In the midst of a sunless winter day, the bleak season was brightened with the arrival of a seed and plant catalog; its colorful pages glowing with wordless promises of summer sun, rich harvests of fruits and vegetables as well as lush rainbows of brilliant flowers that can dazzle the senses.
We have a back-of-the-garage garden plot as well as a few containers dedicated to the essentials of what a home garden should contain. Each year we add soil sweetener as we till the area. Each year we measure distances for optimum spacing, string a trellis or two and hope for sunny days and just enough rain.
Our plans were never perfect because gardeners realize plants have a mind of their own. One year the broccoli withered. In another growing season, the zucchini plant stubbornly resisted all our attempts at a harvest. The mini-marbles of a couple of Brussels sprouts were disappointing and just last year our heirloom tomato plants grew tall but went on strike and stubbornly refused to produce fruit.
We should plant frugal, but the catalog on the desk is a siren’s song, luring us to a season of rich harvests. Can we shoehorn in a new tomato plant or a different kind of cucumber? Will those 6-foot sunflowers work in our front yard?
In the middle of winter, the prospects of summer make all things possible.
Bad drivers
In years past, I thought that abrupt changes in weather often brought out bad drivers, or perhaps good drivers driving badly. The pandemic years seemed to slow things down, but in today’s almost post-pandemic world, the rules of the road seemingly need not apply to all drivers.
Some examples.
You are driving some five miles over the speed limit on Western Avenue when a car behind you, going like a bat out of hell, rockets into the other lane and zooms past you.
Or maybe you are cruising along on Interstate 80 when you suddenly realize you are auditioning for the Indianapolis 500 race when your speed of about 75 mph forces you into the slow lane as the cars and semis whiz past.
Perhaps you are perplexed that there may not be such a thing as a stop sign, when you obey the signs on Blackhawk Avenue in Park Forest and watch drivers going the other way lightly tap the brake and then quickly pounce on the accelerator.
In a recent report by fellow scribbler Mike Nolan, we learned the village of Homewood is trying to instill better driving among residents with a Pace Car program in which drivers pledge to obey traffic laws and get to display a magnetic sign on their car to identify themselves.
The program encourages drivers to be aware of their driving habits but does not mean they can become vigilantes and make a citizens arrest of idiots on the road.
Election 2023
Word has it that two candidates for the Park Forest Elementary District 163 Board may have run into problems with their candidate petitions challenged by Kim Elmore-Perkins, who is also running for a seat.
The challenges, along with one filed by Elmore-Perkins against board member Judy Hawthorne are expected to be decided at a Wednesday hearing at the Cook County clerk’s office.
Both Smith-Bobo and Ferguson are alleged to have numerous errors on their petitions while Hawthorne was said to have erred on the length of the term of office.
For the first time in its history, the Park Forest Non-Partisan Committee’s candidate forum will be held via Zoom, at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 29. Candidate statements, in which they define themselves, can be found on the committee’s website at www.pfnpc.org. Residents with questions for candidates should submit them before the forums by emailing [email protected].
Jerry Shnay is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown