. I wrangle a word, a paragraph, a title with the sweat of my brow. Then, I collapse in relief when I achieve good results.

A few hours later a pickup truck double parked on our four lane road, then another and another. I looked out the door and wondered why the cable company had so many service trucks in front of the neighbor's house. You guessed it! He had dug up the underground, buried T.V. cable.

Digging to the Roots is a poetry anthology calendar at Writers Rising Up.  The guidelines stated that writers could purchase a calendar if their poem was chosen, which sounds like a vanity press. But if this is something you would be interested in, check it out. Just be sure when you submit to a publication that you dig deep; read the fine print.

7 comments:

Sioux Roslawski said...

What a wonderful connection you drew between what was going on with the "hose hunter" and writing.

Perhaps some of us need to sit and look out your window? Would we be as inspired as you? I think not.

(By the way, are you thinking of writing a post about your goal of
"20" and perhaps connect that to other writers' goals?)

Joanne Noragon said...

I enjoy all you have to say about the process of writing. It is a compelling process, even when I have to leave it to rethink my topic or presentaton.

Bookie said...

/Great job here. And yes, so many "publishing" opts out there and not all or good and fair.

Your window sounds like a good place to be to avoid the heat! Stay cool.

Tammy said...

I too love how you connected your experience to writing! I once nicked a cable line planting a tree, by the way. BIG oops! They came and dug up my little tree.

Val said...

Back when AT&T was SBC, they installed our phone line by running it 400 feet though a field and a stand of trees. Not on a pole, mind you. The line was on the surface, woven through the grass. That made it easier for some stray puppies to chew. And for my oldest stepson to sever when we hired him to bury an electric line that my husband wanted run.

Several days later, the SBC men showed up and repaired the phone line. Buried it in a shallow grave two inches deep. I'm sure it will resurface. Just not sure at whose hands or what's teeth.

Susan said...

Oh oh, Linda. Bet that neighbor was surprised over what he did!

Hope you had a good weekend. Susan

Kathy's Klothesline said...

Was your neighbor having a feud with the cable company? Perhaps he wanted to make a statement ....