Taking time to watch

Today was another interesting day. I went to my mother-in-laws house to do some work and was there for about half the day. First thing was that we (my wife and I) went over to my brother-in-laws house to get some wood so we could build Mom some flower boxes. That was interesting, as several of the boards were about 12 feet long and we were in the car. We managed to get them into the trunk and braced them well enough so that, driving slowly, I was able to get them the 200 or so yards to my Mom's house. Then, using my saw, of course, I measured and cut them to the size I felt was appropriate. (Yes, yes, I know, my wife was the driving force, but I still managed to make a couple of decisions on my own. Sheesh.)

We then took the pieces and nailed them together - not too bad. Not too bad. Then, I took some kind of framing aluminum and bend it so that I could screw it around the outside and make it into the hanging frame. Then my wife put some black plastic on the inside and stapled it. Of course, I decided to use my drill to make some drainage holes in the bottom of the boxes, and, wouldn't you know it, I was stupid enough to make my first attempt from the *inside* of the box. After I unwrapped the plastic from the drill, I sheepishly gave it back to my wife so she could re-staple the plastic. After that, the drilling went nicely, thank you very much.

The hanging of the boxes was interesting, too. My wife held the box from the bottom while I bent the aluminum so that I could screw it onto the frame of the front porch. Then, she helped me while I used tin snips to cut the aluminum into manageable lengths. Once that first box was done, she helped me cut the aluminum on the second box before she held it up for me to attach to the porch frame.

After that, it was a simple matter of putting in the soil, planting the flower and herbs (spearmint and peppermint, yum!) and watering them a bit. Not too bad a job, considering I was using minimum tools (not having my electric screwdriver really sucked!).

The other thing was when we were getting ready to leave. I was sitting in the car, door open, and was watching some of those big, red, Colorado ants on the curb/berm next to the car. If you have never watched ants, you really should take some time and just sit and watch them - it's fascinating! Anyway, as I was watching them, I noticed one ant who was carrying a stone. I figured that, in comparison, if I was carrying that much, I would have my car in my teeth. The funny part was that the ant kept sliding, falling and rolling down the side of the curb/berm. Yet, all that time of not having its balance, the ant totally refused to let go of that stone. It took it about two minutes to get about two feet from where it started and let go of the stone.

Now, when comes the time that I will think about giving up on something, I can recall the struggle that ant went through and think that if that ant can do it, I can do it. After all, I do think that I am a bit smarter than that ant, you know. (Just not as physically strong, comparatively speaking. Heh.)

Oh, something else I thought of:
I have always been fascinated by ants. They are working little devils. They don't bitch at each other. They don't screw one another over for a higher place in society. They don't "collect" friends to show how popular they are. They don't lord themselves over others just because they can. They don't screw one another over for a few extra bucks. Then again, they are ants, so most of that doesn't matter, right? But, look at what ants are doing. They are preparing for and taking care of one thing - children. That's right, their goal is to make sure that things are right for their children. Makes me wish that people, especially people in positions of power, had even one twentieth of that need. Won't happen, because all those things I said that ants don't do is exactly what people WILL do. Since ants don't do them, they have no need to justify their actions. People will do and say ANYTHING, and I do mean ANYTHING AT ALL, to justify their actions. And that is why many children, of people, continue to suffer.


That's it for now.