Tuned In

When we were kids, my sister and I loved listening to music. One year, my Dad bought each of us a little AM transistor radio with a corresponding ear plug. To keep us from mixing the radios up, my Mom took two pieces of masking tape, wrote my name on one, my sister's name on the other, and stuck the pieces to the back of our radios. For days, we walked around, vinyl ear plugs stuffed inside of our ears, grooving to our favorite songs.

Eventually, my Dad realized we were both listening to the same radio station. When he suggested we use one radio and play our music out loud, we looked at him like he was an alien from another planet. Even though we were separated by only three years, sharing was not something that came natural to us. We had our own bikes, our own dolls, our own toys, and our own records. And although we shared a bedroom, we did so reluctantly. It never occurred to us that by listening to one radio, we’d hear the same music and extend the juice in our batteries. It also never occurred to us to change the station. So,we just kept walking around, bopping our heads back and forth to the same beat on different radios.

Procuring gardening advice is oftentimes like listening to the radio in that we look for those who share interests similar to our own. We want to connect with and hear from someone who has successfully planted what we want to plant, grown what we want to grow, and harvested what we want to harvest. In order to learn something new, however, it's a good idea to switch to a different station every now and again. Maybe read a book on how to grow a cactus. Or, ask the neighbor down the street about their sunflower garden. By expanding our network, we'll increase our knowledge. So let's take out our earplugs and tune in! 

My transistor radio, front and back.