The Friday Spark: Lawn Mowers
Periodically on this blog, you will encounter a little gem I call “The Friday Spark.” I hope to make this a more regular feature in time. “The Friday Spark” is my way of saying, “Happy Friday!” It is a bundle of words, an idea, gifted to you for creativity and, perhaps sometimes, nostalgia. It may come in the form of a writing prompt. It may be a resonating quote with a bit of background. It may be a vignette of something that struck me, something I wanted to share with my readers to pass on a creative spark. Whatever the case, I hope you find “The Friday Spark” a fun glimmer to your daily (and weekly) grind. Here’s to Friday. Cheers!
SPARK: What’s the first memory that comes to mind when you hear the word “lawn mower?”
Photo courtesy of www.creativecommons.com and Don O’Brien.
I remember petty love notes to teenage boys. Really. Mom and Dad paid neighborhood kids to mow our big lawn. Boy-crazy little me, at a ripe age of, oh, 9 or 10, would fashion a “love note” on a notepad decorated with the “Best Western” logo. The note looked something like this:
Do you love me? Circle it.
Yes
No
I really did write, “Circle it.” One response, from the teenager who thought I was an innocent blast, circled “Yes.” Another teenager, always stoic and stone-faced serious, circled “No.”
Dad taught me how to mow the lawn when I was 13 or 14. I kissed those meaningless little love notes goodbye, slipped on a tank top that showed off my muscle (all those nights shooting hoops in the driveway paid off), tied a bandanna around my head, clipped a turquoise Walkman to my belt, and rocked out to Smashing Pumpkins. An hour-and-a-half later, I was $20 richer.
A friend of mine recalls the noise of the lawn mower on summer evenings. She shared a room with her sister, and at
Photo courtesy of www.creativecommons.com.
bedtime they lay in their beds, clad in pajamas, fiery and full of childhood energy. When they heard the rumble of the lawn mower come to life, they knew they had a solid half hour more to play in their room, unnoticed. The noise meant their parents were still outside, tending to the yard and blissfully assuming their kids were tucked in for the night. The girls played and played. But as soon as the lawn mower shut off, they bounded back to bed, pulled up the covers and closed their eyes. “Sleeping” sweetly, Mom and Dad thought, as they checked on the girls.
How about you? First memory that comes to mind when you hear the word “lawn mower.” Happy writing!
