Sunday, June 04, 2006

Inches Away From Flashback

This afternoon I was walking around the corner to the grocery store at the corner of LaGuardia and Bleecker. In between the store and the street there is a community garden that is maybe thirty feet by one hundred feet.

Who knows how many times I have passed this garden in the eight years I have lived in the neighborhood? Due to the nine foot chainlink fence that surrounds the garden, it is kind of visual "off-limits" area. I guess I have noticed the occaisional person tending the flowers inside the high-security fence, but it never really registered with my brain that it was an actual garden. My only analogy for my mental block is that you can be aware that there is a cobbler on your street...but if you never need your shoes repaired that fact is going to fade into the background of your consciousness.

Today as I was about to enter the grocery store there was an announcement posted on a pole informing the public that today there was a "celebration" for the 25th anniversary of the garden. That the garden had been around that long must have shocked my consciousness...and considering the fact that I didn't have any other commitments I decided to investigate this celebration.

I walked around the fence of the garden to find the gate that was allowing the general public to enter. As I walked through the gate I was instantly mesmerized by the beauty of the plants and flowers. I was also instantly shocked that five seconds earlier and five feet from where I was currently standing I was unaware of the beauty that delightfully assaulted my eyes. This gorgeous oasis had been shielded from me by an industrial grade fence.

As I was walked amongst the flowers I was transported back many years to the countless hours I had spent with my mom amidst the flower beds surrounding our house and in the greenhouses of Lincoln which we would frequent in the spring and summer.

Because of this exposure I probably knew more plant and flower names than all of my fourth grade classmates combined. Suprisingly this knowlege did not translate to instant respect on the playground....rarely did any of my peers take me aside to ask me the proper sunlight and hydration needs of the Dusty Miller.

As with most things I am exposed to in my life I developed strong opinions about the the plant kingdom. To this day my mom still brings up my rabid hatred of Hollyhocks. Some things never change and it was refreshing to be exposed to such beauty that had escaped my field of consciousness.