Muse Day - Watermelon and Worms

Nothing in the cry

of Cicadas suggests they

are about to die

-Basho

Understanding the value of worms

My father has always been a hustler

He's done some interesting things to make a quick buck

Once he bought a truckload of watermelons really cheap and

made us sell them on the side of the main road leading into our subdivision

I was a teenage girl - I nearly died from heat exhaustion and embarrassment

After a few hours, people started bringing the watermelons back

demanding refunds

they were all rotten

My favorite hustle was worm farming

Grow worms in something that looks like a shallow coffin to a child

split in half after they outgrow the coffin

repeat until you are rich

The funny thing about worm farms is that

when it rains they try to escape

The remedy for this is to shine flood lights on the coffins during the storm

I have no idea why this works - stupid worms

Ironically, my father never seemed to be around when it rained

Time after time my mother

cussing and running in her heavy house coat

hurried to shine bright lights on the worms

Until one day she became fed-up

the worms escaped into the dirt

Twenty-five years later the soil on Owen is rich

My roommate grew the best watermelon I've ever tasted there

because my father has always been a hustler

Be sure to visit Sweet Home and Garden Chicago where Carolyn Gail is hosting Garden Bloggers Muse Day