Going the posted speed limit saves fuel.  I’ve also found that I am not as stressed while driving and that I don’t feel as temperamental toward other drivers.  However, it does mean I have to be much more cognizant of other drivers so I don’t annoy them.

So, as I travel on I-65 North in the slow lane, 465 West starts to merge.  Lots of cars are merging so I need to move to the middle lane.  I flip on my turn signal and increase my speed.  A Corvette zips by, but there’s room between the Vette and the pickup truck behind it.  I change to that lane.  The pickup truck, deciding I shouldn’t be in the middle lane (though the fast lane is still open), tailgates me, then whips around me and cuts me off, making gestures at me the whole way.

Little do the two in the truck know that one of the vehicles merging is a police car.  The officer pulls next to them and gestures at them, pointing his finger.  The truck’s passenger makes some attempt to explain.  The officer motions to the road’s shoulder and flips on his lights.

Yes folks, the jerks who cut me off and made me slam on my brakes were pulled over by a police officer.  There’s nothing like instant gratification, is there?

Ugh.

As the Easter season is more than just one day, the bible readings have centered around the acts of the apostles directly following Jesus’ death. Even if you aren’t Christian, the Acts are a fascinating look into the early formations of the church. This was history being made, history that has shaped billions of lives. One of the interesting parts of the readings was the difficulties that early Christians had in coming to agreement on some of the finer points.

Of course, those “finer points” have led to much splintering of the faith. It is understandable how different cultures and even different facets of the same culture can feel the need for different interpretations.

At church Sunday, the priest joyfully mentioned the following article. I was happy for many reasons. I have always felt that humans have worked harder at arguing our differences than at appreciating our common goals and beliefs. Second, the catholic Church was one of the eleven churches: so often, catholics are reviled as being resistant to change. Third, I was hearing this information from a Midwestern priest- by no means is the Midwest known as a hotbed of advanced thinking.

So to the eleven churches who saw our common beliefs and believed in unity: thanks.

I’ve extolled the numerous wonderful attributes of my parents before, and this is just one more opportunity to do so.

My dad and I have always gardened together.  I used to love to put on my scrungy clothes and dig in the dirt with him.  I was fascinated by earthworms and we would try to see who could find the biggest one.

Dad imbued in me a strong desire to grow my own fruit and vegetables.  I built by own raised bed vegetable garden at my first house; it was even big enough for a couple of rows of corn.  When I was married and moved into a different house, I bought big pots and had a container garden.  I started shopping for organic gardening items and trying to expand my produce selections.

Then I moved to Indianapolis.  My work schedule was crazy; my other hobbies took precedence.  My big containers weren’t draining well and the garden didn’t flourish.  The next year proved to be even more difficult.  My number of plants indoors and out shrank dramatically, reflecting the level of craziness in my life.  For the first time, I had no garden at all.  I neglectfully killed all but two cacti from my previously large collection of indoor plants.

Then, this past year, my mother-in-law thoughtfully gave me three amaryllis, one of my favorite indoor plants.  The flowers are usually everyone’s favorite; as pretty as they are, I like the dark green straps of leaves that flourish through the year.  As they bloomed on the mantle, I realized how much I missed having plants.

Dad always talks fruits and vegetables in the spring.  He shared his love of gardening with my maternal grandfather, the king of the garden.  Dad reminds me how much my paternal grandmother loved to look at seed catalogues in February.  He chats about pros and cons of certain berries; what new fruit tree should he buy?  I was bitten by the gardening bug, but amid my burgeoning responsibilities, I decided not to garden this year.

He knew me better.  During a discussion about various tomato types, he said “you can’t go without tomatoes.”  He took two of my vacant pots (I had about 20).  Without another word, I arrived home a few nights later to this sight (on the right).  He drove an hour to my house just to surprise me with these tomato plants (a yellow heirloom and a red cherry).

I decided that adding one pot with three or four herbs wouldn’t be much more trouble, right?  True.  But one brief trip to the store added up to filling most of my pots with vegetables and herbs.  I pulled out my water-saving drip line to water all of them with minimal effort; I potted them and used almost all of the compost in my 55 gallon compost bin, as well as several coconut bricks (peat alternative).  There’s an enormous pot of herbs- even planted spearmint just for Silo.  My new low-meat, high-vegetable diet will now include organic peppers, squashes, eggplant, and tomatoes.

Two weeks after the tomatoes arrived on my porch, I have a thriving mini-garden that will require minimal care and minimal cost (used only materials I already owned- no new pots or soil!).  One yellow pepper plant costs the same amount as one yellow pepper at the grocery.  I can’t wait for tomatoes, warm from the sun, with just a little salt for flavor.

Thanks, Dad.  I love you!

If you say self-awareness, then maybe you will struggle with why it doesn’t include other animals. When I read this article, I realized that arcane laws are keeping people from doing the right thing. No, he’s not a person, but he should be able to receive donations from private citizens, for crying out loud. I think they’re trying to change the wrong law- change the donation law, not the human law.

Why do we need to make animals into humans in order to be restpectful?