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Faulking Around - Oct 17, 2005 - Printable Version
- Two Lilies
by Russell Tharp
Once upon a time, in an exotic faraway land called "California," there were two rare lilies, known as as mariposa lilies. Both lilies were incredibly beautiful, and both lilies seemed to exude an intoxicating scent that made everyone who came near them fall instantly in love with them. In fact, the generic name of these mariposa lilies was Calo-chortus, from the Greek word kalo, which actually meant "beautiful, and chortus, meaning "grass". The first lily was named Jackie's Strength, after a popular song about a girl (by a girl...who went by the name of Tori Amos), that sounded like this:
A bouvier till her wedding day
Shots rang out
The police came
Mama layed me on the front lawn
And prayed for Jackie's strength
Feeling old by 21
Never thought my day would come
I pray for Jackie's strength
Make me laugh
Say you know what you want
You said we were the real thing
So I show you some more and I learn
What black magic can do
Make me laugh
Say you know you can turn
Me into the real thing
So I show you some more
And I learn
"Feeling old by 21"....it seemed to be the story of the first lily. This lily might have been the more beautiful of the two lilies, at least at first (although that depends on who you ask, because beauty, like love and passion, are highly subjective, and prone to much debate), but then, something happened. You see, by a freak quirk of nature, or in this case, a freak quirk of man's inhumanity to nature, Jackie was born in a landfill in a city called Irvine, in this exotic faraway land known as California. Now Jackie was exposed to the elements almost every day, landslides in the spring sent rocks as big as volkswagens tumbling down upon Jackie, nearly killing her, and the rains, which should have been refreshing and loving, instead seemed to come down on Jackie in floods, almost drowning her, not just once, but time after time.
After a few months, Jackie began to lose her luster, and although she was still beautiful (especially on the inside), her glow began to fade little by little. Jackie kept telling herself that that was just how life was, or that it was her fault because she was born in a landfill. In fact, she told herself that so many times that she actually began to believe it, and instead of ducking down when the rocks came crashing down, or hiding her petals under her leaves when the rains beat her on a regular basis, she actually leaned into the rain and wind, and stood up to rocks, daring them to do their worst....which they did.
But a lily, no matter how rare or beautiful, is no match for rocks as big as volkswagens, or rains that come down like floods. As I said earlier, Jackie began to lose her glow, and her petals slowly became frail and ragged looking. It didn't matter. Jackie fought the good fight, and held her head high, sometimes wishing secretly that somene would come along and rescue her from this not-too-wonderful-life. But she never cried out loud, or asked for help, and so, no one ever did rescue her. So Jackie's Strength did the only thing that she knew how to do....she continued to hold her head high, and braced herself agains the blows.
That is, she held her head high until one day, a boulder came crashing down on her with every ounce of it's anger, and Jackie was crushed. Everyone wept, and wished that there had been something that they could have done to save Jackie, but in their hearts, they knew that Jackie wouldn't have allowed them to save her, for she was too proud for that. After all, she never did cry out, she never did actually ask for help. That made them feel a bit better about neglecting Jackie, but it didn't matter.....Jackie's Strength was gone.
On the other side of the landfill, the other lily, who was named, appropriately enough, Lily, battled the elements as well. Rocks....yes, as big as volkswagens....came crashing down around her, and the same rain storms brought floods pouring into her life as well, often nearly drowning her. Unlike Jackie, Lily ducked when the boulders hit her, and hid her delicate petals when the rain beat down upon her. But still, Lily knew that she could never win against such cruelty as the elements subjected her to, and that she, just like Jackie, would fade and crumble by herself.
One day, a man was walking slowly by, looking at the remains of man's folly in the landfill, and shaking his head in despair, when he heard a soft voice crying out to him. It was the most incredible sound he had ever heard, a sound that to him seemed to rival even that of the Sirens of Titan, which incidentally was the title of a novel by a writer named Kurt Vonnegut, which began with this sentence: "Everyone now knows how to find the meaning of life within himself." The man turned to look in the direction from which the sound was coming from, and there, amongst the rubble, the rubbish, and the ruins, he spotted the most captivating thing he had ever laid eyes on. It was Lily, calling out to him, slightly worn and bent by the beatings that she had taken over the years, but still radiating beauty from within.
The man fell in love instantly, and knew that he had to save this delicate, rare flower. He nurtured Lily, fed her, watered her, and even build shields to protect her from the violent elements. And in time, Lily, unlike Jackie's Strength, came to believe that she deserved to be loved, to be nurtured, to have a life as beautiful as she was. Eventually, when the man thought that she was strong enough to survive the move, he replanted her in a gorgeous garden far away from the landfill, where everyone could stop by and marvel at her beauty and her inner glow.
And, if you ever happen to be in the faraway exotic land known as California, and you happen to happen upon a certain garden in a certain village, you'll see a certain man, now slightly worn and bent himself, leaning over something, still nurturing it, still loving it as much as the day he first laid eyes on it.
And if you happen to venture a bit closer, you'll see a marker that says "In loving memory of Jackie's Strength," commemorating the lily that died at the hands of the cruelty of the elements and the neglect of mankind.
But walk a little further, and look over the shoulder of the old man, and you'll see the most beautiful thing that you've ever laid eyes on. That's right, you too will get to experience the joy that the old man feels every single day of his life. Because someone cared enough to care, and loved enough to love, Lily still blooms to this very day.
The End.
Author's note: This article was inspired by a true story. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. Don't believe me? See for yourself.
"Rare lilies find home at landfill"
http://www.azcentral.com/home/garden/articles/0902lilies0902.html
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