Pests!

Earlier in the summer, when all the crazy summer rains began, we had customers flocking to our anti-mosquito section. We couldn't even keep most of the stuff in stock, it was going so quickly. OFF sprays and citronella candles and bug zappers and citronella oils to go in lamps and mosquito dunks, oh!, the mosquito dunks! On Mondays (freight day) I'd have customers come in and demand I go through all the bins of freight just so they could get first dibs on the dunks. The two-packs were good but the six packs were better!

As you might imagine, we are still selling a lot of mosquito stuff, but right now the huge thing is flies. Flies are absolutely everywhere! The little sneaky small ones that buzz around your ears and drive you crazy but are so fast you hardly see 'em, and the big fat ones that seem to haunt your every move and stare you down with their big fat gross fly eyes. It's times like this that lots of people fly-hunt recreationally- we stroll leisurely around with a flyswatter in hand just looking for targets. And yes, I include myself in this category. Much like a paranoid ex-cop with his gun always near-by, oiled and ready for action, I have a pink and white flyswatter hidden by the cash register and unlike the gun enthusiast, I don't even have to switch the safety on and off!

Just last week I was eating lunch with my dad in the break room and we were joined by my Aunt Sonja and Uncle Jeff- my aunt was eating but my uncle wasn't. He sat back in his plastic lawn chair at the break table with a flyswatter clutched firmly in his hand, eyes cast upwards following the two or three little black winged demons as they buzzed around and occasionally dive-bombed the table. Every so often he would abruptly stand and slice the swatter through the air at a little buzzy target, without much success. After a while he sat down, shoulders slumped in defeat, looking at the swatter in his hand with dislike.

"I have the wrong weapon," he told us. "What I really need is my shotgun."

If you are really having trouble with pests we have something on the Rental side of the ACE store called The Ortho Problem Solver- America's Definitive Reference Book that I highly recommend. Tucked behind several shelves of fertilizer and Miracle Gro products and facing a shelf of lawn ornaments (like statues of the Virgin Mary and bobble head frogs) is a sort of altar with this humongous reference book on it. It is close to 1000 pages and is filled with photos of creepy bugs and descriptions and advice and pictures of rotting plants. I try to visit the altar and read a bit of the book everyday, usually right after I water the barrels of plants in front of the store because after lugging gallons and gallons of water I'm hot and cranky and the altar is right underneath a swamp cooler vent.

Pestwise, I personally have been having my issues with scorpions. I saw (and killed!) three scorpions in a period of two weeks. According to The Ortho Problem Solver- America's Definitive Reference Book, though scorpions are most often found outside under rocks etc, the will sometimes venture indoors when the weather gets really hot. Which it has. The Ortho Problem Solver- America's Definitive Reference Book also said that these scorpions are really pretty shy and mean no harm and just sting when threatened, and most times their stings are no more severe than a bee sting- really not dangerous unless you're allergic. So, basically, The Ortho Problem Solver- America's Definitive Reference Book told me to grow up and stop being such a wimp. Thanks, The Ortho Problem Solver- America's Definitive Reference Book.


On a more personal note, I am taking this semester off of school. I'm working at ACE (obviously...) instead of school and I'm really trying to focus on writing. I love writing and I think I'm pretty good at it and if you're reading this you either like what you read or are family and have no choice. Either way, I hope you'll stick with me. I'm going to try to write more and more blogs, even if they're not very good. I just need to get in the habit of writing more.

Thank you!!

Sarah

Your Very Own Guide to Raton, NM!

I am fortunate enough to have been born in the cultural hotspot of Raton, America, and I felt it's time to share with those not so fortunate. Below I have compiled a small list of terms, locations, and activities common here in the Land of Enchantment.

You're welcome in advance.


BEAR BAIT- Local term. A not-so endearing term for the massive amounts of Boy Scouts who come through Raton every summer on their way to Philmont Scout Ranch.

CHAY (also SHAY)- Local vernacular. Not to be confused with "E". The word "chay" is usually used as an exclamation of surprise, awe, astonishment, or shock. In some cases, the word is drawn out extensively: "Chaaaayyyyyyyy". This usually indicates a larger amount of surprise, awe, etc.

CHUPACABRA- Local legend. Or is it? True, the Chupacabra is not just limited to New Mexico, but it is well known here. Every so often the NM news channels will do stories on the Chupacabra, and they are always a funny mix of the newscasters shooting holes in the story and irate farmers complaining about the damn things eating their goats.

CRUISING- Common local activity. Mostly a social activity, "cruising" is the activity of driving up and down Raton's 2nd Street with friends, blasting loud music and wasting finite natural resources.

DAIRY QUEEN ICE CREAM CONE- Infamous local landmark. Located in front of Raton's Dairy Queen establishment, there is a humongous replica of an ice cream cone. Just about every six year old who has seen it has licked it, Raton citizens included.

E- Local vernacular. Not to be confused with "chay". "E" (pronounced like it looks) is generally an exclamation of chagrin, annoyance, frustration, or exasperation. Often drawn out, "Eeeeeeeeeeee" sometimes comes out as an irritated sigh.

FIREBALLS, THE- The Fireballs are one of Raton's few claim-to-fames. The band formed in the 1950's and is known for the hit, "Sugar Shack".

GARDNER ROAD- Infamous local landmark. Gardner Road is a small road on the outskirts of Raton, not heavily trafficked. Mostly used by locals as a place to drink, get high, have sex, and/or hunt for trolls.

OMBERS- Local vernacular. Pronounced "awwm-burs". All but extinct, this word was the precursor to "chay", and is therefore noteworthy. Mostly used by elementary school children. As with "chay" and "E", "ombers" was sometimes drawn out.

PO-PO- Local vernacular. Term for the police, of course. I actually made a joke out of it: What does Santa Claus say when he sees the police? Po-po-po!

POLICE REPORT- Local news. Played on the radio, it's a list of alleged criminals and their crimes. Almost always good for a laugh, since it's such a small town. It's always great when someone you don't like gets a speeding ticket or something.

RATON- Place. Located in the Northeast corner of New Mexico, this gem of a town was once called "Willow Springs" but is now called Raton. No one is exactly sure why. For the record, pronounced correctly it would be something like "Ruh-tone" but we locals pronounce it "Rat-own".

TROLL- Local legend. Out on Gardner Road (see above), there is a bridge that, legend has it, is home to a flesh-eating troll. Locals will sometimes dare each other to go troll-hunting at night. As far as I'm aware, the troll has never been sighted, but when you go under the bridge in the daylight, there are bones down there. Maybe not such a legend after all...

WALMART (as in, "Let's go to Walmart!")- Location/Activity. Superior to KMart because of its location and 24 hour operation, locals like to go there a lot. It's an excuse to go to Trinidad where there are lots of different restaurants and whether you buy anything or not, there's always something to do. NOTE: Playing hide and seek there is frowned upon...


Have you contacted your travel agent yet? :)

Sarah

West Virginia, a blog

So, about ten days ago I posted a poem I wrote about my trip to West Virginia, but it's high time I posted a longer, more detailed tribute. I, along with my sister Elizabeth (Emmy) and her boyfriend David, went out to West Virginia to visit my mom, step-dad Leo and their dogs!

FUN West Virginia facts and trivia!

Did you know...?

• West Virginia covers about 24,000 square miles and has a population of about 1.8 million
• 25% of the nation's total coal production comes from West Virginia
• THEY HAVE CRAY-SEEEEE WEST VIRGINIA PRIDE!

Thursday, July 4th

For the record, and this will be relevant later in the blog, I have two Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter shirts. I wore one on this day because it was Independence Day and the shirt says on it "Are you a patriot or a vampire?" and is therefore the most patriotic shirt I own.

Every year on the fourth of July, my family hosts a picnic for friends and family. Thinking back, I think the only one I've ever missed was three summers ago when I went to West Virginia the first time! Anyway, every year the picnic is a little different (some new people will come, some regulars don't make it, and the weather is subject to change) and a lot the same: my dad sits in a chair by the BBQ, drinking beer, surrounded by a bunch of guys with boisterous laughter, my grandma never EVER sits and instead flits around from person to person, table to table, literally forcing people to eat, demanding "Are you having fun?" and worrying because her head count is three off from last year, and the rest of us eat, drink, and try not to get sunburned.

Anyway, this fourth of July didn't disappoint. One of the only notable differences was that David's family came this year and he and his brother Buddha got involved in a water gun battle with my cousin Brian and his friend, and David and his brother dominated so heavily it was kind of hilarious.

Another difference was that after the picnic, my sister, David  and I didn't hang around and watch Raton's firework display, but instead got in the car and drove down to Albuquerque!


Friday, July 5th

Friday was just kind of a long day traveling. We got up at 4:30 to get the 5:15 shuttle from our hotel to the airport, flew to Dallas, waited a few hours, got on a plane, waited about an hour while they fixed the "secondary power", which provides the plane with air conditioning, then flew to Charleston, WV!

We were picked up by Leo and three border collies. We went up the holler and hung out for a bit, then went downtown and listened to a concert right by the river. It was loud and lively and there were a bunch of people dancing like crazy. My mom and Leo kicked off their shoes and went dancing too! I'd say the majority of the crowd was more than a little intoxicated and it was pretty funny. My sister and I especially liked a guy that was twirling a lit-up baton- he was pretty bad at it but seemed to think he was pretty badass.

Afterwards we checked into our hotel by a guy at the front counter named Bob. Later that evening David went back down to ask a question and Bob was sitting out in front of the hotel with some buddies, smoking and drinking beer. Ahhhh, West Virginia!

Saturday, July 6th

On Saturday, we visited the Capitol Building in Charleston and then went fishing! Well, David went fishing while we watched and sat in the shade. It was kinda crazy because a car that was parked right next to ours got broken into while we and it's owners were about fifty feet away. Luckily none of us had left anything valuable in our car! Anyway, the police were called and it was then that we discovered West Virginians do not use the term "Po-po".

Sunday, July 7th

Sunday we went white-water rafting! West Virginia had been getting a whole lotta rain and all the rivers were really high. It was a great day for because it was kinda overcast and not too hot. Leo took his kayak and paddled alongside our raft. He thought the high water didn't make the rapids quite exciting enough but we all had a pretty cool time. Since we had to drive a ways to get to the rafting place, we got to see lots of the countryside and it is so unbelievably green and beautiful!

Monday, July 8th

I'd never been to a Cabela's before, or even known what it was, but Charleston had one so we went! It is this humongous hunting/fishing/camping kinda store. To state the obvious, I'm not a hunting/fishing/camping kind of girl but it was still pretty cool. They had tons of taxidermy on the walls and Em and I spent a good twenty minutes looking at all the bright, sparkly, stinky, gross kinds of fish bait.

That evening we went to see the Lone Ranger and sat through all of the end credits just to see New Mexico credited!


Tuesday, July 9th

My mom, David, Em and I drove from Charleston to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

The first thing I thought when we entered the lobby of the Gettysburg hotel was, "Wow! It smells like grapes and maple syrup in here!" because it did. Well, I thought so. I don't think everybody else really did. They agreed about the syrup and thought maybe chlorine, cuz of the pool, but no. It was grapes.

That evening we ate dinner at a brewery. David and my mom had some beer and I had a vodka cranberry or two. We tried pierogis for the first time and they weren't bad.

Wednesday, July 10th

When packing my suitcase I planned ahead for this trip and brought my SECOND Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter shirt specifically for this day. It is black and has the likeness of a penny on it, just with some blood and an ax. Where better to wear an Abe Lincoln shirt but Gettysburg? I put it on and my mom appraised me thoughtfully. She said, "I can't decide if it's a stroke of genius to wear that here, or just tacky and in bad taste."

The first thing we did that morning was go to the Gettysburg Visitor's Center. It's a huge building absolutely filled with civil war history! They have displays with weapons, soldier uniforms, medical devices, pictures, documents, you  name it! They showed a short film about Gettysburg and in the visitor's center they also had something called the "Cyclorama" which was a massive, 360 degree oil painting from the late 1800's depicting the battle at Gettysburg. It's been restored and they light parts of it from behind while describing what's happening in the painting. It was incredible!

Afterwards, we went to the cemetery, where they have lots of memorials and countless gravestones, many unknown. They had a monument where Lincoln actually delivered the Gettysburg address and that was absolutely awesome!

We went to see the Wax Museum and then walked around from shop to shop looking at an unbelievable amount of merchandise. In front of a business that ran late-night Gettysburg ghost tours, a young man was dressed in Civil War-era clothing and handing out fliers. He gave us one and told us a little about it. He suddenly broke off his spiel, staring at me.
"I love your shirt!" he told me. "That was such an awesome movie!" I grinned at him, overjoyed to have someone appreciate the effort.

In the evening, we were getting ready to have dinner and my sister's phone rang. It was a computerized message kindly letting her know that our flight out of Harrisburg had been canceled. That was it. So after dinner we went back to our hotel room and Em spent literally about three hours on hold with Expedia, and then a few different airlines, trying to get a flight back home!

It was a long, stressful few hours but we managed to have a pretty good time anyway. One of the TV channels was playing Sleepless in Seattle on repeat and we had a bag of pretzels and some Dr. Peppers so while Em was on hold from numerous travel agents we just kind of hung out. We are now able to brag that we have heard Expedia's full "music while you're on hold" playlist!

Finally, we secured a flight from Baltimore to Houston to Albuquerque.

Thursday, July 11th

Thursday was another really long day of travelling, made even better by the fact that I lost my wallet somewhere in the Houston airport.

But we made it home. I really, really missed my dog and my kitties. What I didn't miss so much was work. The very next morning...


Sarah

with lots of credit to ELIZABETH RECORD for helping me remember

West Virginia, a poem

I recently visited West Virginia and eventually I will post a blog about the trip. However, I'm feeling extremely lazy right now so that will have to wait.

In the meantime, I will post this poem I wrote while in West Virginia. Please note that poetry is not something I'm good at, do often, nor really enjoy. I was just in a rhyming mood, that's all. It's not that great but I still want to share it with whoever wants to read it.

All right!



From New Mexico, born and raised
To move elsewhere you must be crazed!
Why else would you move worlds away
Where there's no green chili and it rains all day?
West Virginia, green and lush
When it rains the rivers rush
Biscuit World in Charlie West
Dairy Winkle is the best
Churches poaching without shame
For more denominations you can name.
Walleyes nibbling Emmy's feet
Bugs just love the humid heat
David fishing with borrowed poles
The land is full of half-mined coal
Lightning bugs sparkle in the dark
Feed the ducks at Daniel Boone Park.
Border Collies race up the holler
Get beer and hotdogs for a dollar!
The buildings are old, but the land is older.
It holds the bones of Civil War soldiers
Musicians stomp their feet and saw their fiddles
People have few teeth but large middles!
Smokey the bear says "Fire Danger is low"
There are clever license plates everywhere you go.
Cheer and throw toast for West Virginia Power
Go white water rafting for hours and hours!
All too soon, it's time to go
back to dry, fire-prone New Mexico.
I'll miss my mom, Leo and the big rivers state-wide
But I'll also miss the strong West Virginia pride!


By the way, if you're planning on flying through the Houston Airport, please look for my wallet?

Sarah

What Did You Say?

I'm going to tell you an embarrassing secret. Well, it's not SO secret. Like, lots of strangers have been learning this secret firsthand for the past ten days or so. Well, okay, it's not really a secret. But it DOES embarrass me. Ready?

I have, um, how shall I say? "Spotty" hearing. I don't mean that I'm deaf, no, not at all. I can hear quiet sounds just fine! And I'm not talking about selective hearing; everybody has that. What I mean is, when people speak, I often have trouble understanding exactly what they say. I either hear a bunch of unintelligible sounds or I hear them say something different entirely. This is not a new problem! I've had it for as long as I can remember. It happens a lot in everyday conversations but when it comes to song lyrics, whispering, and especially people talking on the other end of a telephone call, I am really in trouble. Plus, all these things are compounded under stressful situations.

Don't know what I mean? For example, someone might tell me, "Please close the drawer" and I'll open the door. Until I was about sixteen, I honestly and truly believed the Von Trapp father from "Sound of Music" was, indeed, named Gaeogg. It never even occurred to me that their European accents would make the name "Georg" sound like that.

When I was younger, I, like so many, watched the 1970's musical "Grease" and sang along with the catchy classic songs like "Summer Nights" and "You're The One That I Want". It wasn't til my mom laughed at me when she heard me singing "Greased Lightnin" and corrected me that I realized I was singing the lyrics completely incorrectly. For the record, the correct lyrics are:

"Go, Greased Lightnin', you're burnin' up the quarter mile!
Greased Lighnin', Go Greased Lightnin'!" along with choreography of the Grease cast moving their arms horizontally across and then up and down, I guess signifying watching the car race across the screen or whatever.

I know that now. However, at the time, I thought they were singing:

"Go, Greased Lightnin', you're burnin' up the 409!
Greased Lightnin', Go Greased Lightnin'"!  and I thought the hand movements signified them using the kitchen cleanser to wipe the greasy mess away!

Shut up.

Here is a link to a video of the song:

http://youtu.be/wK63eUyk-iM

Watch the video and during that part, can't you imagine the cast of Grease was using 409 to wipe up various greasy kitchen surfaces?

This problem of mine has really come to light recently because last Monday, I started a new job. As I stated in a previous blog, I've been working in the ACE Greenhouse but our greenhouse season is now over and I was out of a job! So, I started working the Rental counter inside the store. I've worked in and around the ACE store for a very long time, but only doing things like greenhouse, making bin tag labels, checking inventory, ordering, mowing the back lot, etc. Never have I worked at the counter! You would think that working the cash register inside the store wouldn't be that different from doing it in the greenhouse, but you would be wrong.

Not only is the cash register much more complex, but I also had to learn to run credit and debit cards, endorse checks, do returns, answer phones, transfer calls and.... do rental forms!

Rental forms are competed by taking the renter's information like name/name of business, phone number, equipment name and information, etc. These make me really nervous because so far I'm not good at them at all and I don't completely understand how to do them correctly.

Anyway, this afternoon, a man came in to rent some equipment. My coworker, Rich, has been helping me learn to fill out the forms and  he knew the man and had me work on the form as they chatted nearby. For whatever reason, no matter how many times the man told me his business's name, I couldn't quite catch it. I felt awkward after asking him to repeat it several times so I filled out the form with what I had heard.

After a minute, the customer leaned over to scan what I had written. I knew it was bad when he did a double take and pulled the form towards him.
"Girl!" he exclaimed. "It is ANDREW's Plumbing, not ANGIE's!!" Then he began to laugh and snort and so did Rich.
"Oh, my god," I said, hanging my head, ashamed.
"It's okay," he chuckled. "Just, please change it."

Towards the end of my day, a man came up to the counter with his merchandise. He took in my frazzled appearance and generally stressed-out demeanor. He smiled kindly. "You new?"
"Fine, thanks," I smiled back.
He raised his voice slightly and enunciated. "YOU NEW HERE?"
I turned pink. "Yeah. Very."
"Thought so."

And I am new. And I think I will get better and better. And as embarrassing as these things are when they happen, they do make good stories later...


Sarah

Greenhouse Happenings

So this morning, Record's ACE Hardware got in our last load of plants for this year. At the risk of sounding like a sales pitch, we got in a ton of different colored petunias and other $2.59 six pack annuals, some more of the $4.99 quart geraniums that have been in heavy demand (along with several more of the huge $19.99 geraniums), a bunch of hanging baskets ($17.99 and $29.99!), a few more vegetable six packs and a few single tomato plants. We also have some rose bushes (now only $14.99!) and quite a few perennials left, along with some trees and shrubs.

Re-reading that now I realized that I can't even pretend that that wasn't a sales pitch. Ah well.... hey, if you're in the area we're open til 5:15pm or so Monday-Saturday!

For the past 4 or 5 greenhouse seasons I have spent quite a bit of time out in the greenhouse. The season generally lasts from early/mid-April to early June. While that doesn't sound like a lot of time, we move an impressive amount of plants during those few weeks!

I'm not 100% sure why, but this year out in the greenhouse has been, by far, my best yet. Polite small talk has come easier, I know more about the plants, and I no longer panic at the thought of handling the money. I guess it just comes from years of experience and also that we have an awesome, functional cash register out there. For my first few years (and years and years before I was out there!) we didn't have any register and when people wanted to check out, we had to write down on pieces of scrap paper all the prices, add them up with a calculator, then reference the "tax sheet" to see how much tax was, then add it to the total. Then take the money. Yeah, it doesn't sound hard, but when you're out there and people are in a hurry and you hate math anyway like I do, it just sucks.

Oh, and you didn't hear it from me, but this year my dad and uncle really took control of prices in the greenhouse, and that has made a tremendous difference! In past years, people who shall remain nameless liked to price almost everything differently and didn't like to make price stickers so it was just a huge confusing mess! This year has been soooooooo much simpler!

Anyway I was thinking today about the greenhouse and all sorts of things that happened and people I've met and I decided to compile a list to share with you! I haven't done a blog in a while and I thought it's time I made a new one.

• You may or may not be familiar with her, but there is a black cat who lives in the rental shop. Her name is Lucky, named, I believe, both for the irony factor and for the fact that she is, indeed, lucky! She is the sweetest cat and everyone who works at ACE --and many people who don't-- adore her. She had a few litters of kittens before we had her fixed and two of them live up at my dad's- Betty and Bob. She wears a spiked leather collar with her tags on it. Anyway, sometimes she deigns to visit us out in the greenhouse- it's a nice, warm place to sleep and keep an eye on things. Although she is completely black and the greenhouse is sunny and full of bright flowers, she still manages somehow to blend in nicely and sometimes people never even see her. But when they do, I've noticed a pattern: Women dragging their husbands/boyfriends/sons in the greenhouse with them will notice her and give her a pat on the head- "Hi, kitty!"-and continue browsing. The husbands/boyfriends/sons, however, will see her and totally zone in: KITTY! For the rest of the time they're in the greenhouse, they focus on nothing else. They talk to her and pet her and wiggle their fingers or bits of string so she chases them. It's kind of adorable.
  
• There is also a pattern I've noticed, not just in the greenhouse but everywhere I go, of how people react to my appearance. When it comes to my colorful hair, young children point and tell their parents, "Look at her hair! It's pink!" and the parents shush them and take them away. Old men like to tell me, "Young lady, there seems to be something wrong with your hair!" and chuckle at their wit. Most people in the middle seem to have no reaction whatsoever. When it comes to the safety pin I've had in my ear for years and years, most of the reactions come from middle aged women, whose mouths go agape in fascinated horror.
  
• In all my years out in the greenhouse, I have carried countless boxes of flowers and shrubs and trees out to people's cars and I have received exactly one tip: three boxes of cereal! It was about three years ago and when I helped a lady to her car with her flowers she told me that she had bought these boxes of cereal but they had way too much sugar, so, would I like them? Sure! I took them home and my dad and I ate them.
  
• Last week my dad carried some trees out to a woman's car and she tipped him two dollars. He gave them to me to buy hotdogs for Otis!
  
• Last year I had an older lady came through and bought a few six packs of flowers. While I was checking her out on the cash register, she was telling me how that was the easy part- now she had to go plant them! I smiled. I hear that a lot. She frowned and seemed to debate with herself for a few seconds and finally said tentatively, "You wouldn't be interested in planting them for me, would you?" I chuckled. Thought she was joking. "Seriously," she told me, "I'll give you all the iced tea you can drink!" Unfortunately, I thanked her but turned her down.
  
• I had a lady come through a few weeks ago and after she paid for her flowers, she asked me, "Don't I get dirt to go with my flowers?" I told her, of course, we sell lots of dirt, what kind would she like? She said, "Don't you just give it to me?" That was a first! I'm sorry, but you have to pay for it!
  
•  A few weeks ago I had a very interesting fellow come in! He was wearing Hawaiian swim trunks, dirty sneakers and a sleeveless jean vest with only the top two or three buttons buttoned, exposing his large belly. In the crook of his arm he held two small bags of popcorn that he was eating out of, alternately, one kernel at a time. He came in the greenhouse and told me, "I'm not gonna buy anything, I just wanted to come look. Is that old lady here?" He leaned in close and confided, "She hates me!"
  I smiled and told him that, yes, Grandma was around here somewhere. Sure enough, she came in shortly and he greeted her enthusiastically. "Are we gonna fight today?" he asked her eagerly.
  I could tell she was a little taken aback but she remained professional. "I should hope not," she told him crisply. "Is there anything we can help you find?"
  "Nahhh," he told her, "I'm leavin'. See ya!" And he went over to a display of lawn chairs near the entrance of the store and sat in one while he finished his popcorn.
  
• Every so often we get KMart and Walmart threats from people- "At that price I'd rather go to KMart!" or "Walmart's flowers are so much nicer than yours!" It bugs the crap out of my grandma but I really don't care that much. You should buy the flowers you want at the place you want to!
  
• As you might imagine, just like any other place of business, we have regulars and this year I've gotten to know a few of them pretty well! There is an older lady that comes in pretty often with her brother and they are an excellent example of the "Siblings grow older but they never grow up!" theory. She buys the flowers and he buys the dirt and both have grumped to me about the other when the other is busy looking for flowers or dirt: "How he can spend half an hour looking at dirt I'll never know!" and "Why she thinks she needs more flowers is beyond me!"
  
• This same brother and sister pair have engaged in many interesting conversations with me. The brother has a very unique take on the scent of flowers! While most people step inside the greenhouse and take a deep breath of the fresh, humid air and sigh contentedly, he steps inside and frowns: "The smell in here reminds me of a funeral!" And every time his sister comes in she asks me: "Are you married?" I tell her "No, Ma'am," and she says, "Good! Never get married! I never did and I don't regret it! I have my hands full taking care of him!" with a nod towards her brother.
  
• Today I had an older fellow in the greenhouse, probably 65 or so, who was wearing an Eric Clapton concert T-shirt. He asked a question or two about the plants, then browsed a bit. Finally I couldn't hold it back anymore: "I love your shirt!" He looked down and smiled. "Awesome concert! I'd love to go to another but he's always touring in Europe! I did go to a ZZ Top concert not too long ago..."
  "I've seen ZZ Top in concert before!" I told him. "It was a great show!"
  "Hell yeah!" he laughed. "Sometime this year I want to see George Strait, Led Zeppelin, or, oh shit, what's their name?" he snapped his fingers. "They sing 'Freebird'..."
  "Lynyrd Skynyrd!" I laughed.
  "Right! Man, they had a concert on TV not too long ago--"
  "You know, my TV doesn't work!" Grandma cut in. "It's always unplugged....."
  That was the end of that conversation, but it's cool to see how much you can have in common with someone three times your age!

As I said at the beginning, today was the last load and I'm pretty happy about that! I love the greenhouse but it's sort of this stressful blur and it's cool to have over with. After greenhouse season this year I'm gonna try some cashiering inside the store. Summer is always crazy busy and they always need extra help! However, I will be taking a break in July- Emmy, David and I are headed to.... WEST VIRGINIA! Can't wait!!


Sarah

A Saunter Through a Sewage Plant

So today my Environmental Science class went on a little field trip to our local Wastewater Management Plant in Trinidad, Colorado. It's not a huge class anyway, plus several students were absent so we went in an over-sized van driven by the teacher, with one guy trailing behind in his own car.

As soon as I got out of my History class, I headed towards the Davis Building where we were to meet and depart. I was the first one there and I felt sort of awkward so I alternated between fiddling with my notebook and pen and pretending to text on my phone until others arrived. When the van pulled up, those of us waiting were able to board and wait for the latecomers. For a few minutes, a few people gradually trickled in and we made small talk. I noticed that like so many other school-owned vehicles I've been in, this van had a worn-out look to it in addition to a strange smell and inexplicable holes in the seats and ceiling, like someone had been taken over by a raging case of cabin fever and had attempted to claw their way out.

Suddenly, there was a loud commotion and lots of shuffling. A large group of latecomers had arrived together, all athletic teammates, and as they were about to climb in, they made the discovery that the "shotgun" position of the van was vacant. Through a lot of pushing and shoving and swearing, a lone victor emerged and the rest, grumbling mutinously, squeezed in the back.

Soon after, we slid the van's side doors shut and departed. It was not a long drive but with eleven people in the vehicle it quickly got hot and stuffy and claustrophobic. We did our best to open the van's windows and turn up the air but it didn't help much.

"Fuuuuckkkkk...." one of the guys in the back whined. "It's so hot back here!"
The "shotgun battle" victor twisted around in his seat to look at us. "It's really nice up here!" he told us. He was answered with a chorus of "You bitch!!" from his friends.

None of us were exactly sure where we were headed, including the teacher, so we had to make one or two U-Turns and we got a big kick out of the facial expressions and arm gestures made by the guy in his own car following us.

We did make it however. Stepping out of the van, we were greeted by a huge whiff of, well, wastewater. Ugh. It was apparent that the plant was expansive, with many small buildings popping up here and there and lots of concrete tunnels and ditches and ponds. We headed toward one of the larger buildings, passing several of the ditches flowing with wastewater, and some little man-made geysers gushing the water up a little way into the air. I don't want to gross you out, but if you've seen Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, think about the chocolate river/waterfall and that's almost exactly what this wastewater looked like.

We were ushered into the building and we were relieved to find that it smelled strongly of Lysol, a welcome change. We all had to sign forms (the guy in charge explained by briefly stating, "It means if you fall in, you're on your own," and giving a pleasant smile) and then we were taken through the building where they showed us their computers and labs. Then we headed back outside and we were taken around the property.

The first building they led us to was basically a big drain where they catch a lot of the solids. I was at the back of the group with my usual, patient lab partner (I have yet to complete a lab without spilling something or breaking a glass tube) and it was a very strange sight: the students ahead of us casually entered the building but almost immediately ran right back out, most with their shirts pulled up over their faces, gagging and retching. The scent reached me just as one of the big, tough-looking athletes brushed past me looking nauseated and muttering, "Aw, damn!"

It was, without a doubt, the worst thing I've ever smelled. Honestly, I wouldn't even have considered I'd be very bothered by the smell of sewage- I've lived my whole life with dogs and cats and litter boxes and horses and donkeys and manure and I'd have thought it wouldn't bother me much. But, oh, that smell was so intense and disgusting that I also started to gag and had to run for it as well. Along with the guy leading the tour who worked there, only our teacher and one or two students could stay for more than a few seconds.

The tour continued around the property, with the smell increasing and decreasing depending on where we were and which way the wind was blowing.

Towards the end of the tour, we were outside looking at one of the cement structures on the property to move the wastewater- it was basically two swimming pool-sized cement structures side by side with a three-feet walk way between them.

My lab partner motioned to my notebook and pen that I had with me: "Write down in your notes that this place smells like shit," he told me. But I wasn't really listening. I was busy staring at that tiny, handrail-less walkway between the two swimming pools of excrement.

"You could not pay me to walk across that," I mumbled. He looked where I was looking and laughed. "Not during a strong breeze," he agreed.

I'm not a smoker, but I actually found a lot of relief when one of the students had a cigarette when we were leaving- that smoke smell was a nice change after the aroma of the plant.

To be honest, most of our conversation on the way back to school was about that wretched smell, but we all pleasantly agreed that none of us had been on a field trip for a long time and it was kind of nice.

I know most of this blog has been complaining, but it really was kind of cool to look around there, since that's what we've been studying lately. Plus, the labs were cool and we learned some interesting facts! Like, the human body can get used to anything! Even the smell of sewage.

Sarah