DON'T TALK TO ME

If the truth will set you free, I expect to be in bondage for quite some time. The maintenance man left last night and there seems to already be a world of total confusion. Not that that is unusual, but it doesn’t linger for long. We usually rotate through confusion frustration, anger, and partial peace and quiet with a cloud of depression hanging overhead.

There has been an on going flower war between Chas and Liz for months. Well at least since the gardens went in. The single major on going conflict at The Home is over the gardens. If one wants to stay clear of that fighting, I recommend going to the store to purchase your veggies. Liz has a degree in horticulture. As such she is the self appoint guru of what everyone should and should not do with their plants. In addition, she plants who knows what at every open space she can find — all without permission. The lack of permission grates on several people. I think it actually looks pretty good.

Add to the mix that Maria is the self-appointed water gardener. She not only waters her own plants, but everyone else’s as well. This does not bode well with Liz or even several others. The people who have gardens do it because they like gardening ( doesn’t make sense to me) and don’t want anyone else’s help. When Maria is confronted she argues that she is helping. Yah, right! They tell her to keep her cotton pickin’ hands out of their garden. Now, I don’t know if she ever picked cotton, but she seems to have done everything else. If you don’t believe it, just tell a story in her presence and she will tell a similar story that is a little bigger and a little more exciting. Maria does tell a good story.

The major on going feud is between Chas and Liz. Both try to draw others in to making the rest of us a Hatfield or McCoy. Frankly, I would rather be the government agent trying to shut down the stills. Chas is in a wheelchair. This year they added a paved space and installed raised beds for people in wheelchairs. There are two people that use the patio garden. I doubt you could have three. Chas extended his space by placing three pots on the patio. At the top of the wall is Liz’ garden. It is easy for her to work in her garden without bending over as her garden is slightly lower than the top of the wall. However, to do that she moves Chas plants and never puts them back where they were. Naturally (and I say naturally because life here depends on stirring conflict) Chas is angry with Liz. They exchange angry words daily. Chas threatens to throw his plants away. That would not bother Liz, but others like his plants and are offended every time he suggests nuclear bomb activity on his garden. So he is so sick and tired that he gave his potted plants to Maria. Sound simple? That’s where you would be wrong. Now he and Maria argue about the plants, over watering and location. Liz is still moving the pots and now both Chas and Maria are angry with Liz. Liz handles things by telling people, “Don’t talk to me.”

At I left this morning for bread wars, I noticed that the two hanging plants on our front porch were gone. So were the potted plants by the gardens. Maria comes along to help with the bread and so she says (don’t necessary take this as the truth), someone (implication is obvious) poured salt water on the hanging plants and they were dying so Chas threw them away. Yesterday they looked fine to me – and I say that as an expert in being Switzerland in the plant wars. Some one had pulled the potted plants pots out by the roots and left them sit on top if the pot drying out, or so I’m told. (Question this statement).

As for me — I don’t trust any of them. We may never know the truth. The one thing we can count on is no one will win plant wars. I am expecting Chas or Maria or both to begin pulling Liz’s plants out. It won’t be long until they begin reporting each other to the administrative office. When that happens, the big she boss will come over and give us a lecture about controlling ourselves and trying to act like adults. The key word is acting. It would be nice if they just were adults. I do hope three dunce caps are brought. I have an idea for their use.

I wish I had secret video cameras placed around this place. That would be a great thing to show on move night with popcorn.