Corn Stalks, Pumpkins, and Signs
By Pam Sherman | October 8, 2008
I have become a creature of suburban habit. It’s October and suddenly I find myself thinking about cornstalks, pumpkins and bales of hay. I suddenly feel the urge to buy mums. I didn’t know what a mum was until I moved to my farm field. It never occurred to me to do decorate a lamp-post until I saw my neighbors doing these elaborate displays with scarecrows, wreaths of gourds, and hay in late August. Having been assaulted since that time with the change of the season I’m trying my best to show restraint and not buy the corn stalks, pumpkins and hay. MY husband tells me: Why can’t we just let nature change the seasons? Why does the change of season require some kind of consumerism — even if it is at the farmstand up the road. It’s this kind of spending that is causing economic crisis in our country, he says. I’m from New York, Staten Island specifically, buying bales of hay is not natural. But here in my suburban farm field they are ubiquitous and so every year I consider BUYING THEM and every year I cave. The other thing I can’t help but consider this time of year are the signs on the lawns of my neighbors supporting political candidates. Like sex and religion I thought politics was private. A man was arrested recently for stealing political signs in our town. One family put up a series of signs saying even though someone stole their first sign they were going to exercise their right to have a sign — an entire paragraph of signs was on their front lawn protesting the protesting sign stealer. I love that in America we have the freedom to put up signs in our front yard and bales of hay and corn stalks. Each says something about what we believe in I suppose. Right now I know I believe in my love for my children and my husband and that things are really quite fine in this world despite the air of unease we are all experiencing. Halloween will come, and election day will pass and no sign can really display what I think and feel, no bale of hay will make a difference in the state of our world. But still it amuses me that this Staten Island girl is even considering a cornstalk to make her happy.
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October 14th, 2008 at 12:38 am
Whoa….this is not at all what I expected when I found this blog on google…it is very plsant though
October 16th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Thanks - outlaw country guy. Do you blog as well?