Acquaintances, friends, and close friends
| By Paul Kusuda Since I have solitary time when mowing our lawn, I occasionally have random thoughts. Even though I now use a self-propelled, gasoline-powered lawn mower, the physical energy required becomes increasingly burdensome each year. At one time, I used a reel-type push mower; that was when I was much, much younger. Soon, I bought a gas-powered, push lawn mower. Man! That certainly made the work easier, and I enjoyed smelling the newly-cut grass. I pretty much rushed through the chore and felt pretty good afterwards when I saw the results. Of course, there were dandelions and other weeds to deal with. My wife Atsuko and I used diggers to get the dandelions out, roots and all. We were’t always successful, but that was okay. There was always next spring and fall. Our neighbors on both sides have lawns that always seem lush. They fertilize their lawns regularly. I spread the stuff once a year, twice when I felt a bit ambitious. I resisted, mainly because I felt that going through that extra work would mean I’d have to mow the lawn more often. So naturally, our lawn was not as green or lush as our neighbors’; however, I had to mow less frequently. As I grew older, I didn’t get wiser, but I did take my son’s advice and got a self-propelled, gasoline- powered mower. It stinks up the atmosphere whereas battery-powered or electric mowers do not. But, it’s a heck of a lot easier on me. Using the lawn mower gets harder and harder each year, but it starts with just one or two pulls of the cord and drags me along. Fortunately, I can control the speed of the monster that mows the lawn about once a week, more frequently during May and early June. A couple of years ago, we got a lawn service company to spread fertilizer and weed-killer every so often. That improved the lawn and simultaneously led to more mowing. What a deal for a person whose aim is to take life easy! A fellow who was picking up his girlfriend at the apartment across the street from us asked me, “Which is worse — mowing or shoveling snow?” We’ve spoken before when he’s seen me shoveling snow off our driveway — another necessary chore. So, I said, “It’s the American Dream. Own your own mortgage.” His reply was, “I follow the American way and let the grass grow into prairie land.” He can do that because he has land north of Madison but lives in an apartment in the city. We’re like shouting-across-the-street acquaintances, who see each other only occasionally. That got me thinking a little, since lawn-mowing is not work that requires much brain exertion. I have a lot of acquaintances and friends, but I have only three close friends. Ain’t that a kick in the head! Only three. My differentiation among the people I know fall into three categories. Acquaintances are those with whom I’ ve come into contact with from time to time but whose names I either don’t know or don’t remember. Friends are those I’ve known usually for a long time, I like them, enjoy their company and look forward to talking with them about all kinds of things. Close friends are those I’ve come to trust with everything I have. I’d have no trouble lending them our car, giving them our key to the house, or even making decisions (if needed) as to whether I should or should not be resuscitated if I were in a moribund state. The reason why I have only three persons I now consider close friends is that over time, we lose touch with each other. A person I consider a close friend may move and I’m no longer in any kind of contact. A couple have died on me. So, the number tends to diminish rather than to enlarge. Close friends are not like relatives; they’re people I choose. However, in some ways, they’re like favorite brothers or sisters. So, lawn mowing has its positive attributes even though it’s not truly a sought-after activity for me. Next month, I’ll write about each of the three people I consider my close friends. |
