19 DEC 04: MOW, MOW, MOW
The last two weeks had me working an all-night shift - and that meant sleeping during the day. It's really not that bad in December, as sunlight comes through the bedroom window to warm me at midday. And if you close the door to the room with the telephone, it's like telemarketers don't even exist.
But one afternoon this past week was a bit different. I was awakened at about 2:15 p.m. by a familiar, yet surprising sound. One of my neighbors at the apartment complex likes to tinker with a 1970's-era Volkswagen Beetle But did he have to choose this time to actually attempt to drive it?
But no, it wasn't an old car making that noise outside. I got out of bed and peered out the window to confirm what it was -- a man pushing a lawnmower. A poem immediately jumped into my mind. But this mower was NOT pushed by a fat guy in a red suit, handing out gifts....
The sight of a man cutting the grass stunned me. I went to my atomic clock and verified it was still mid-December -- and I had not hibernated until late March.
Never to my knowledge had the landlord sent someone to mow the lawn in December -- and this visit came after a couple of below-freezing mornings, which left frost on the lawn. This was an apartment complex, not a country club golf course....
I peeked out the door to see if the lawnmower man actually was cutting any grass - and I couldn't tell much difference in the rows he mowed. Either the change was microscopic, or this man must have needed extra money from outdoor work to pay holiday bills.
(One thing his lawnmower DID was blow dead leaves around, when he trimmed grass around hedges. So maybe it was a subtle message for residents to get some exercise, by going outside and raking.)
A check on 4th Street later in the afternoon indicated a city work crew recently mowed grass around the Oglethorpe Bridge as well. This work usually is done by prison inmates -- but is punishing them worth the cost of burning all that gasoline in the engines?
Yet I can't recall ever seeing people cut the grass in Columbus this deep into December before. We DO have seasons here, unlike the year-round warmth of much of Florida. Maybe my landlord is taking the news stories about global warming more seriously than I thought.
Could grass-cutting like this partly explain why Columbus has made the federal government's "non-attainment list" for the Clean Air Act? Mayor Bob Poydasheff told WRBL Saturday night any pollution in Columbus is beyond the city's control -- well, unless enough people file lawsuits to shut down Continental Carbon.
Russell County also made the Environmental Protection Agency's non-attainment list. Of course, this could mean many things in Russell County - like having bad air, not finding missing money at the Middle School, not attempting to bring business to Seale....
But is there another overlooked reason for the clean air problem? Several people reported a big plume of smoke and ash from Fort Benning Saturday - another of the post's "controlled burns." You'd think soldiers in basic training could be forced to chop down all those trees, instead.
"Controlled burns" produce a smoky smell near Fort Benning at various times of the year. In fact, civil rights groups should be thankful prosecutors haven't burned any evidence in the Kenneth Walker case out there....
Now let's cut other things down to size on this last weekend of fall:
+ S.O.A. Watch received an award from an institute in Spain, for its efforts to influence international policy through protest. Apparently this institute scores based on headcounts, as opposed to actually changing anything.
+ Davis Broadcasting held its annual toy giveaway at the Civic Center. First St. Luke United Methodist Church did this, then "Shop with a Cop," and now Davis Broadcasting. It almost makes you wonder if some parents make the "toy circuit," the way some golfers go to tournament stops.
+ The American Red Cross office was visited by "Hooters girls," wrapping gifts for blood donors. I knew they served sweet treats in the canteen area, but this is getting ridiculous....
+ The Atlanta Falcons blew a fourth-quarter lead, then fought back to crush Carolina 34-31 in overtime. The game came down to a winning kick by Jay Feeley - or as I call ir now, a "Feeley Goal."
COMING MONDAY: We begin our year-end review of the Columbus area in 2004....
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