Evening star., 1951-05-15
To the Editor Of The stor:

A LII I wanted was to rent garden
~ space. So invested 5000 In classi-
fed lineage in The Star. What got
for my money was a rich, new knowl-
edge of the tug Of the soil at the human
heart, and a warm reminder. of the
fraternal tie that binds the Order Of
the Green Thumb.
The ad itself was on the saucy order,
as may be seen In the accompanying
picture.
'sThat," I advised my wife categori-
cally. "is a sheer masterpiece. It insults
people with small kids, and they won't
call. It makes me out the chilly. brood
ing type, and that eliminates the mob
that falls in love with seed catalogs
every year. We won't hear from any one
except few practical souls within
shooting distance from right here"
I was a fool.
Forty-seven persons called, not count
ing three or four who called two or
three times-and not counting one fell
low who called seven times. No call was
in the strictly nuisance class. The great
majority Of them were from people who
read into my flippant language an ex-
preston Of the yearning in their own
hearts-the yearning to make some
thing grow in the earth.
For five evenings. was anchored to
my telephone. Strangers poured out
their family troubles. their illnesses and
mortgage problems. Drunks with weird
real estate propositions cussed me out
for not accepting them. A displaced
person pricked my conscience by saying
that he who loves the soil must have
one time walked with God.
There were finishing school accents
and garbled English: Dixie drawls and
the hard-hit "r" of the Northwest.
There were bids to move out to the
country and name my own rent; invita-
tions just to "come see us and tell us
what's wrong with our garden; in
vitations to commute me back and
forth to remote spots miles beyond
the District boundaries.
There was the soft-voiced woman
who told me at once that the little
plot she had wouldn't suit me, she knew
but she wanted to talk to me any,
way. "For." she said, IT do love to dig
in the earth, but now T must do it from
a chair" She sounded very frail.
There was the young fellow whose
wife had been suddenly sentenced to
prolonged bed-rest-and their first baby
was few months old. I'VE got this
place." he said, land we were going to
have a garden, you see. Our first gar
demand now she's Ill. But I'm grow
ing some tomato plants in the base
ment anyway. and something green is
coming up. Do you think perhaps it's
the tomatoes?"
He was afraid his place was well out
OF my way. he said. but perhaps. if I
couldn't find anything else, it might suit
me. And he hoped it would, for he
didn't know much about gardens him
self.
Almost nothing" he said. "But
wouldn't it be wonderful to have some
thing growing to show her by fall?"
There was the lass with the sort Of
voice that bounced like lid on bubbling
laughter underneath-enchant typ
ical OF certain social set. It was about
her father-in-law she was calling, really.
He had marvellous yard" but he
wasn't up to working it himself, and he
was-well-a little crochety and couldn't
stand hired help messing with it.
But II you'd take it over" and the
gay.s sbubbly voice flattered me silly and
promoted me at least to the gentleman
Jockey class, SO to speak. You'd love
father, :" she said. Hes very lovable-
and II he could only meet you first =
might have learned to love father
at that.
There was the chap with "a whale
of deal for me-" and he was among
those who had obviously communed at
some length with labeled spirits.
"Out of the Army after 80 wears
that's me-" he said. Got myself %
blankety-blank acres and a blankety-
blank swell new station wagon. Going
to farm this blankety blank real estate.
too. Had 1t on my mind 80 years-3O
long years. Only need guy who
knows what it's all about. Go you
f1fty-fifty. and I pay for everything.
Haul you out and back any time-day
or night"
had mental picture of self and ex-
Army chum careening madly toward his
22 acres in his brand-new station
wagon. I regretfully begged off. He
called me blankety blank, and hung
UP in pet.
I marveled that the tug Of the soil
could be SO evident among so many peo-
pie who patiently had little or no expe-
rience with the earth-not even in child
hood. And I marveled, too, how the
tug Of the soil survives the gathering
distraction of the industrial age-and a
diet of vegetables that are seemingly
planted and grown in the deep-freeze
at the corner market
It never daWned on any of those
priceless, delightful and sometimes pa
thetic people that they might be vast
ing time for a guy who had advertised
a straight-out business proposition. set
ting forth exactly what he wanted in
$6.08-worth of agate type
And it never dawned on me to say
so either-or suggest it. For little mo-
ment, was high priest and confessor
in the Mystic Order of the Green Thumb.
] reveled in it-and ! was humbled.
never found my garden space. Every
offering was outside my geographic
limits. But no one ever mentioned rent,