Show #255

Hello Friends of the Garden!

Don Priest, a lot smarter than he
looks and one of the kindest souls
on the planet!

Well, it's a busy weekend for me! I'm excited to be doing a five hour radio marathon with my good friend Don Priest and an idol from years back and all the way to the present, Don Fischer! It truly is a like a dream, a dream Don Priest has made possible for me, I'll always be thankful! I have the privilege again to sit in the studio with "Fresno radio royalty", Don Fischer! If you go back to the days of KKDJ then you know what I mean! That morning show of Dean and Don's was amazing! I couldn't believe a town of the size of Fresno could have such good radio programming!

Yeah right! It's gonna take more than
two hands to shut that mouth of mine!

We have kind of started our own tradition of combining our shows in to a pledge drive extravaganza! Yes, it's that time again, fund raising time! When I started doing my show the very first one was during a pledge drive! Now I'm three shows away from being on the air five years now! Talk about dreams!

Amazing, but true!

As amazing as it is to work with DJ Dogfish (AKA Don Fischer), it is the gracious generosity of the Hound Dog (AKA Don Priest) that has provided this opportunity! The Hound Dog's benevolence didn't stop there! The Hound Dog has been like the older brother I never had! We have done a lot together in the relatively short time we have known each other. I'm continually surprised at the friendships and bonds that are formed in this stage of life! I mentioned this to another amazing and influential friend, John Alden! I said, "We haven't known each other for a lifetime but we have certainly created some lifetime memories in the time we have had together!"

With so much that has happened in the past and all the wonderful and horrible times that encompassed that time, you feel like the "glory days" are all done! So much of peoples past are littered with memories of the "good times". I'm beginning to understand that I don't recognize the "good times" while they are occurring! It's not until much later that some of us reflect on the moments of the past and paint them in a personal way that omits the ugly and accentuates the positive.

No furrows this year! It's a
homemade drip system this
time!

I'm so guilty of being oblivious! While working in the vegetable garden I stopped to take a breath and consider my next task. It was then my mind travelled back years and years. While standing in the same geographical spot I was transported to an emotional spot! My parents never gardened. None of my friends gardened. As far as I was concerned "yard work" were two of the most egregious curse words known to man! Gardening, at that point in life, seemed incomprehensible! Hating yard work as I have all my life, I considered gardening as another kind of yard work for people that didn't know any better!  It was Grady that taught me that I didn't know any better!

Grady gardening in my yard years ago!
He must of had twenty or more
tomato plants!

Grady was my wife's Grandfather. He was kindly referred to as "Poppy"or "Pop". Grady and Dortha, his wife, were amongst the original "D.B.O's", ditch bank okie's, to land in Fresno. As I recall the old stories, it was told to me that during some hard times they lived in a boxcar for a time. Grady went on to own a trucking company that hauled fish from the coast to Fresno. After he retired and sold the business, he and Dortha moved to a mobile home park for retirees. Having no space for gardening, Grady started a garden in my backyard.

Without even realizing it, I went from ambivalence to intimate involvement! As Grady grew older and less strong I couldn't stand by and watch him dig furrows and lift bags of cow manure and not feel guilty! Over time that turned in to long moments of working and learning about gardening and life! The time we eventually spent with each other turned in to something to be treasured!

"It's a shame they're dead!"

One of my favorite stories with Pop was a time we were going in the pick up truck to get some steer manure. I had my "Discman" and cassette adaptor and played a song for Pop as we rode along. I knew Pop liked bluegrass music so, I threw him a curve ball. I played "Ripple" by the Grateful Dead for him. There's some nice mandolin and guitar picking in that song. Wordlessly we listened as we wove our way to the nursery. About two thirds of the way through the song Pop spoke up. He said, "That was some fine picking." I replied to Pop, "Pop, that's the Grateful Dead!" His somber and compassionate reply was, "Well, it's a shame they're dead!"

Got flowers already!

After Pop passed away I looked out at the garden. A sadness gripped me that still does from time to time. Pop was the "Jedi", I was his "Padawan". I couldn't garden without him, it didn't make sense! Day after day went by and I'd look out as the garden grew into a mess from disregard. I couldn't bring myself to face the fact that I would have to garden on my own.

Finally, I understood, just as I couldn't let Grady dig those furrows, I couldn't let the legacy of "Pop's Garden" to slip into faint memories! I knew what to do! I'd slowly taken over more of the work as Grady grew more frail. I relied on my memory of how he did it, the way he did it, his hidden lesson he buried in my subconscious!

Yesterday I stood just where Grady stood so many times, so many years ago. I was assessing what I had gotten done and what was yet to do. My mind drifted to those days before I became a gardener. I thought of a time when I looked out from inside the air conditioned house and saw Pop sitting, smoking a Pall Mall, watching the furrows fill with water. There he sat alone with his thoughts! Now I find myself in much the same spot, as a tear formed in my eye! I thank Grady for his kindness and grace and influence in my life! I am the "Gardener"! (goo, goo g'joob)

Thanks Jerry and Robin! You just never know how important a person can be! You two are way important!

Thanks too, to all you listeners! If can find it in your hearts to help us out at the station during our pledge drive it would be so nice! Even the smallest amount will be of help to us! You can be part of something wonderful and good! With no commitment, you can keep free form radio alive by giving just a little! How cool would that feel to know you did something that makes the world more interesting and fun!

Peace and love to you all!

Mike