By Sue Murphy
The book Skunk and Badger, by Amy Timberlake, was written for children, Im guessing, but so many of the best books are. I fell in love with it immediately.
Badger is a pragmatist. He has his world set up just the way he wants it and spends his days doing important rock work.
I came across the book when I was doing some important rock work of my own. It wasnt scientific classification or anything as grand as all that, just a lot a lifting and toting.
One day, as I was watching Dave meander around my backyard, it struck me that my many paver stones were now outlining areas of what was supposed to be grass but now obviously wasnt.As the backyard trees grew, the yard became more and more shady until the grass just gave up. We were at the point where the pavers were simply framing a painting called Failure to Thrive. The scene had been bothering me for a while, but that day, in what can only be called a pique of unbridled optimism, I decided to do something about it. Id move them. Id move the pavers to a spot where they could perhaps help fix yard problem Number Two, the river that ran through the yard with every torrential rain.
I stood up immediately and unearthed the first stone. It wasnt anxious to budge, so I enlisted the help of a crowbar. The stone was heavier than I anticipated, too, so I carried it only a few feet to what I hoped would be the new ersatz riverbed. I stood back and admired my effort. One stone down, 166 to go.
The project took me over two weeks. I worked only a half hour at a time because it was (a) hot and (b) buggy. I went forth each day in my nasty yard shoes, carrying a bottle of water, a sweat towel and a giant can of bug repellent. The mosquitoes had a good laugh about my efforts and bit anyway, but I forged ahead.
Some stones needed a bit more leverage than one crowbars worth of heft, so I added a shovel to my arsenal. Some were so heavy that they had to be rolled rather than carried. It was a lot of work. I would end the day sweaty and a little bit sore, but in a strange way, exhilarated as well. I was making improvements. In a world where there are so many things over which I have no influence at all, I was making a positive change.
We humans are happier when we have a project. So says Jordan Peterson in his new book Beyond Order. (Such is the eclectic range of my reading life). Mr. Peterson says a lot of other things using words and references that are so weighty they make my head hurt, but the value of honest work proposition, I got. It spoke to the Badger in me.
The skunk in Ms. Timberlakes book is, as you probably guessed, a free spirit who disrupts Badgers life in every possible way. I wont spoil the story, but heres a teaser: Skunk has a chicken whistle.
The books lesson is clear: Badger work is good, but everyone needs a little Skunk time, too. Im sure Jordan Peterson will get around to that idea sooner or later. I still have several chapters left to go.
My rocks are now all in place. It is time to break out the chicken whistle. That shouldnt require nearly as much bug spray.
Read more here:
Murphy's Law: Between A Rock And A Hardy-Har-Har Place - Over the Mountain Journal