This article is awesome! As a gardener, I appreciate the work you do and understand how therapeutic gardening is. As a human being, I envy the relationships you’ve developed in the garden. I hope you have that photo of you and Woody framed in your house somewhere, with a copy given to him. You’re doing important work there, Mark. Thank you for sharing it.
Wonderful article and I'm finding that the comments here are resonating with me: my gardening literally saved my life and my sanity over the last two years of the Scamdemic. I'm also smiling at your differentiation between envious and jealous. Not enough people on this Earth can do that. Thank you.
Thanks, I.P. I was very lucky to have this place to be, and unafraid people to be with during this massive Scam. I never forgot that others didn't have such an option.
The Mexicans’ toughness, resourcefulness and grip on reality sets them apart from fearful, conformist, “educated” but gullible American citizens...
You nailed it. My brother works in construction. He’s unjabbed and has never worn a mask. My best friend is a software developer. He’s triple jabbed but would not let me into his apartment for two years. On paper, my friend is much more intelligent and educated than my brother, but he lost touch with reality somehow.
The "smartest" are the worst. Maybe it's because they're so damned assured that they have everything figured out, and that their academic "authorities" are still honest and trustworthy. That their system, though flawed, can still be taken at face value.
There is a tight correlation between education and jab acceptance. The most educated had the highest uptake, *until* you get to the doctorate level.
"The regime utterly Body Snatches the middle and upper-middle that comprise the midwit journo-academic-bureaucracy-professional class it relies on as the backbone of its rule"
But it goes beyond education. The most clever, intelligent and discerning people bought in to it, people who could normally sniff out a con. A number of people I follow, from various disciplines, fell for it, and they are the worst. They can't see what's in front of their noses. 3 days ago one of them said "I'm vaccinated and I've had COVID 3 times". They refuse to see the most basic contradictions in such a statement.
We're way past the phase of potentialities (the vaccine might stop transmission; if you don't get vaccinated you might die). We're squarely in the realm of actualities—it's been over a year since vaccines were introduced and all my unvaccinated friends and I are fine; some got sick, but not anything more than cold like symptoms. Meanwhile, almost every vaccinated person I know had covid at least once.
indeed, i had it 3 weeks ago. i caught it from a double vaxxed and boosted friend who was sick and wanted to come over and use my sauna. i said of course and two days later woke up with fever, body aches and a fierce headache. took a home antigen test the second day which said i was positive. on the third day, i was fine.
then my boyfriend got it and for him it was 5 days. we both take IVM once a week but increased to therapeutic doses once we felt sick. we nebulized a 1% hydrogen peroxide solution which was amazing.
over all it wasn't worse than any flu i've ever had and in my case, it was actually milder, lasting only 2 days. hardly worth losing our jobs over, shredding the constitution, destroying the bill of rights or violating the nuremberg code.
everyone i know who has been vaccinated has gotten covid several times AFTER getting the jabs; that doesn't include the people who died- i know three
We constantly puzzle over why otherwise intelligent people fell for it. What exactly sets us apart?
I'm not a genius but I had an unconventional life growing up. This could simply be the difference...being unafraid to break with the mob.
I grew up in the country, 12 miles from town, never got to hang out with other kids. At school I was a band geek. That will build your character in a small town.
To keep my job (which was always remote) I had to keep my vaxx opinions to myself. I was forced to get a shot to continue work and travel plans. I waited until October 2021 and regretfully got one J&J shot. At least it's not the MRNA.
I never fell for any of it, especially after hearing details about the Diamond Princess cruise ship passengers' covid infections and outcomes in early 2020.
Virtually all my colleagues and family and friends fell for it all...except my brother and his wife and they never got vaxxed. Thank God for you all.
Mark, I love this story. Like most males, my brain is more visual than auditory--I prefer a map over written directions, pictures over words. Like most of your work that I’ve read, this story, full of love and subtlety and content, reminds me of an early Impressionists’ landscape, where the Greats (maybe Manet? Or early Monet?)were just beginning to soften their sharp lines, just beginning to add a summer haze-like opacity to their backgrounds. Just beautiful work here.
Thanks, Steve, for that elegant, thoughtful comment. I knew not everyone would like it. But it's all tru,e and captures a redemptive part of a very dark period. And I don't worry about some people not liking me. I learned early in life that there will always be haters.
During the Scam, many people went along with the craziness simply for that reason: they didn't want anyone to dislike them for speaking reason against the madness.
So very true. Not I though, even when losing long time friends. I still refuse the jab and now have no respect for the medical community. I speak up when asked and share vax injury articles.
Mark, You are a gifted writer. Your descriptions of people and places are a type of poetic realism. You have your own unique style. The reader, at least this reader almost feels transported to the scene, entering into part of your world.
you're creating the future right now. this is what happens when people choose abundance and hope over cruelty and fear. and realize how beautiful it is that we live in a nation of immigrants who have taken a similar leap of faith and chosen to be fearless.
Beautifully written....thank you! I am speaking to my mayor about having a place like this in our village. I,, too, now 75, live in a 55+ apartment community but was an avid vegetable/flower/herb gardener on my rural "farmette" with chickens, ducks, goats and assorted rescues from NYC (via an underground network). I lived there for 45 years. I miss the daily hours spent tending flora and fauna. Here's hoping the mayor has ears to hear!
I couldn’t stop reading! I kept meaning to get up and move the washing into the drier and I just wanted to finish reading first! You have such a lovely, readable voice. In many ways more profound and valuable than all the numbers guys. We need all types, but I enjoy your stack quite a bit. Thank you for sharing it with us. I’ve sent it to a couple of my gardening friends as I know they will love it!
Artistic painting with both flora and words. Those marigolds are fabulous! And the portrait of you both is the best. You weave stories that make me want to meet all of those you include and learn their stories as you have. I find joy and passion in plants, especially the wildflowers in our local mountains, and love meeting those who share the joy of God’s creation. Thank you for sharing the abundance with us.
Really beautiful Mark! It is so good to finally see your face, to put a face to the voice with whom we commiserate and are entertained. You paint a lovely, sometimes graphic picture, take us on a virtual tour of your garden, neighborhood and your life.
What an interesting and fulfilling role you play in your community and this on line one.
This has been my favorite offering so far. You are a virtual Mata Hari, a Gypsy Rose Lee, revealing your talents slowly :-)
Jersey Girl here, from Sayreville. My husband is from New Brunswick. We fled for the free state of Florida in January 2021. Thanks for taking us back home for a little while—and also for reminding us why we left. Scamdemic life in Florida was well worth the hassle of uprooting ourselves and everything hubby had ever known (I’d had the prior pleasure of living in Denver for a decade—before it was consumed by “progressives” and fleeing California techies).
Will share this with some fellow Jersey friends—and gardeners!
What a breath of fresh air your article is! A momentary escape from crazy town. The sun is out today, and I’ll be pulling weeds( because I actually enjoy it). Also, it’s very true that you cannot ‘make’ somebody enjoy gardening. I wish I could.
There I was, Mark, greatly enjoying your piece (as always) when an “Epoch Times”notice barged onto the top of my screen teasing that Pfizer / BioNTech have today requested EUA from the FDA for a “lower dosed” three shot (!!) “vaccination” regimen for children aged 6 mos to 5 years old - the last untapped age group pursued on this wicked, unnecessary shot agenda. Our blessed babies! I switched over and read that disturbing news; feeling the usual rage and sadness, then returned to your sensible, highly entertaining and healing momentary respite from that utter madness.
Time to get my hands dirtier. Thanks for keeping it down to the earth - as in real.
This article is awesome! As a gardener, I appreciate the work you do and understand how therapeutic gardening is. As a human being, I envy the relationships you’ve developed in the garden. I hope you have that photo of you and Woody framed in your house somewhere, with a copy given to him. You’re doing important work there, Mark. Thank you for sharing it.
Thanks, Deb. Gardens attract positive people.
And I'm sure there are aspects of your life about which I'd be envious. But not jealous.
Wonderful article and I'm finding that the comments here are resonating with me: my gardening literally saved my life and my sanity over the last two years of the Scamdemic. I'm also smiling at your differentiation between envious and jealous. Not enough people on this Earth can do that. Thank you.
Amazing piece. Gives me a reprieve from my anger about the last two years.
Thanks, I.P. I was very lucky to have this place to be, and unafraid people to be with during this massive Scam. I never forgot that others didn't have such an option.
The Mexicans’ toughness, resourcefulness and grip on reality sets them apart from fearful, conformist, “educated” but gullible American citizens...
You nailed it. My brother works in construction. He’s unjabbed and has never worn a mask. My best friend is a software developer. He’s triple jabbed but would not let me into his apartment for two years. On paper, my friend is much more intelligent and educated than my brother, but he lost touch with reality somehow.
It's been so crazy in this way.
The "smartest" are the worst. Maybe it's because they're so damned assured that they have everything figured out, and that their academic "authorities" are still honest and trustworthy. That their system, though flawed, can still be taken at face value.
There is a tight correlation between education and jab acceptance. The most educated had the highest uptake, *until* you get to the doctorate level.
"The regime utterly Body Snatches the middle and upper-middle that comprise the midwit journo-academic-bureaucracy-professional class it relies on as the backbone of its rule"
https://twitter.com/EduEngineer/status/1424988804625149975
https://thinkcivics.com/the-most-vaccine-hesitant-group-of-all-phds/
But it goes beyond education. The most clever, intelligent and discerning people bought in to it, people who could normally sniff out a con. A number of people I follow, from various disciplines, fell for it, and they are the worst. They can't see what's in front of their noses. 3 days ago one of them said "I'm vaccinated and I've had COVID 3 times". They refuse to see the most basic contradictions in such a statement.
I'm unvaccinated and haven't had it once.
We're way past the phase of potentialities (the vaccine might stop transmission; if you don't get vaccinated you might die). We're squarely in the realm of actualities—it's been over a year since vaccines were introduced and all my unvaccinated friends and I are fine; some got sick, but not anything more than cold like symptoms. Meanwhile, almost every vaccinated person I know had covid at least once.
The vaccines don't work. That's an actuality.
indeed, i had it 3 weeks ago. i caught it from a double vaxxed and boosted friend who was sick and wanted to come over and use my sauna. i said of course and two days later woke up with fever, body aches and a fierce headache. took a home antigen test the second day which said i was positive. on the third day, i was fine.
then my boyfriend got it and for him it was 5 days. we both take IVM once a week but increased to therapeutic doses once we felt sick. we nebulized a 1% hydrogen peroxide solution which was amazing.
over all it wasn't worse than any flu i've ever had and in my case, it was actually milder, lasting only 2 days. hardly worth losing our jobs over, shredding the constitution, destroying the bill of rights or violating the nuremberg code.
everyone i know who has been vaccinated has gotten covid several times AFTER getting the jabs; that doesn't include the people who died- i know three
We constantly puzzle over why otherwise intelligent people fell for it. What exactly sets us apart?
I'm not a genius but I had an unconventional life growing up. This could simply be the difference...being unafraid to break with the mob.
I grew up in the country, 12 miles from town, never got to hang out with other kids. At school I was a band geek. That will build your character in a small town.
To keep my job (which was always remote) I had to keep my vaxx opinions to myself. I was forced to get a shot to continue work and travel plans. I waited until October 2021 and regretfully got one J&J shot. At least it's not the MRNA.
I never fell for any of it, especially after hearing details about the Diamond Princess cruise ship passengers' covid infections and outcomes in early 2020.
Virtually all my colleagues and family and friends fell for it all...except my brother and his wife and they never got vaxxed. Thank God for you all.
As Michael Malice says, everyone knows the smartest dogs are the easiest to train.
Oh, cute. A Jew said something clever and subversive.
Your brother is the smart one. Education doesn’t always mean smart and in many cases shows a lack of common sense.
My favorites are mechanical and aerospace engineers wearing masks. STILL! Hard to believe.
Right. Literal rocket scientists.
I thoroughly enjoyed your peace.
I see what you did there, Rick. Good one.
Mark, I love this story. Like most males, my brain is more visual than auditory--I prefer a map over written directions, pictures over words. Like most of your work that I’ve read, this story, full of love and subtlety and content, reminds me of an early Impressionists’ landscape, where the Greats (maybe Manet? Or early Monet?)were just beginning to soften their sharp lines, just beginning to add a summer haze-like opacity to their backgrounds. Just beautiful work here.
Thanks, Steve, for that elegant, thoughtful comment. I knew not everyone would like it. But it's all tru,e and captures a redemptive part of a very dark period. And I don't worry about some people not liking me. I learned early in life that there will always be haters.
During the Scam, many people went along with the craziness simply for that reason: they didn't want anyone to dislike them for speaking reason against the madness.
So very true. Not I though, even when losing long time friends. I still refuse the jab and now have no respect for the medical community. I speak up when asked and share vax injury articles.
Mark, You are a gifted writer. Your descriptions of people and places are a type of poetic realism. You have your own unique style. The reader, at least this reader almost feels transported to the scene, entering into part of your world.
Thanks, Professor, for that generous comment. I try not to waste words.
Definitely gifted!
Thanks, Nan.
you're creating the future right now. this is what happens when people choose abundance and hope over cruelty and fear. and realize how beautiful it is that we live in a nation of immigrants who have taken a similar leap of faith and chosen to be fearless.
Beautifully written....thank you! I am speaking to my mayor about having a place like this in our village. I,, too, now 75, live in a 55+ apartment community but was an avid vegetable/flower/herb gardener on my rural "farmette" with chickens, ducks, goats and assorted rescues from NYC (via an underground network). I lived there for 45 years. I miss the daily hours spent tending flora and fauna. Here's hoping the mayor has ears to hear!
Thank you so much for this hope filled story! Garden therapy has saved my sanity during the last two years for sure.
What a lovely essay 🌹🥀
Thanks, Stephenie. I know it's long. But I left a lot of stuff out.
I couldn’t stop reading! I kept meaning to get up and move the washing into the drier and I just wanted to finish reading first! You have such a lovely, readable voice. In many ways more profound and valuable than all the numbers guys. We need all types, but I enjoy your stack quite a bit. Thank you for sharing it with us. I’ve sent it to a couple of my gardening friends as I know they will love it!
I read the numbers guys, too, and their stuff is critically important. But as Oscar Wilde said, "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
And the Scam's human costs--expressed in stories--are at least as important as the numbers.
Exactly so
Mark. Reading this piece reminds me of RW Emerson.
“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.”
Yes, Howard, so much of our frame of mind is up to us.
Artistic painting with both flora and words. Those marigolds are fabulous! And the portrait of you both is the best. You weave stories that make me want to meet all of those you include and learn their stories as you have. I find joy and passion in plants, especially the wildflowers in our local mountains, and love meeting those who share the joy of God’s creation. Thank you for sharing the abundance with us.
Really beautiful Mark! It is so good to finally see your face, to put a face to the voice with whom we commiserate and are entertained. You paint a lovely, sometimes graphic picture, take us on a virtual tour of your garden, neighborhood and your life.
What an interesting and fulfilling role you play in your community and this on line one.
This has been my favorite offering so far. You are a virtual Mata Hari, a Gypsy Rose Lee, revealing your talents slowly :-)
Jersey Girl here, from Sayreville. My husband is from New Brunswick. We fled for the free state of Florida in January 2021. Thanks for taking us back home for a little while—and also for reminding us why we left. Scamdemic life in Florida was well worth the hassle of uprooting ourselves and everything hubby had ever known (I’d had the prior pleasure of living in Denver for a decade—before it was consumed by “progressives” and fleeing California techies).
Will share this with some fellow Jersey friends—and gardeners!
Thanks, Schneile.
If you come back to visit NJ, please e-mail me forecheck32 at gmail and stop by.
Thanks! We were just there; left Sunday morning for the long drive home. Summering in Florida. Should be back in the fall sometime!
What a breath of fresh air your article is! A momentary escape from crazy town. The sun is out today, and I’ll be pulling weeds( because I actually enjoy it). Also, it’s very true that you cannot ‘make’ somebody enjoy gardening. I wish I could.
"A momentary escape from crazy town." I love it!
There I was, Mark, greatly enjoying your piece (as always) when an “Epoch Times”notice barged onto the top of my screen teasing that Pfizer / BioNTech have today requested EUA from the FDA for a “lower dosed” three shot (!!) “vaccination” regimen for children aged 6 mos to 5 years old - the last untapped age group pursued on this wicked, unnecessary shot agenda. Our blessed babies! I switched over and read that disturbing news; feeling the usual rage and sadness, then returned to your sensible, highly entertaining and healing momentary respite from that utter madness.
Time to get my hands dirtier. Thanks for keeping it down to the earth - as in real.
The craziness continues, Al. I thoroughly share your belief that we have to say "No" in as many ways as we can.