In this community we have the opportunity to rent tiny garden spaces. I have two: one has Dick's roses, specially chosen for their fragrance, and other grows veggies. As it happened, I totally neglected the gardens for two months. I won't bother you with my excuses. I finally went to the garden place with a bit of dread. After all, this is southern California, a semi-desert that requires irrigation to produce anything green.

My veggies were kaput as expected except for a shoot from a tomato plant that actually had flowers and some tiny baby tomatoes. The roses looked terribly dejected and neglected. I felt really guilty. Then I noticed that the smallest of them had two buds about to bloom. The next day I cut them and named them Hope. They adorned my dining table for a week.

High school reunions

Some people love high school reunions; others are 'lost' and wouldn't dream of attending. I once read a column (Sydney J. Harris in the Chicago Daily News) that we live our lives depending on how we think we were perceived in high school. We must prove (to ourselves?) that were not geeky/dumb/ugly or that we really are smart/good looking/popular. It makes enough sense to me that I have remembered it for upwards of 40 years. What do you think?

Anyway, I just attended my 55th reunion. I have no regular contact with my classmates although I do think well of most of them. We were about 250 graduates. Ninety-three persons including spouses attended. Many have joined me in moving to warmer climes. All conversations were cheery and positive. No talk of previous occupations and successes. No political, religious, health, or money talk. Children were sometimes interesting topics. Grandchildren were statistics, e.g., "5". Current activities were the most interesting with most enjoying their retirement years. Lots of good talk about those not present, but in contact with attendees.

What's not to like? I say, go if you can manage it. You will have fun and come away sure that you turned out OK.

Flute Choir

The Flute Choir performed in public at the LA Music Fest September 28--40 or 50 flutes, piccolos, alto flutes, bass flutes. We played passably, but that isn't the issue. Adults who developed some skill playing a musical instrument in childhood can still have fun playing together. I learned this years ago playing in a community concert band. Actually, we didn't care if we ever gave a concert; we just liked to make music together. Unfortunately, the opportunities for this are rare.

For me, there is extra fun playing in such a group with my children. T and Green Bean played with me in the community band (sax and flute) for several years. And Tracy and I played in the Flute Choir the past two years. And this year I had the extra fun of playing duets with a granddaughter who has been studying the oboe.

Catching up

No big projects are in store for me--except restoring my two tiny gardens in the Community Garden. They are 5' x 8'. One contains Dick's roses that I have resolved to take care of. The other grows vegetables. Swiss chard is my best crop. It should be obvious to me that in a climate that is usually warm or hot and has rain only in the winter that gardens need constant tending and watering. Well-----I haven't gone near them for about two months. I finally had time and energy last Sunday. Oh, they were pitiful. But there were some delightful signs that all was not lost. One Swiss chard plant had some new leaves and one tomato plant, despite being dried up, had a new baby shoot complete with a flower and hope of fruit. The roses had mostly dry leaves, but one bush had a bud just beginning to flower and a second bud. So all is not lost.

So I promise to go over there every other day and water and pull weeds and dig my fall garden. I ordered new seeds this morning.

The best lesson of gardening is that we are only helpers. Something else more tenacious does the growing.