I was driving the 1965 retired Summit Township Rescue Squad, for a car. I washed the clothing for 5 and diapers, in a ringer washer and hung it all on the line.
Even in the winter. I called it Freeze Dried. I barely went shopping for myself. Mostly just cleaned and cooked and watched three young sons all the time. I rarely let them out alone. They all had wheels of various kinds and we lived at the bottom of a hill. Cars came around the curve so fast, that they would never see a kid on a Hot Wheels.
I could not tell you how many hours that I sat on those front steps watching the kids play. A lot. I read books there, cross stitched, wrote stuff, talked on the phone, etc.
My view of the world included a 4 ft. patch of grass between the front sidewalk and the parking lot. One day I had this brainy idea that I was going to buy some flats of bright flowers and change my view. I went to Beck's and picked out exactly what I wanted. It took a while to make all those decisions. I wanted a border and some herbs. I even got a Citronella Geranium. Lemon too, if I remember correctly.
I brought it home and proceeded to take a spade to the grass to lift it off. It was warm out. I was working up a sweat. The mail man walked by and politely asked me what I was going to put there. I proudly told him my plan. He said something like, "That will look nice."
I spent all afternoon implementing the plan. I dug deep so the roots would have room. I placed the border and then artistically planted the rest of the plants so it would be pleasing to my eye. I was the one that had to sit there for hours a day. Then when all done you stand back and admire the days work. Check it out from many angles. Yep, it looks good. Gave it a good watering and went in to cook dinner.
About an hour later I heard a strange noise out front. Like an engine running, or stuck. Tires spinning. I went out to see what the noise was to find my husband had backed up into the garden that I had just planted and was aggressively spinning his back wheels in the garden. They were all chewed up and spewed all over the front of the house. The tires were still spitting out dirt clumps and tore up flowers. It made no sense to me. Why the hell would any one do that?
I am not sure I know why he did it but I think he said something about me spending his money on plants.
Things were not to peaceful around my home that night.
He went to work the next morning and after I got up I went out and looked at the disaster that was my little place of Peace. I thought about the mailman that would see it that day. How horrible. I thought about cleaning it all up so it didn't look so bad. I went back inside and got some cardboard. I cut it into the shape of headstones. I wrote "R.I.P. David" on them and planted them in the newly spewed earth.
