Mark’s Musings – July 19, 2017
Mark Fortune
Have you stopped to smell the roses lately? Well, I actually mean the flowers. More specifically, I am referring to the gorgeous flowers that adorn Main Street and much of the downtown Coshocton area. They are beautiful and provide a lovely fragrance as you walk along the sidewalk. Thanks to the folks working with the local Coshocton is Blooming for spending the many, many hours to ensure that our community is filled with the natural beauty of flowers. . It is appreciated by many!
Just don’t ask me what variety or type of flower they are. . . I wouldn’t know a daylily from a daffodil to a petunia to a rhododendron. I know the words. Granted, I know some of these – like a rose or tulip. And this brings back memories of a different sort. You remember those forlorn looking kids that used to go door to door selling seeds? Yep, that was me. And I sold a lot. I think the company was called American Seeds. You can’t get much more patriotic sounding than that.
It took me several years to recognize the how and why of that. First, people probably felt sorry for me. Picture a scrawny pre-teen kid riding a bicycle that had seen better days attired in shoddy shorts, a torn jacket and shirt. (Don’t blame my parents – that was all part of the plan you know) Then, they take a look at my sad little acne ridden face with a buck tooth smile and who couldn’t resist buying a couple packets of seeds?
Second, I was most successful in my Grandma Doughty’s neck of the woods. That would be Spring Street and the neighborhood around that area. Sold a lot of seeds because I imagine Grandma told many of her friends and neighbors that I would be “calling”. Yep, always thought it was just my youthful charm. Not so fast there Marko.
We are what we are because of our family and friends and community. Helping guide our youth on the right path is part of the responsibility that, beyond family and friends, we as a community bear in my opinion. These experiences, and the kindness of, in most cases, strangers, helped give me confidence. And at the end of the day, that’s something that we should all be striving to give our youth. Having confidence in their abilities and the knowledge that they can overcome difficult circumstances is a key to life.
Somehow, the Tribe is still in first despite having lost every game since coming off the All Star break. Perhaps a trip to the land of the Giants will see some different results. The Cubs are still in second with the Pirates and Reds next to last and last, respectively in the National League Central division. Sooner or later we will not be able to say, “There’s a lot of season left”.
As a matter of fact, we are now more than halfway through the year of 2017 and more than halfway through July. Where does summer go? I am sure the kids wonder about this phenomenon themselves.
Category: Mark's Musings, Opinion
